The Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2023: Saffron Walden named top of the pile for the East of England region

Saffron Walden is the best place to live in the East of England region, according to the 2023 The Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.

This year’s comprehensive guide – the 11th annual one since the first was published in 2013 – features 72 locations across the UK. Wadhurst in East Sussex is the overall best place to live in Britain.

It includes six other places in the East of England as well as Saffron Walden: two in Suffolk, two in Norfolk, one in Essex and one in Cambridgeshire. Hertfordshire is not represented.

The Sunday Times’ expert judges visited all the locations and assessed factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds to culture, as well as access to green spaces and the health of the high street.

They praised regional winner Saffron Walden for its excellent schools, country feel, busy high street and café scene, as well as its convenient location for commuters to Cambridge and London.

“Always beautiful, this historic market town is now adding a touch of youthful vigour to its highbrow credentials," they said.

"Young families are moving in, attracted in part by the excellent schools, and it’s as dog-friendly as it is family-friendly. Cool new bars, shops and restaurants are opening, with local produce to the fore, and the market is a highlight of the week.”

The Sunday Times Best Places to Live supplement is published online today (Friday March 24) and as a magazine supplement with The Sunday Times this weekend (March 26).

Helen Davies, the editor of Best Places to Live 2023, said: “When times are tough, where we live matters more than ever. Attractive surroundings, good neighbours and a comfortable home are the best defences when the stresses of modern life seem overwhelming.

“This guide is a celebration of towns, cities and villages that are each a fantastic place to live in 2023, from Orkney to Felixstowe, the Chew Valley to Manchester city centre. Whether you’re downsizing, trading up or getting onto the property ladder, there will be somewhere to suit you.”

Overall winner Wadhurst in East Sussex was praised by judges for its “amazingly well-stocked high street and stunning scenery”. They said that it offers “pretty much everything needed for modern life in miniature”.

Previous winners of the Best Places to Live in Britain title are: Stamford, Lincolnshire (2013), Skipton, North Yorkshire (2014), Newnham, Cambridge (2015), Winchester, Hampshire (2016), Bristol (2017), York (2018), Salisbury, Wiltshire (2019), Altrincham, Cheshire (2020), Stroud, Gloucestershire (2021) and Ilkley, West Yorkshire (2022).

The Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2023: East of England

(After regional winner Saffron Walden, the six other locations are not ranked, but listed in alphabetical order)

• Aylsham, Norfolk – Aylsham is the perfect advert for small-town living. It’s perfectly placed for the best of Norfolk, with the coast, the Broads and Norwich all within easy reach. With its excellent butcher and baker, the town centre has all you need, and the slow food festival is just one way that a lively community shows its commitment to sustainability and living well.
• Bourn, Cambridgeshire – A combination of community spirit and traditional picturesque backdrop of neat cottages, and ancient windmill and babbling brook make this village stand out from the crowd, along with a thriving high street that meets daily needs.
• Buckhurst Hill, Essex – Its hair salons and nail bars mark out Buckhurst Hill as one of the corners of Towie’s Golden Triangle, but the star attraction is the wild expanse of Epping Forest. There are plenty of sports clubs, and the town shows its caring side through a new community pantry and a Memory Café for people living with dementia and their carers.
• Dedham Vale, Suffolk – For anyone who wants to live close to nature while remaining within range of the capital, Dedham Vale is the perfect option. This is prime – and fiercely protected – countryside for every level of activity, from birdwatching and walking to running, cycling and messing about in boats on the Stour. Our favourite village, Polstead, is a picture of pastoral innocence with a lively and friendly community.

• Felixstowe, Suffolk – Old Felixstowe is friendlier and cheaper than the more favoured resorts further up the Suffolk coast, and it has one of only two blue flag beaches in the county. Away from the port, it’s beautiful, too – especially around the tiny hamlet of Felixstowe Ferry. A vast programme of regeneration has paid dividends.
• Norwich, Norfolk – Norwich is a regular fixture in our Best Places to Live series. It’s the UK’s most complete medieval city which also boasts bold modern architecture, and it’s a creative, artistic and literary powerhouse. Most impressive is its ability to move with the times, with a commitment to sustainability on show in its cycleways and an app that allows people to hire pedal bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters.