10 Best Towns in the UK
Ideally, you should desire to live in a place that is best for you in your present and, possibly future circumstances. That’s why I want to explain to you about the 10 best towns in the UK in this article.
These towns, not cities, are selected from the four countries that make up the United Kingdom so that no area could have a real or imagined ground to allege any neglect or oversight. But I need to quickly tell you that this listing of the 10 best towns in the UK represents just my personal opinion which I formed out of my own careful research, visits and inputs from friends and acquaintances with firsthand information about the United Kingdom.
- Dunkeld, Scotland
Let’s start in Scotland and in Dunkeld, a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, which is one of the best towns in the UK at the moment. The town tagged historic cathedral “city” is located on the north bank of the River Tay. The town where tradition meets progress is near the geological Highland Boundary Fault. It’s often referred to as the “Gateway to the Highlands” because it’s on both the main road and rail lines north, close enough (20 miles) to Cairngorms National Parks. Its direct access to the A9 makes commuting to the central belt, even twice a week convenient.
Efforts of the 28-year-old Flora Shedden, a Great British Bake Off semi-finalist, to make Dunkeld the most popular village in Scotland have been producing some results.
- Usk, Wales
We’re moving to Wales to look up the town of Usk in Monmouthshire which is on my list of the 10 best towns in the UK due to its being named the best place to live in Wales in 2021. This town and community in Monmouthshire, located 10 miles northeast of Newport, has been a regular winner of Wales in Bloom as the best. This has earned it international acclaim.
Everyone seems to be happy in this delightful and convenient town as you see them wearing smiles all day long. They nod in acknowledgment as you walk through the town. You won’t have any trouble getting to know your neighbors as all of them are warm. Everyone feels responsible for the welfare of the community such that no challenging issue is left unattended.
- Frome, England
I am adding Frome to this list because it is also an award-winning town in eastern Somerset, England. The town which is also a civil parish has been voted the best town to live in the Southwest in 2021. It’s built on uneven high ground around the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, centering on the River Frome. The picture-perfect center, having more than 300 listed buildings, is approximately 13 miles south of Bath, 43 miles east of Taunton, and 107 miles west of London.
Frome is an ideal location for daily commuters working in Bristol and Bath. People living in this town are showing high-level commitment to the betterment of their collective home by forming several associations and groups. Canoeing in the River Frome and exotic riverside walks are among the things that make life cool in this cozy town.
- North Berwick, Scotland
We’re going back to Scotland to locate my 10 best towns in the UK and we’re stopping at North Berwick, in East Lothian, the town named the best place to live in Scotland in 2021. This seaside town, which is also a former royal burgh, is on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It’s approximately 20 miles east-northeast of Edinburgh, with its 300-million-year-old volcanic plug that still stands brooding over it.
As far back as the nineteenth century, North Berwick has become a fashionable holiday resort thanks to its two sandy bays, namely the East Bay, also known as Milsey Bay, and the West Bay. Up till now, it has continued to attract tourists when they visit Edinburgh.
- Altrincham, England
You can’t sincerely leave Altrincham out when listing towns of this caliber as best in the UK. The market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester is at the south of the River Mersey. Located 8 miles southwest of Manchester city center, 3 miles southwest of Sale, and 10 miles east of Warrington, it is within the boundaries of the county of Cheshire.
Gone are the days when it had the worst high street in Britain. Today, for your information, Altrincham, where suburbia meets utopia, is the best place to live in Northwest. It’s fiercely sociable and supremely independent market serves as the jewel in the crown of the town with trams and trains and its canalside cycle route. Children are priceless in this town and its love of these wards is expressed in the clubs and classes in charge of the community-minded football club.
- Holywood, Northern Ireland
Oh! Are we going to limit ourselves to 3 countries as though there’s no top town in Northern Ireland? The next place we’re examining is Holywood, a town in the metropolitan area of Belfast, County Down in Northern Ireland. Holywood is a civil parish and townland measuring 755 acres on the shore of Belfast Lough. It is between Belfast and Bangor and not far from the Holywood Exchange and Belfast City Airport.
I add this town to my list because it was voted the best place to live in Northern Ireland. It usually hosts an annual jazz and blues festival. The town is known more for pleasure than for hectic business. That’s why you can spot mobile young professionals swimming or walking the dog. Others may be jogging, cycling, kite-surfing, or sailing at one of the two yacht clubs.
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- Ilkley, England
Okay, let’s now go back to England to see more of the best towns in the UK. Our destination this time is Ilkley, a spa town and also a civil parish in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, Northern England. Ilkley as a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire historically includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding. The town is approximately 12 miles north of Bradford and 17 miles northwest of Leeds. Ilkley lies mainly on the River Wharfe south bank in Wharfedale.
Recently, the title of the best place to live in the whole of North and Northeast goes to Ilkley, and deservedly so. The town is a combination of culture, a beating community heart, a business brain, and a good sense of humor. It’s also an eco-friendly environment where nature is preserved and pollution is minimal.
- Stamford, Lincolnshire, England
The next of the best towns in the UK is Stamford. It is a combination of a town and civil parish in Lincolnshire’s South Kesteven District. With a lot of 17th and 18th-century stone buildings and older timber-framed buildings, the town with five medieval parish churches is often a film location. Since 2013, a survey by The Sunday Times has rated the town a top place to live.
And more recently, Stamford, the home of more than 600 listed buildings, is actually the best place to live in the Midlands. The aesthetic and tranquility of this town are among what rated it high.
- Woodbridge, Suffolk, England
The Netflix film The Dig did a great deal of spotlighting for this stunning part of Suffolk called Woodbridge. Even before then, residents of the historic market town in Suffolk, about 8 miles up the River Deben from the sea had known that their home was special. The town that also lies 7 miles northeast of central Ipswich, is a part of the wider Ipswich built-up area.
Life in this timeless town revolves around that river such that it’s about storybook architecture and dazzling wildlife. The town has been voted the best place to live in the East.
- Stroud, England
Finally, I present to you Stroud as the overall best place to live in the UK. The market town has the basics covered in perfect style. Also a civil parish, the town has a strong community spirit. Residents are used to celebrating all things the way of this town in the center of Gloucestershire, England. It’s the main town in the entire Stroud District. Stroud is noted for its steep streets below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills. It’s also the confluence of the Five Valleys.
Do you know any other towns in the UK that are better than this? Kindly tell us in the comment section and present your yardstick.
