'ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES' CORNWALL TOWN NAMED AMONG THE SOUTH WEST BEST PLACES TO LIVE

An unexpected Cornwall town has been named among the best places to live in the South West - as they didn't go for the one you might expect. The annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide picked out Penryn as among the region's top locations.

It describes the town as being a "little rougher round the edges than neighbouring Falmouth" - but judges said they were looking for "thriving locations with a strong sense of community" rather than famous names with high house prices.

They cited Penryn's "energy, creativity and community" as among the reasons for its inclusion. The Sunday Times also reckons it's the place for "endless adventures", with "all kinds of community groups".

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The guide includes 72 locations across the UK and has been released today (Friday, March 21). Judges visited each place to assess factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds and mobile signal to culture, as well as access to green spaces and the health of the high street.

The Chew Valley in Somerset was named the top place to live in the South West, with Saffron Walden in Essex crowned as the overall best place to live in the UK.

The Sunday Times judges said of Penryn: "Penryn is a little rougher round the edges than neighbouring Falmouth, but what it lacks in arty-crafty knick-knack stores and beachside saunas, it more than makes up for in energy, creativity and community.

"Every old workshop, boathouse or ope — as the back alleys are known here — seems to be home to a local craftsperson or entrepreneur up to something forward-looking and fascinating, whether it’s a pottery studio, an art gallery, a yoga studio, or the Cornish Poetry Library.

"There is the potential for endless adventures in the surrounding waters and countryside, and all kinds of community groups are doing good works or organising sports and activities."

Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, Hotwells and Cliftonwood in Bristol, Malmesbury in Wiltshire, Ashburton in Devon and Sherborne and Southborne, both in Dorset, were the other South West spots to make the grade.

Helen Davies, editorial projects director and Best Places to Live editor, said: "It is easy to feel overwhelmed by everything going on in the world, but there really is so much to celebrate as we look closer to home. From small gestures that lift the everyday - like verges blooming with daffodils and volunteer-run dementia cafés, to larger initiatives from repair cafés to new railway stations.

“What makes our guide unique is that we actually visit all the places we choose and talk to locals to find out what life is really like there. That means we can see what people really love about the places they live. That could be anything from exceptional schools and fast trains to beautiful houses and countryside.

"The health of the high street is important, but more than anything else, what we are looking for are towns, villages and cities with strong communities who work hard to make the best of where they live, and play hard too.

“We also consider affordability. High house prices are no barrier to inclusion - as long as they provide value for money. Different people will be looking for different qualities when they are choosing a place to live. One thing all our chosen locations have in common is that the people who live in them are proud to call them home.”

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), Ilkley, West Yorkshire (2022) Wadhurst, East Sussex (2023), and North Berwick, East Lothian (2024).

Read the full Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide here. An abridged version will be published as a magazine supplement on Sunday (March 23).

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2025-03-21T07:37:52Z