Royal Borough village named as one of best places to live in UK

Cookham has been named on a list of the best places to live in South East England by the Sunday Times.

The riverside village was included on the Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide today (Friday), which was compiled with the help of expert judges who assessed areas on a wide range of factors.

These included schools, transport and broadband to green spaces and health of the high street, with the guide representing 70 locations across the UK. 

The Sunday Times wrote: "Want to live like riverside royalty? Look no further than Cookham, described by the artist Sir Stanley Spencer as a 'village in heaven'.

"It’s as charming today as when Kenneth Grahame first imagined Ratty and Mole messing about on its riverbanks.

"There are schools, shops and pubs to satisfy everyone and motorways and fast trains are just a few minutes away."

The national newspaper added that the average house price in Cookham was just shy of £1million - at £936,000 - while the village has experienced a 24 per cent growth in prices since 2020. 

Helen Davies, The Times and Sunday Times' property editor, said: “The Sunday Times Best Places to Live list is necessarily subjective. Leave it just to statistics and you will never capture the spirit of a place.

"For that, you need to visit to take into account that ‘you have to be here’ feeling. Is the pub dog-friendly, for example? Can you live car-free? What are the schools and houses like? Is it multicultural and multigenerational, and can it offer a good way of life to lots of different sorts of people? 

“Ten years ago, when we launched the inaugural list, London’s gravitational pull was strong, the working from home revolution had not yet reached our doorstep and high streets were stacked with chains.

"How times have changed — and how welcome that change is.  

“This year we have discovered new best places to live from resurgent city centres, rejuvenated suburbs across the country, hidden villages and a commutable Scottish island. 

“We hope there is something to suit everyone.”

Sevenoaks in Kent was named as the South east regional winner, while fellow Thames Valley locations Reading and Olney, in Buckinghamshire, were also recognised on the list alongside Cookham. 

Average house prices for each location were supplied by the Halifax bank, while information on broadband speeds was provided by Thinkbroadband.com. 

Ilkley, in West Yorkshire, was named as the overall best place to live in the UK by the guide. 

For more information, view the Sunday Times article here.