Shawlands is the best place to live in Glasgow

Shawlands has been named on the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live Guide. Judges hailed the area’s local coffee culture independent businesses, markets and transport links to the city centre.

Dunkeld, Perthshire was named as the Best Place to Live in Scotland in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.

The Sunday Times judges praised Dunkeld for its proximity to nature and pine forests, a top-notch food scene, connections to Edinburgh and Glasgow from nearby Perth, and a thriving village community.

“A winning combination of stunning Highland scenery and chic Scandi-style sophistication are what you get in Dunkeld. Top shops include Aran Bakery and Lon – possibly the hippest general store in Scotland – both run by ex-Great British Bake-off contestant Flora Shedden. You can get close to nature with countless walks, with the mighty Hermitage Forest a highlight, while community spirit comes to the fore at the Field, an inspiring community organic veg garden.”

Six Locations in Scotland in total are featured in the comprehensive guide. Published by The Sunday Times, it includes 72 locations across the UK and is released online at 6am Friday March 24. An abridged version will be published as a magazine supplement on Sunday.

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.”

Wadhurst in East Sussex was named the overall UK winner of Best Places to Live. It was praised by judges for its “good schools, convenient transport connections, an amazingly well-stocked high street and stunning scenery”. They said that it offers “pretty much everything needed for modern life in miniature”.

This year’s guide – the 11th – features more new entries than ever before. The Sunday Times’s expert judges have 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.

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: Scotland

• East Linton, East Lothian: Thanks both to its impressive environmental credentials and its wide, leafy streets, this attractive, this affluent commuter spot fully deserves its reputation as Scotland’s greenest town. An impressive roster of shops includes a brilliant bookshop, butcher and the Bostock Bakery, and a new station, due to open later this year, will make getting to Edinburgh even easier.

• Edinburgh: Portobello Edinburgh’s seaside suburb has a free-spirited atmosphere that’s a refreshing contrast to the stuffier corners of the Scottish capital. With interesting shops – a bookshop, artisan baker and a branch of Bross Bagels – it’s no wonder that it is now the location of choice for artists, authors, foodies and cool young families.

• Glasgow: Shawlands There’s an unbeatable coffee culture in this creative, multicultural corner of the Southside, and much more besides. There’s a strong network of independent businesses — especially at busy Park Lane market – arty pop-ups, good. sports facilities and rapid rail links to central Glasgow.

• Newport-on-Tay, Fife: Spectacular sunsets and a grandstand view of the Tay Bridge are the most visible highlights of this buzzing suburb of Dundee. It also has a high street that’s as good as it gets, a notably friendly community and fast, regular buses to the city.

• Orkney: The wonderful wildlife and dramatic landscapes make living in this remote location worthwhile, but this collection of 70 islands is also notable for a lively population that displays an impressive entrepreneurial spirit and supports local businesses with gusto.

• Tighnabruaich, Argyll and Bute: Once a holiday-home hotspot for wealthy merchants, this tiny village is now worth celebrating for its outstanding natural beauty, but also for its thriving independent businesses and a busy community keen to get involved in activities from veg-growing, drama and art to sailing and shinty.

The Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2023: List of regional winners

• Wadhurst, East Sussex was named as the overall Best Place to Live in the UK
• EAST OF ENGLAND: Saffron Walden, Essex
• LONDON: Crouch End
• MIDLANDS: Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
• NORTHERN IRELAND: Donaghadee, Co Down
• NORTH & NORTHEAST: Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear
• NORTHWEST: Liverpool
• SCOTLAND: Dunkeld, Perthshire
• SOUTHEAST: Chichester, West Sussex
• SOUTHWEST: Cirencester, Gloucestershire
• WALES: Ruthin, Denbighshire