The happiest places in Britain – Kendal takes #1 spot in North-West England
In a quest to uncover the happiest places to call home in Great Britain, Rightmove recently conducted its annual Happy at Home study, surveying over 26,000 residents across the country. This year’s results revealed a surprising shift as the borough of Richmond upon Thames in London claimed the top spot, marking it the first time the capital has clinched the coveted title. Winchester in Hampshire and Monmouth in Wales claimed the second and third places overall.
Nestled between the stunning Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, Kendal stands out as North-West England‘s most joyful haven. The market town claimed the top spot in the region and secured a notable 14th place nationally; the town’s unique charm and the breathtaking natural surroundings would undoubtedly have contributed to residents’ unparalleled happiness. Close neighbours Skipton (just over an hour’s drive from Kendal) took the top spot for the Yorkshire and Humber region, and were placed 6th in Britain.
Key contributors to residents’ happiness were feelings of pride, belonging and community. Access to green spaces and nature are also crucial factors, with residents in rural areas near national parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty reporting higher levels of happiness.
Curious to explore the happiest places in your own region? The tables below will show you the happiest places near you, according to the survey. And for those seeking a cheerful escape, you are always welcome in Kendal. ?
East Midlands
Place
Regional rank
National Rank
Chesterfield
1
73
Nottingham
2
118
Lincoln
3
127
Leicester
4
159
Mansfield
5
160
Derby
6
163
Loughborough
7
164
Northampton
8
167
Kettering
9
197
East of England
Place
Regional rank
National Rank
Hemel Hempstead
1
7
Leigh on Sea
2
11
Clacton on Sea
3
13
Woodbridge
4
17
St. Albans
5
19
Bishop’s Stortford
6
22
Hitchin
7
49
Norwich
8
82
Bury St Edmunds
9
91
Cambridge
10
99
Hertford
11
106
Huntingdon
12
108
Ipswich
13
123
Ely
14
124
Watford
15
131
Colchester
16
137
Stevenage
17
138
Chelmsford
18
149
Bedford
19
157
Southend on Sea
20
198
Peterborough
21
202
Basildon
22
205
Luton
23
211
London
Place
Regional rank
National Rank
Richmond upon Thames
1
1
Kensington and Chelsea
2
8
City of London
3
21
Camden
4
23
Wandsworth
5
25
Kingston upon Thames
6
28
Islington
7
40
Southwark
8
44
Bromley
9
46
Hammersmith and Fulham
10
50
Greenwich
11
96
Waltham Forest
12
103
Hackney
13
110
Westminster
14
111
Lewisham
15
119
Sutton
16
122
Merton
17
128
Lambeth
18
130
Ealing
19
134
Enfield
20
143
Tower Hamlets
21
154
Barnet
22
166
Hounslow
23
168
Harrow
24
170
Haringey
25
179
Bexley
26
181
Redbridge
27
189
Havering
28
193
Brent
29
208
Barking and Dagenham
30
212
Newham
31
213
Croydon
32
214
Hillingdon
33
218
North-East England
Place
Regional rank
National Rank
Hexham
1
10
Newcastle upon Tyne
2
45
Durham
3
139
Cleveland
4
141
Darlington
5
161
Gateshead
6
188
Sunderland
7
195
Middlesbrough
8
200
North-West England
Place
Regional rank
National Rank
Kendal
1
14
Altrincham
2
29
Chorley
3
34
Chester
4
43
Wirral
5
57
Bury
6
59
Macclesfield
7
62
Southport
8
74
Stockport
9
98
Northwich
10
120
Burnley
11
129
Carlisle
12
133
Warrington
13
140
Crewe
14
142
Lancaster
15
144
Salford
16
146
Preston
17
148
Blackburn
18
165
Liverpool
19
177
Manchester
20
178
Blackpool
21
180
Bolton
22
183
Wigan
23
187
Rochdale
24
203
Oldham
25
206
Scotland
Place
Regional rank
National Rank
Galashiels
1
15
Inverness
2
53
Dumfries
3
55
Dundee
4
58
Perth
5
78
Falkirk
6
80
Ayr
7
83
Stirling
8
85
Edinburgh
9
90
Kilmarnock
10
97
Glasgow
11
116
Aberdeen
12
121
Kirkcaldy
13
135
Paisley
14
147
Motherwell
15
192
South-East England
Place
Regional rank
National Rank
Winchester
1
2
Wokingham
2
4
Tunbridge Wells
3
26
Guildford
4
27
Farnham
5
31
Tonbridge
6
33
Worthing
7
37
Windsor
8
39
Horsham
9
42
Bracknell
10
51
Chichester
11
63
Sevenoaks
12
64
Isle of Wight
13
69
Hove
14
71
Aylesbury
15
72
Maidenhead
16
75
Hastings
17
79
Fareham
18
81
High Wycombe
19
84
Newbury
20
87
Brighton
21
93
Oxford
22
105
Southampton
23
114
Milton Keynes
24
117
Canterbury
25
125
Folkestone
26
126
Epsom
27
132
Fleet
28
150
Woking
29
153
Redhill
30
158
Eastbourne
31
162
Reading
32
172
Crawley
33
175
Basingstoke
34
176
Portsmouth
35
185
Maidstone
36
194
Ashford
37
199
Dartford
38
201
Rochester
39
204
Banbury
40
209
Slough
41
217
South-West England
Place
Regional rank
National Rank
Cirencester
1
5
St Ives
2
9
Weymouth
3
16
Dorchester
4
32
Plymouth
5
36
Falmouth
6
52
Salisbury
7
54
Exeter
8
56
Poole
9
60
Cheltenham
10
65
Bath
11
66
Gloucester
12
76
Torquay
13
88
Barnstaple
14
89
Bournemouth
15
92
Bristol
16
109
Truro
17
112
Weston Super Mare
18
115
Taunton
19
156
Swindon
20
182
Yeovil
21
184
Wales
Place
Regional rank
National Rank
Monmouth
1
3
Anglesey
2
18
Llandrindod Wells
3
35
New Quay
4
38
Wrexham
5
77
Bridgend
6
86
Swansea
7
94
Llandudno
8
100
Cardiff
9
136
Caerphilly
10
169
Newport
11
207
West Midlands
Place
Regional rank
National Rank
Stourbridge
1
20
Leamington Spa
2
24
Worcester
3
30
Hereford
4
41
Stratford on Avon
5
48
Shrewsbury
6
67
Solihull
7
68
Lichfield
8
101
Stafford
9
102
Telford
10
104
Sutton Coldfield
11
107
Stoke on Trent
12
155
Coventry
13
171
Wolverhampton
14
174
Walsall
15
190
Birmingham
16
196
Dudley
17
210
Yorkshire and the Humber
Place
Regional rank
National Rank
Skipton
1
6
Harrogate
2
12
York
3
47
Halifax
4
61
Whitby
5
70
Sheffield
6
95
Leeds
7
113
Grimsby
8
145
Hull
9
151
Huddersfield
10
152
Barnsley
11
173
Wakefield
12
186
Doncaster
13
191
Rotherham
14
215
Bradford
15
216
Becky Johnson
Becky Johnson is a Director of Kendal Holiday Cottages Ltd.. Kendal Holiday Cottages Ltd. offers luxury riverside holiday accommodation that is perfectly positioned between two of the UK’s most beautiful National Parks – the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.
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