There’s something extra charming about British towns – and they come in all shapes and sizes. You’ve got posh ones like Hodnet, seaside ones like Margate, commuter ones like Slough and ones with very, very interesting names, like Boggy Bottom in Hertfordshire.
But which are Britain’s prettiest towns? To find out, the Telegraph gathered a bunch of travel experts to rank towns across the country based on a bunch of factors, from shopfront aesthetics and historic architecture to traffic levels, litter volume and the number of viewpoints. Each town was then given a score out of 50.
Top of the ranking came... Lewes! The East Sussex town got an overall score of 46, and that ain’t too surprising. Famous for its medieval history and quirky cobbled streets, Lewes also boasts panoramic views of the South Downs and the beautiful eleventh-century Priory Park.
Second place went to Queensferry near Edinburgh, which scored 45 thanks to its historic high street and the iconic Forth Bridges. St Davids in Pembrokeshire took the third spot, with its beautiful coastal views and stellar walking trails – despite being technically a city rather than a town.
But not all towns ranked so well in the Telegraph’s list. The paper’s experts also shared those towns which they thought could use some ‘aesthetic enhancements’, which included Slough, Telford and Cumbernauld.
Here is the full list of the prettiest towns in the UK, according to the Telegraph.
- Lewes, East Sussex
- Queensferry, West Lothian
- St David’s, Pembrokeshire
- St Andrews, Fife
- Ilkley, West Yorkshire
- Chagford, Devon
- Ludlow, Shropshire
- Fowey, Cornwall
- Crickhowell, Brecknockshire
- Ripon, North Yorkshire
- Ledbury, Herefordshire
- Woodbridge, Suffolk
- Holt, Norfolk
- Rye, East Sussex
And the not-so-pretty towns.
- Slough, Berkshire
- Telford, Shropshire
- Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire
- Lowestoft, Suffolk
- Newton Abbot, Devon
- Stanley, County Durham
Check out the full list on the Telegraph here.
Did you see that Norwich Castle is getting a spectacular £15 million glow-up?
Plus: the National Gallery is going on a UK-wide tour in 2024.
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