Sunday Times Guide Names Berkhamsted one of Best Places to Live

Berkhamsted has been named in The Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2025 guide.

It selected Petersfield, Hampshire, as the regional winner for the Southeast of England and Saffron Walden, Essex, best in the UK. Berkhamsted was the only Hertfordshire location out of 72 included. Chorleywood and  St Albans featured in 2024.

Describing Berkhamsted, the guide said: ‘Berkhamsted is the perfect chichi commuter town, with easy links to London for work or play but plenty to keep you busy closer to home.

‘It’s surrounded by lovely Chilterns countryside, has a healthy historic pedigree but also a buzzy cafe culture and lots of sporty and wellness activities.

‘There’s more than a dash of culture, too, notably at the Rex Cinema, as well as two theatres, an art society and various music groups.’

The newspaper’s judges visited all the locations and assessed factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds, and mobile signals to culture, as well as access to green spaces and the health of the high street.

‘We talk to locals to find out what they love most about the places they call home,’ said the guide’s editor Helen Davies. ‘This could be anything from high-achieving schools and reliable commuter links to cafés and culture or somewhere wonderful to walk the dog. More than anything else, what we are looking for are towns, villages and cities with strong, hard-working communities who love where they live.’