Move over, Abergavenny: The Times announces Wales’ ‘Best Place to Live’ 2025

A striking Welsh peninsula has been named the ‘best place to live in Wales’ in 2025 in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.

The Sunday Times’ expert judges visited locations across the UK, assessing factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds to culture, as well as access to green spaces and the health of the high street – with the Welsh winner announced as Gower.

Tim Palmer and Helen Davies, wrote: “The land of my fathers, dragons, daffodils and leeks, Wales offers the chance to live near some of the UK’s most inspiring countryside. Almost a fifth of the country is designated a national park, and the coastline is 1,680 miles long.

“There’s a huge array of enviable locations, landscapes and lifestyles on offer in an area that stretches all the way from the Severn Bridge to Anglesey, via the hotspots of Pembrokeshire and Snowdonia, and the fast-improving city of Swansea.

“The centre of gravity — and the housing market — is Cardiff, and the smartest suburbs such as Pontcanna and Llandaff, and the smart seaside resort of Penarth.”

The winner

For the judges, there was one clear winner – Gower Peninsula, Swansea which has snatched the coveted crown from last year’s winner, the charming Abergavenny.

They wrote: “From Oxwich Bay and Llanmadoc’s inspiring community shop to the smart enclaves in Langland and Caswell Bay, this coastal countryside spot to the west of Swansea is brimming with entrepreneurial spirit.

“It is even home to Wales’s smallest cinema, La Charrette, with 23 seats.”

Like all feature locations, the newspaper wrote an in-depth feature Read more about The Gower Peninsula, Swansea, sharing: “Life on the Gower, which Dylan Thomas called one of the “loveliest sea-coast stretches in the whole of Britain”, is more than just a beach. You get every type of seaside — crashing waves, sandy coves, brooding limestone cliffs and smart urban promenades — but also access to the city of Swansea (improving) and Mumbles (superior).

“Langland and Caswell Bay are coastal enclaves with postcode bragging rights in buckets and spades — properties can fetch over £2 million — while Bishopston has convenience stores, a good pub and a central location that makes it easy to get to wherever the surf is cranking.”

“But it is in the wilder corners of the peninsula — among the northern salt marshes and the gorse-speckled moorland — where you will find pretty villages and hamlets bursting with cool, creative and sustainable independent businesses. Micki Schloessingk produces salt-glazed pieces at Bridge Pottery, near Llanmadoc and its inspiring community shop. There’s a renewable energy co-op and a community land trust looking to build affordable homes.”

Read the full Gower feature here.

The other Welsh entries

Six other locations made the cut in the coveted list which is considered the most important.

The next mention went to trendy Cardiff district, Rhiwbina.

The judges shared: “Opened in 1913, this northern suburb of Cardiff — 16 minutes from the centre by train — was a model garden village. Today, it’s still leafy, has great schools and has independent shops from zero-waste to dog-friendly cafés and an award-winning Indian.

Secondly is the ‘perennially popular’ Crickhowell, Powys. Palmer and Davies wrote: “At the foot of the Brecon Beacons in spectacular scenery, yet within easy reach of Abergavenny, Bristol and Cardiff, Crickhowell is small but perfectly formed.

“The high street has everything you need to cover the everyday and the delightfully non-essential.”

Maenclochog, Pembrokeshire, comes up next on the list.

The judges wrote: “The Pembrokeshire National Park has a spectacular coast, but it can get very busy in the holiday season.

“Drive 20 minutes inland to the foothills of the Preseli Mountains and this village, pronounced ‘mine-cloch-og’, has everything you need for a good rural life, and bougie Narberth is close by.”

Another non-surprise on the list is the picturesque town of Penarth.

The judges wrote: “Thanks to its proximity to Cardiff, a 12-minute train journey to the north, it is a regular fixture in the Best Places to Live annual guide. As well as having good schools, the area’s retail scene ranges from basics to boutiques and the food scene is seriously hot.”

Presteigne came in for a mention, too. With the Times journalists praising the Powys location.

They shared: “Expect the unexpected in Presteigne; this mid-Wales market town is far from ordinary. Where else is the pharmacist also a fire-eater and everyone turns out for an annual wheelbarrow race?

“This is a special community where volunteer drivers are on hand to take people for long-distance hospital visits.”

And lastly, Vale of Clwyd, Denbighshire also came in for high praise.

Palmer and Davies shared: “There’s no train station this side of Wrexham, but the Vale of Clwyd, a 20-mile stretch of rugged and rolling hills just across the English border, is shooting, fishing and riding country.

“Pick from a range of villages, many with a pub, shop and a primary school, or the towns of Denbigh or Ruthin.”

Celebration

Helen Davies, editorial projects director and Best Places to Live editor, said previously: “This guide is a celebration of towns, cities and villages that are each a fantastic place to live. Wherever you are on the property ladder, there will be somewhere to suit you.

“These are all places where you can feel grounded as well as upwardly mobile: they have a mature sense of community, lively, supportive high streets and an eye to the future, whether that is eco-friendly measures, transport and regeneration, or imaginative inclusion of new housing.”

“What makes our guide unique is that we actually visit all the places we choose and talk to locals to find out what life is really like there.”

“That means we can see what people really love about the places they live. That might be fast commutes and high-achieving schools but also clean water to swim in, lively town centres with useful shops, the possibility of earning a living and being part of a friendly community.

“We do consider affordability, though high house prices are no barrier to inclusion – as long as they provide value for money.

“Different people may be looking for different things, but what all our best places have in common is that people love living in them and are proud to call them home.”

Read the article in full here, along with the in-depth feature on the Gower here.