The North East's best places to live named by the Sunday Times, including 'friendliest town in Britain'

• The Sunday Times has named the best places to live in the UK for 2025
• Two areas in the north east of England are among the 72 locations featured in the guide
• One is described as possibly the ‘friendliest’ town in Britain
• The other was admired for its ‘elegant’ streets and curving, sandy beaches

The Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide for 2025 has been published, featuring 72 locations across the UK and a regional breakdown of the hottest postcodes.

The ‘genteel’ market town of Saffron Walden in Essex is the best place to live in the UK overall, according to the Sunday Times, with Ilkley, West Yorkshire, the pick of the bunch in the north and north east.

The two north east locations featured in the latest guide are Morpeth, in Northumberland, and Tynemouth, in Tyne and Wear.

Why judges loved ‘tranquil’, ‘friendly’ Morpeth - and what your money buys you there

In Morpeth, judges admired the ‘handsome’ stone and brick shops and houses, saying the area feels ‘tranquil rather than sleepy’. They added that it ‘might well be the friendliest town in Britain’, where ‘every shopkeeper treats you like a long-lost friend and everyone smiles’.

According to Rightmove, the average house price in Morpeth over the last year is £269,544.

Semi-deatched houses there sell for an average of £236,158, with a detached home costing £372,658 and terraced properties fetching £208,318.

House prices in Morpeth fell by five per cent last year, compared with the previous year, and were one per cent down on the 2022 peak of £273,250.

The properties listed for sale there on Rightmove include a four-bedroom family home on Glanton Close, pictured above, with a guide price of £250,000, which is in the catchment area for good schools, is just a short walk from town and has a conservatory and rear garden with patio.

Around £500,000 will buy you a ‘substantial’ four-bedroom Victorian terraced house, pictured above, which is ‘bursting’ with period charm, has three large reception rooms including a conservatory, boasts a pretty front garden overlooking the neigbouring allotments, and is close to the ‘highly-rated’ King Edward VI School and local amenities.

Why Tynemouth ‘hits the sweet spot’ and what £250,000 gets you there

Tynemouth, the Sunday Times said, hits the ‘sweet spot’ between ‘overly gentrified hipster hangout’ and ‘decaying, once-grand seaside town’. Judges praised the ‘elegant’ streets with ‘convivial’ coffee shops, and the ‘beatnik beach hangouts tucked in the shadows of its ruined priory and castle’.

With its curving, sandy beaches, they added, although you’re just a few miles from Newcastle, ‘it feels like another planet’.

Listed for sale for offers over £240,000 is a 'beautifully presented' one-bedroom second-floor apartment, pictured above, with high ceilings, on Percy Park, Tynemouth.

For around £545,000, you could get a four-bedroom maisonette in Tynemouth, pictured below, with two reception rooms, a Juliet balcony, a balcony terrace and a private rear roof terrace.

The average house price in Tynemouth is £394,910, according to Rightmove.

Terraced properties there sell for an average of £526,760, semi-detached homes fetch £460,103 and a typical flat costs £212,900.

House prices in Tynemouth fell by two per cent last year and are six per cent down on the 2022 peak of £420,587.

The Sunday Time’s judges visited every area featured in the guide, assessing them based on factors including schools, transport, broadband speed, culture, food and drink, shopping, sense of community, and access to green spaces.

What do you think is the best place to live in the UK? Let us know in the comments section below.