1) Budleigh and Ashburton named among best places to live 2022

Two Devon towns have been included in The Sunday Times’ annual Best Places to Live guide. Ashburton and Budleigh Salterton were among nine South West locations featured.

Chalke Valley in Wiltshire was named the best place to live in the South West. Apart from the regional winner, the locations were not ranked. The other South West places included in the guide were: Bridport and Sherborne in Dorset, Bristol, Charlton Kings and Stroud in Gloucestershire, and Wellow in Somerset. Ilkley in West Yorkshire was crowned the Best Place to Live in the UK overall.

Ashburton, on the Eastern edge of Dartmoor, was a new entry in the guide. The judges said: “The landscape offers the best of the great outdoors, beaches are within easy reach and arty, friendly Ashburton is a thriving town – and residents outnumber ponies by just two to one.” The average house price was given as £403,000 – a whopping 27% growth since 2020.