Villages and towns including Amersham and Marlow have made the top 10 ranking for best places to live in Bucks after a recent poll.
The lifestyle and location guide Muddy Stilettos is well-known for keeping a finger on the pulse of popular opinion.
Based on polling across the UK, the platform published their regional guide of the best places to live across the country this morning.
Check out the ranking below to find out if your hometown made the cut:
1. Amersham.
First place was awarded to Amersham based on its Michelin-starred eateries, National Trust properties and cultural offerings.
Amersham is also home to Kew Little Pigs, a miniature pig centre whose inhabitants have appeared on Game of Thrones.
Gorgeous period and timber-framed buildings, as well as its location in the heart of the Chilterns also tipped Amersham to take top billing.
2. Marlow.
Second up in the Muddy Stilettos awards 2023 was Marlow – ranked highly for its commuter-friendly neighbourhood, range of high street offerings, nature reserve areas and foodie events.
The brand zoned in on open green spaces such as Higginson Park and trove of independent businesses and gourmet restaurants as factors in Marlow’s high liveability appeal.
3. Haddenham.
Runner-up in third place was Haddenham, a lesser known but picturesque village in West Bucks.
Muddy Stilettos praised the area’s “chocolate box thatched cottages” and “idyllic 12th century church” as well as Grade II listed buildings and more modern enhancements including a FitLife gym and funky Scandinavian café NORSK.
4. Great Missenden.
Fourth up is Great Missenden, described by the lifestyle guide as “a postcard-perfect village”, this Chiltern Hills valley area gets brownie points for being Roald Dahl’s home for over 30 years and the birthplace of some of his most famous stories.
As you might expect, many of the assets praised have a storybook quality to them – the historic venue Missenden Abbey, the charms of the Elgiva Theatre and a range of alternatingly swanky and cosy eateries earn this village a high ranking in Muddy Stilettos’ living guide.
5. Olney.
In fifth place for the best place to live in Bucks is Olney, another lesser-known town in the heart of the county’s countryside.
Muddy Stilettos praise Olney for maintaining a traditional historic appeal amidst the new developments of nearby Bedford and Milton Keynes.
Unique draw factors include the Arches Theatre, constructed under four disused railway arches and town's yearly pancake race, which drew crowds from near and far last month.
6. Long Crendon.
In sixth place is Long Crendon, a village comprised of rolling fields and thatched cottages – described by Muddy Stilettos as “prime Midsomer Murders country”.
Its appeal ranges wider than rural aesthetic, however, with a high street offering local farm shop fare and boutique shops and restaurants as well as boasting strong commuter links with London and Oxford.
7. Brill.
Muddy Stilettos’ seventh best place to live in Buckinghamshire is Brill which, according to the lifestyle guide, lives up to the brilliance of its name for its combined countryside and city amenities.
Described as a “sweet, red-bricked village”, Brill has a traditional cosy country pub – The Pointer – in its favour, as well as an impressive Grade II listed Windmill overlooking Oxfordshire and Bucks.
READ MORE: Residents share why Marlow is the coolest place in Buckinghamshire
8. Swanbourne.
In eighth spot is Swanbourne, a village right on the doorstep of Milton Keynes but offering an idyllic rural escape for city-dwellers.
Swanbourne’s attractions include a traditional pub, The Betsey Wynne, which combines views of the surrounding countryside with a Mediterranean menu. The village is also near National Trust estates including Claydon House and Stowe.
9. Hambleden.
Coming in at ninth is Hambleden which, like previous village high-rankers, has made Muddy Stilettos’ top 10 due to its picturesque countryside views and close contact links.
Only a short drive from Marlow and Henley, Hambleden has long been a popular filming location, likely because of its quintessential brick and flint cottage-lined streets which have appeared in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and 101 Dalmatians.
That’s not all with the village also boasting gastropubs, the Culden Faw Estate with 3,500 acres of beech woods and chalk valley and a proximity to Cliveden House’s annual literary festival.
10. Nether Winchendon.
Rounding out Muddy Stilettos’ top 10 places to live in Bucks for 2023 is Nether Winchendon, another area rated for nostalgic rural setting.
Like other top contenders, it combines this countryside appeal with strong transport links and boasts a historic manor, Nether Winchendon House, which has been featured in film and TV productions including Bridget Jones’s Diary and Miss Marple.
Readers can click here to view the full list of the top 250 places to live in 2023.
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