Ballycastle named best place to live in NI

Ballycastle has been named the best place to live in Northern Ireland.

It is top of a list of five locations in the region - and 101 across the UK - chosen by The Sunday Times to represent the best of Britain in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.

The overall winner will be revealed on Sunday, March 22, when the full guide is published in The Sunday Times - and in much more detail online at sundaytimes.co.uk/bestplacestolive

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Sunday Times’s expert judges assess a wide range of factors, from schools, transport and broadband speed to culture, green spaces and the health of the high street to produce the definitive guide to the UK’s finest locations to call home.

The judges have travelled thousands of miles around the UK, visiting the locations and talking to locals. They look for improving towns, villages or city centres, for attractive, well designed homes, and locations bursting with community spirit.

The guide also uses robust and exclusive statistics, including up-to-date house prices, provided by mortgage company Habito and TwentyCi.

Helen Davies, The Sunday Times Home editor said, “Our advice is simple. Think about everything you love and everything you hate, then make sure you have access to the good things while minimising exposure to the bad ones. And we’re here to help. Today we champion 101 locations across the UK and crown one lucky winner.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Never has where you live felt more important. This year we have, along with house prices, air quality, good schools and access to green spaces, championed locations that have showcased great community spirit.

“The feeling of involvement in and concern for one’s local community is being challenged — and celebrated  — as never before. We wish everyone well wherever they live.”

Top of the list is the delightful harbour town of Ballycastle, which has everything the judges were looking for; a thriving high street, an epic setting (this is Game of Thrones country), and it has a forward-looking food scene and residents who care about their homes and each other.

Northern Ireland’s capital also makes a return to the list, with South Belfast the most favoured corner of the city due to its laid-back lifestyle. It’s also home to two of the city’s cultural titans – the Lyric Theatre and the Queen’s Film Theatre.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The three other entries in the guide from Northern Ireland are all in Co Down: the village of Dundrum, the cheerful and colourful Georgian town of Hillsborough, and Belfast’s gilded seaside suburb Holywood; impeccably connected to both the city and the great outdoors, with all the ingredients for a happy, upwardly mobile life.

The Sunday Times Best Places to Live in Britain covers the following regions: North and Northeast, Midlands, Northern Ireland, Southeast, Wales, Southwest, East, London, Scotland and the Northwest. It also reveals the overall Best Place to Live in the UK.