Esteemed UK newspaper The Sunday Times’ has published its list of the ‘Best places to live in the UK 2025’, and it features two Greater Manchester boroughs.
Us Mancs didn’t need anymore clarification to know that where we live is incredible but we’ll always take it, especially when the compliment is coming from none other than The Sunday Times.
The publication revealed its annual guide of ‘Best places to live 2025’ which featured more than 70 different locations throughout the nation.
Although we may have been pipped to the top spot, Greater Manchester is featured not once, but twice, which is pretty impressive.
Claiming the victory this year is the market town with a name as pretty as its surroundings, Saffron Walden, which is only 15 miles from Cambridge.
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The locations were ranked through a number of key categories including transport, house prices, broadband, schools and a new addition, mobile signal.
All the contributors to the full list acknowledge the obvious missing puzzle piece,food, and we know if this was factored in a few more Greater Manchester locations may have nabbed the ‘Best places to live’ honour.
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The first Greater Manchester based entry is The Heatons, a hotspot nestled between the city centreand the city of Stockport, which is actually four neighbourhoods – Heaton Chapel, Mersey, Moor and Norris.
These areas are home to living history in the form of the iconic century old Savoy Cinema and lots of open green spaces.
Food may have been missed off The Sunday Times’ list but it certainly didn’t go a miss on ours.
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Mossley has been named on The Sunday Times Best Places to Live list. Credit: Instagram, @ariadneexploresThe Heatons also made the list. Credit: Instagram, @fourtheheatons
The second spot which managed to grab the title of ‘Best places to live 2025’ is Mossley, a town packed to the brim with cosy cottages, blissful walks and a close-knit friendly community.
It’s not too far from Dovestone Reservoir and the Peak District National Park – when you’ve got all this greenery on your doorstep you’re bound to be in a good mood.
Our friends over in Leeds at The Hoothave lots to cheer about as Ilkley, Hebden Bridge, Easingwold and Ripon all got a mention.
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You can find out the full rundown on all the spots up and down the country that have been selected as part of ‘The Sunday Times’ Best places to live for 2025′ HERE.
The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick’n’mix sausage and mash menu
Daisy Jackson
There’s a Peak District pub that’s turned one of Britain’s most beloved comfort foods into a full-on pick’n’mix.
Tucked away in the postcard-perfect village of Castleton, Ye Olde Nags Head is serving up a fully customisable menu of sausage and mash dishes.
We’re talking near-endless combinations of proper pub grub.
You start by choosing your sausages from a daily rotating selection (not a sentence you hear every day, but we’re into it).
Expect classics like Cumberland alongside more adventurous options like venison and mustard, or even wild boar and orange, plus a veggie sausage daily.
Then it’s onto the mash – you can go for flavours like cheese and onion, wholegrain mustard, or even black pudding mash.
Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauceVeggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravyTucking in
To finish? A choice of rich, hearty gravies and sauces to bring it all together, whether that’s a classic onion gravy, a peppercorn sauce, or a creamy wild mushroom sauce.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can even upgrade your bangers and mash pick’n’mix by having it all served inside a giant Yorkshire pudding.
Ye Olde Nags Head is a historic 17th-century pub, with a roaring fire in every room and cosy bedrooms upstairs.
Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak DistrictYe Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor
It’s one of those flagstone-floored, beamed-ceilinged, mismatched-furniture type pubs that welcomes everyone in every state, whether you’re caked in mud from a hike or popping in on a coach tour.
Another of the pub’s specialties is the Derbyshire Breakfast, a hearty plate of sausage, smoked bacon, black pudding, free range egg, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
The pub also offers takeaway breakfast butties, so you can use it for both a pre-hike stop and a post-hike pint.
Given it’s just minutes from the ever-popular Mam Tor hike, this is one pub you’ll definitely want to add to your next Peak District day out itinerary.
The hillside farm in the Peak District making its own ice cream
Daisy Jackson
Did you know there’s a 300-year-old farm in the Peak District serving up some of the freshest ice cream you’ll ever taste? And yes, you can meet the cows that made it while you’re there.
Welcome to Hope Valley Ice Cream, a family-run gem where things are kept refreshingly simple: happy cows, proper farming, and seriously good ice cream.
Set in the heart of the Peak District countryside, this place is about as wholesome as it gets.
The ice cream is made on-site in the farmhouse, literally just metres from where the dairy herd are out grazing.
You can watch the animals, wander around the farm, and then tuck into a scoop or three perched on a milk pail stool, or a picnic bench (or even a decorative tractor).
Hope Valley Ice Cream has some amazing seasonal ice creams, like lemon curd, elderflower, and blackberry, alongside all the classics and a rather delicious tiramisu.
You can grab a cone, sit down with a coffee (again, made with milk from the nearby cows), or go all in with a freshly-made waffle if you’re feeling fancy.
Takeaway tubs from Hope Valley Ice CreamYou can get a mini pail of ice creamMeet the newborn calves at Hope Valley Ice CreamTuck into your ice cream on a milk pail stoolHope Valley Ice Cream
And if you’re the type who really loves ice cream? You can actually order a full pail of it, with four huge scoops plus whipped cream and sauce.
The farm itself is run by the Marsden family, who’ve been working this land for generations. It shows in everything – they’ve created a place that feels genuinely welcoming, not just another tourist stop.
Beyond the ice cream, you’ve got plenty of reasons to stick around. There are calves (including the newest tiny arrivals), plus donkeys and pigs to say hello to.
Whether you’re heading out on a hike or just fancy a drive into the Peaks, this is one pitstop that’s absolutely worth it – and honestly, it’s worth the trip on its own.
Thomas Melia -
28th March 2025 
