The good life in rural Britain

Residents in the local authority are among the healthiest in the country and have one of the highest life expectancy rates, with babies born today expected to live to be an average of 80 years old, according to Halifax.

On top of this, 77% of people in the area own their own homes, which are larger than average, while the GCSE results at the local schools are also above average and the region gets around two hours more sunshine per week than is typical across the country.

People in South Cambridgeshire were found to have the next best quality of life for a rural area, followed by those in East Hertfordshire. Overall, the East of England region had seven of the top 10 rural areas for the best quality of life.

Mid Sussex, Chiltern and West Berkshire were the only regions outside of the East to make it into the top 10.

Local authorities in southern England dominated the top 30 best places to live, taking up 26 of the spots.

People living in the local authority area of Harborough in Leicestershire have the best quality of life outside of southern England, ranked 14th overall, due to its larger than average houses, very high life expectancy and some of the best GCSE results in Great Britain.

People in Castle Morpeth in Northumberland have the best quality of life in northern England, coming 27th overall, followed by Cheshire, which was 34th, and Hambleton, in North Yorkshire, which was 35th.

Aberdeenshire was the top rural local authority in which to live in Scotland, enjoying the highest pay north of the border, a high employment rate, good school results and low traffic and crime levels.

In Wales, Monmouthshire offered the highest quality of life in a rural area, boasting the highest salaries in Wales, high levels of home ownership and good health and long life expectancy among its residents.