'Fabulous' market town named best place to live in Wales


The Sunday Times judges picked Usk as best place to live in Wales

A thriving Welsh market town known for its award-winning floral displays and praised for its sense of community has been named the best place to live in Wales in a new guide.

Usk in Monmouthshire was chosen because of its attractive setting and convenient location, according to the Sunday Times.

Six other locations in Wales were included in the guide, which named Norwich in Norfolk the overall best place to live in the UK.

Among them were Anglesey, described by judges as "breathtakingly beautiful", Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, which boasts the best secondary school in Wales, and the Cardiff neighbourhood of Pontcanna. Aberystwyth in Ceredigion, Crickhowell in Powys and Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire also made the list.


Crickhowell, located in the Brecon Beacons in Powys, was also among the Sunday Times' Best Places to Live in Wales

Located on the river Usk, which gives the town its name, judges said volunteers were "involved in everything in the 'Town of Flowers', from planting the 2,500 plants to secure its latest Britain in Bloom gold award to running the annual Usk Show."

"It's a place where nesting boxes are provided for swifts, where wild swimmers campaigned for a £10 million wastewater upgrade to combat river pollution and where more than 60 community groups - covering subjects such as astronomy and philosophy - keep the calendar full to bursting," it added.

Once a Roman encampment site, the town also boasts a castle dating back to the Norman invasion of Wales. Many of its buildings date back to the early 19th Century period when it developed into a market town.

(BBC article continues)