SKIPTON has returned to the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.

Ten years after the town was named best place to live in Britain, it features in the top places to live in the north and northeast.

With Leeds as the winner, it is included in seven other desirable locations, including Boston Spa, North Yorkshire, Saltaire in West Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Wolds, and Whitley Bay.

Of Skipton, the judges say: "Skipton, The 2014 Best Places to Live winner returns to the list, with this friendly market town providing families and active downsizers with everything they need for a happy life on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, including good pubs and restaurants, a smattering of culture and high-achieving schools."

Published by The Sunday Times, the list includes 72 locations across the UK and is online today. An abridged version will be published as a magazine supplement on Sunday.

Helen Davies, editorial projects director and Best Places to Live editor, said: “This guide is a celebration of towns, cities and villages that are each a fantastic place to live in 2024, from Dunkeld to Knutsford, Falmouth to Leeds. Wherever you are on the property ladder, there will be somewhere to suit you.

“These are all places where you can feel grounded as well as upwardly mobile: they have a mature sense of community, lively, supportive high streets and an eye to the future, whether that is eco-friendly measures, transport and regeneration, or imaginative inclusion of new housing.”