Towcester has been named among the UK’s best places to live for 2027.

The south Northamptonshire market town was included in Muddy Stilettos’ list of the UK’s Top 260 Best Places to Live, published at the end of October.

Published annually, the guide picks out the best places to live in each county and looks at what they offer, from schools, commuting and house prices to where to eat, shop and spend a weekend.

Towcester is one of eight places in Northamptonshire to make the list, alongside Daventry, Brackley, Brixworth, Long Buckby, Middleton Cheney, Aynho and Oundle.

Why Towcester made the list

The guide calls Towcester a “buzzy market town” that is “perfectly positioned for commuting, and surrounded by acres of green space”.

“Towcester has enjoyed something of a renaissance with the redevelopment of the Moat Lane area and the opening up of the Water Meadows parklands, once part of the Easton Neston estate,” it says.

“Say hello to a wave of new indie businesses and housing,” it adds.

“Towcester’s foodie scene is on a roll,” according to the guide, which sends readers to Ten Hands, Bell Plantation Café and The Old Bakery for coffee and brunch.

For dinner it names The Moghul Rooms for “excellent Indian food” and The Folly Inn as “a cracking gastropub championing local produce”.

The Watling Street Village gets a mention as “a contemporary bar and restaurant in a historic coaching inn, complete with a beer garden”.

A row of white-painted and red-brick shops along Watling Street in Towcester, with cars parked in front
Watling Street, Towcester. Photo: David Howard, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph

“There’s a Waitrose, praise be, plus a burgeoning clutch of indie shops in town,” the guide says, picking out Hopping Hare’s “gorgeously scented artisan candles”.

It names Towcester Museum, which “showcases the town’s Roman roots”, and calls Silverstone Circuit, home to the British Grand Prix and MotoGP, “the biggest show in town”.

National Trust gardens at Stowe and the house at Canons Ashby are “just a 10-min drive away”, it adds.

How much it costs to live in Towcester

“Good news for house-hunters: Towcester’s property prices have dipped 5% over the past year,” the guide says.

Homes in the town sold for an average of £352,537, according to the guide, with detached properties at £499,566, semis at £304,861 and terraces at £292,029.

The town has no railway station, but the guide puts Milton Keynes Central around 20 minutes away down the A5, with fast trains reaching London Euston “in as little as 33 mins”.

What do you think makes Towcester a good place to live? Tell us in the comments.