This fun-loving town on the Thames floats back into our Best Places to Live guide on a tide of community spirit. There’s simply no excuse to be bored here – we could easily fill this entry with a list of the annual events, but here’s a brief taster: vintage car rally, blues and beer festival, rowing regatta, pancake races, summer carnival, swan-upping… not to mention more markets than you can shake your bag for life at, including one on Fridays, which has been going since the 12th century. Then there are the big music festivals: BunkFest, in early September, has grown from its origins as a folk and dance event, but is still volunteer-run and free to enter, while Rugfest is organised by the local
SOUTHEAST
Wallingford, Oxfordshire — Best Places to Live in the UK 2020
It’s the home of Midsomer Murders, but a packed social calendar leaves no time to kill in a delightful riverside town where local pride runs deep
Best Places to Live: Wallingford is a great place for messing about on the river
ALAMY
The Sunday Times