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Revealed: UK’s top cities to live in for nature lovers

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
04/11/2021

Living in a city needn’t mean sacrificing access to nature, as this list shows

Plymouth is the best UK city to live in for nature lovers, according to McCarthy Stone.

The southern city topped the rankings in a study that scored cities by combining five factors, including rare species of animals, stargazing spots, National Trust sites, and outdoor activities nearby, with each city being awarded points out of 100 per ranking.

Plymouth came top scoring 345 points out of a possible 500, with 10 National Trust sites, four National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty on its doorstep.

Southampton was second, with the coastal city earning 297 points, thanks to a number of nearby nature spots.

In third place was London, due to the capital’s 240 outdoor activities, making it one of the greenest cities on the list.

The rest of the top 10 are below:

Top 10 UK cities for nature

1. Plymouth
2. Southampton
3. London
4. Bristol
5. Newcastle
6. Swansea
7. Oxford
8. Wolverhampton
9. Birmingham
10. Bournemouth.

Star city

Budding astronomers might want to consider living in Bristol, which was found to be the UK’s star city. The city boasts four major stargazing spots and has some of the lowest light pollution levels in the country.

Nearby Cardiff followed closely behind as the second-best city for stargazing, with London securing third place.

Miruna Constantinescu, marketing director at McCarthy Stone, said: “From stargazing to national parks, it’s amazing to see the wealth of natural hotspots which the UK has to offer in such proximity to large parts of the population.

“The lure of coastal and countryside developments may seem like the obvious choice for nature-lovers but, this study has shown that you can enjoy amazing nature sites on your doorstep across the UK.

“We understand the importance of getting outdoors, especially after living under restrictions over the past 18 months, and it’s great to be able to highlight some of the UK’s natural beauty.”