Cambridgeshire: High Rating For Rural Life

29 March 2013, 09:36 | Updated: 31 March 2013, 19:13

Cambridgeshire has featured highly in the Halifax's list of countryside districts with the best lifestyles, with the North of England accounting for just three places in the top 50 and Scotland and Wales not appearing at all.

Uttlesford in Essex was only beaten to the top spot by Waverley in Surrey - with east Hertfordshire coming third in the survey - which scored districts on a range of criteria including health and life expectancy, exam results, employment and earnings, the environment, crime rates and house price affordability.

The Halifax Quality of Life Survey found the top spots performed strongly across the board in the factors it looked at.

Male residents typically had an average life expectancy of almost 81 years and 97% of the population generally is deemed to be in "good health''.

The average weekly wage is £888 - significantly above the UK average of £609. The employment rate is almost 80%, which is also well above typical UK levels.

Of the 50 local authority districts with the highest quality of life; the East of England claimed 13 spots.

While Northern England made a scant number of appearances on the top 50 list, the rural South performed more strongly when it came to employment, earnings, health and the weather.

The Isle of Wight was named as the sunniest place in Britain, with 37 hours of sunshine a week.

Here is how we feature in the top 50 rural areas in Britain with the best quality of life, according to Halifax:

1. Waverley

2. Uttlesford

3. East Hertfordshire

4. Chiltern

5. Maldon

6. South Cambridgeshire

7. Rushcliffe

8. Vale of White Horse

9. South Northamptonshire

10. South Oxfordshire

11. Rutland

12. Mid Sussex

13. Aylesbury Vale

14. East Cambridgeshire

15. West Oxfordshire

16. East Dorset

17. Tandridge

18. Harborough

19. Suffolk Coastal

20. West Berkshire

21. Tonbridge and Malling

22. South Kesteven

23. St Edmundsbury

24. Huntingdonshire

25. Wychavon

26. East Northamptonshire

27. New Forest

28. Wealden

29. Test Valley

30. East Hampshire

31. Mid Suffolk

32. North Kesteven

33. Selby

34. South Norfolk

35. Melton

36. Shepway

37. Babergh

38. Tewkesbury

39. East Riding of Yorkshire

40. Broadland

41. Cotswold

42. Hambleton

43. Cherwell

44. Malvern Hills

45. Hinckley and Bosworth

46. Forest Heath

47. Newark and Sherwood

48. Wiltshire

49. Purbeck

50. West Lindsey