'Fabulous' market town named best place to live in Wales

A thriving Welsh market town known for its award-winning floral displays and praised for its sense of community has been named the best place to live in Wales in a new guide.

Usk in Monmouthshire was chosen because of its attractive setting and convenient location, according to the Sunday Times.

Six other locations in Wales were included in the guide, which named Norwich in Norfolk the overall best place to live in the UK.

Among them were Anglesey, described by judges as "breathtakingly beautiful", Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, which boasts the best secondary school in Wales, and the Cardiff neighbourhood of Pontcanna.

Aberystwyth in Ceredigion, Crickhowell in Powys and Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire also made the list.

Located on the river Usk, which gives the town its name, judges said volunteers were "involved in everything in the 'Town of Flowers', from planting the 2,500 plants to secure its latest Britain in Bloom gold award to running the annual Usk Show."

"It's a place where nesting boxes are provided for swifts, where wild swimmers campaigned for a £10 million wastewater upgrade to combat river pollution and where more than 60 community groups - covering subjects such as astronomy and philosophy - keep the calendar full to bursting," it added.

Once a Roman encampment site, the town also boasts a castle dating back to the Norman invasion of Wales.

Many of its buildings date back to the early 19th Century period when it developed into a market town.

It now has an average house price of £450,600, the Sunday Times said, citing Lloyds Banking Group.

Jan Mundy, a volunteer with Usk in Bloom and local resident told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast is was "a fabulous place to live" with "amazing connections".

"I'm right in the middle between Cardiff, Bristol and the Brecon Beacons," she said.

"There's beautiful places to walk all around and there's such a sense of community here.

"There's something for everyone here and there's such a can-do attitude. When you need someone, there's always someone there to help, and that's what counts to me."

The Sunday Times judges visited all the locations on the list and assessed factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds and mobile signal to amenities, as well as access to high-quality green spaces and the health of the high street.

Judges commended Aberystwyth for being "a student-friendly, forward-looking resort town of many faces - all of them welcoming".

"It's a town that manages to be a surf-sprayed seaside resort, a prestigious university hub and an intellectual powerhouse all at once.

"On top of that, it has enough good shops, facilities and culture to ensure that life in deepest west Wales doesn't feel cut off," they said.

Anglesey, they said, had "interesting shops, pubs and restaurants" and "favourite secret spots to swim or watch the porpoises, seabirds and red squirrels while avoiding the holiday crowds".

Cardiff's sought-after suburb of Pontcanna was described by judges as "a city-dweller's dream that feels like a village", with "cute shops and cafés - and some of the capital's best restaurants".

Cowbridge made the list helped by the town's "medieval bones" which "meet Georgian elegance", while Llandeilo was praised for being a "down-to-earth market town where people from all walks of life come together to make things happen".

Crickhowell in Powys, a previous Best Places to Live in Wales winner, also made the list.

"This is a market town where the rugged scenery on the doorstep makes it great outdoors - and the community makes it just as good indoors," judges said.

"It's ideally positioned on the edge of the Brecon Beacons and residents not only have access to rugged terrain, rushing rivers and lush green hills, but also a thriving, proudly independent high street," they added.