00:00 Our aim is to pick out the places in the country where people are happiest and proudest to
00:06 call home. So in some ways that just means literally adding up things that make you happy
00:13 and subtracting the things that make you annoyed and seeing where it comes out well.
00:18 The judging panel has a whole list of things to look out for when making their annual choices.
00:22 Fast trains and good schools, but they might also be a thriving high street with lots of
00:27 independent shops, lots of useful shops, cafes, pubs. It might be things like beautiful architecture,
00:35 amazing countryside, being somewhere good by the sea. Also one of the things we look
00:40 at quite a lot these days is places that are getting better. So places that are on a good
00:45 journey. And the other thing of course is places with a strong community where you feel
00:50 part of things, where you'd like your neighbours, everyone looks out for each other and the
00:55 people who live there are willing to work hard to make the place as good as it can be.
00:59 Based on these categories, the likes of Altrincham in Cheshire, Skipton in North Yorkshire and
01:04 Stamford in Lincolnshire have won the top prize in years gone by. But what about for 2024?
01:09 The crown jewel this year, our overall winner is in Scotland. It's our first ever Scottish
01:14 winner, our first ever seaside town that has won and it is North Berwick in East Lothian,
01:20 which is a fantastic little town, half an hour by train from Edinburgh, two great beaches,
01:26 feels just a tiny bit wild, but it's also got a fantastic high street, lots of great
01:31 independent shops, a really good place, a very good place to do business. And what would
01:38 sell it for me on its own is the fact that it does have some of the very best croissants
01:42 in the country from its local bakery.
01:43 Sounds like I'll have to be making a trip there.
01:47 Definitely. I would heartily, you know, I couldn't recommend it anymore, certainly as
01:50 a place to live. House prices are expensive, though, be warned. It's, you know, it is definitely
01:55 one of Scotland's very top addresses.
01:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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