An alternative guide to the 'best place to live in UK'

Sitting on the Buttercross after a night out - a Winchester tradition

Winchester has been named the "best place to live in the UK".

Researchers from The Halifax ranked areas based on things like life expectancy, crime levels, broadband access and the weather.

Alright, so they're hardly the most thrilling criteria in the world.

With this in mind, we asked two Winchester locals, Josh and Bex, to put together an alternative guide to the city.

On a night out

"There are very few places that are open after 12," explains Bex who's a 21-year-old student.

"We have got a great amount of pubs, which is marvellous, but everybody tends to end up in the same place after midnight, which is usually a place called Alfie's at the bottom of town.

Josh, who's a professional musician, agrees.

"There are really nice pubs. The best area for a night out is around the statue of Winchester's founder, King Alfred.

The beer garden at Alfie's

"There didn't used to be any clubs or bars that stayed open late, but there are now so things are getting better."

As with most cities, Winchester also has some strange local traditions to liven up the long walk home.

"You've got the Buttercross, which is a monument in town and there's a legend that if you sit on it then you're destined to always return to Winchester," says Bex.

"So a standard of a Winchester night out is that you have your photo taken on it."

On a date

You've enjoyed your night out, but now you want to get down to some serious courtship.

Well, Winchester has you covered.

"The geography surrounding the city is brilliant," explains Bex, "there's a famous hill called St Catherine's Hill."

"Rather than going on a 'lovely country walk', you can watch the sun rise from up there after a night out.

"I'd say it's probably one of the most romantic things you can do. It's gorgeous."

Bringing your guitar up St Catherine's Hill is optional

Josh has different ideas.

"I would take you to our lovely high street and maybe to see the Cathedral.

"You could also see King Arthur's round table and then finish it off with a pint."

We're sold.

At a gig... maybe

"The music scene is really picking up," says Josh, "It's got a lovely community, loads of artists live there.

"Although I myself recently moved to London to pursue my music career, there are a couple of places in Winchester.

"The Railway Inn was the only music venue until recently when The Winchester Piano Studios opened its doors to live music.

"But most people, like me, seem to move out to London to pursue their ambitions."

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