Follow our guide to the UK and Ireland's most desirable historic and newly-named cities – and see what it takes to buy there

Over the past three years, for understandable reasons, the nation became even more fixated with the housing market than it had been. The focus was the countryside: Zoom dinner-party conversation was dominated by tales of neighbours who had jacked it all in to start a pig farm in Somerset or build an ecolodge in the Highlands. 

However, this trend is finally showing signs of reversing. Enquiries about moving to UK cities rose 50 per cent in the year to January 2022, while the number of queries about homes in the countryside started to slow. Many still want to move out of the heaving metropolis and buy more space, but many of us are returning to the office, and the need for convenience is moving back up the list of buyer priorities.

As a result, the appeal of Britain’s smallest cities, often perceived as sleepy or off the beaten track, is on the rise for those who want easy, quick access to amenities, schools, employment, public transport and greenery – a trend that analysts predict will continue.

“Over the past few years, small cities have performed well on the back of changing buyer preferences. They offer the best of both worlds for those who are looking to move out of the busier cities but don’t want to make the jump to rural life,” says Stephanie Thomson at Savills.

“Now that office workers are returning, the local economies of these small cities are likely to benefit from an increase in footfall and we anticipate some form of rebalancing away from rural markets,” she adds.

This has been evident in Wells in Somerset – the smallest city in the UK. Demand this May was 24 per cent higher than in January 2020, while inquiries for Salisbury jumped 86 per cent (Rightmove).

New research by Savills and The Telegraph reveals the most desirable “micro-cities”. The top 10 all have populations of around 100,000 or less; selections have been made based on high house prices and house price movement over the past year and past five years. The analysis also shows affordability versus the county average.

Buyers fall for these ancient cities with historic centres, often near a cathedral; yet house prices in these areas are significantly lower than such big-city equivalents as Mayfair in London, Clifton in Bristol or Summertown in Oxford.

Paul Swinney, director of policy and research for the Centre for Cities, says small cities have a strong community feel, which he puts down to the fact they have one centre, as opposed to the polycentric nature of London. Tradition and long-established culture play a part here too with eel-throwing (not real eels) in Ely and pedal-car racing in Lichfield.

Kate Eales, head of residential for Strutt & Parker, says life is easier in the smallest cities – which include the likes of Winchester, Chichester and Truro. 

“The pace of life is slower. People want to be able to walk to public transport and park easily on city centre streets that accommodate a buggy,” says Eales. “These cities have very attractive period housing and a range of stock, from small worker cottages to grand Georgian town houses. Both families and downsizers enquire very specifically about moving to such places.”

Here are the 10 most desirable of Britain’s historic tiny cities, where small really is beautiful.

⇢ Population: 82,146 ⇢ Average house price: £624,789 ⇢ House price rise over the past five years: 13 per cent  ⇢ Properties here are 20 per cent more expensive than the county average

St Albans Cathedral is a fine example of 11th-century Romanesque architecture, with 19th-century additions and England’s longest nave at 278ft. It has kept pace with modern society and live-streams services and concerts. The former abbey is next to the 100-acre Verulamium Park with an ornamental lake and the River Ver running through it. 

This urban wildlife haven also has the adiZone fitness centre, a café and play zone, an indoor swimming pool and a model boating lake. The St Albans half-marathon takes place in June and starts and finishes in the park, while Pub Pride returned for its second year at the end of May, celebrated in venues such as the Mad Squirrel Taproom. 

There is a wonderful array of homes to choose from, ranging from 16th-century cottages starting at £550,000 in the city’s conservation area, to five- and six-bedroom homes on the outskirts, which can fetch from £1,000,000 to £2,000,000, says Martin Gibbins of Hamptons.

“St Albans’s transport links have long made it an extremely popular place for buyers looking for the ability to commute easily into London. Since the pandemic and the rise of flexible working, the city has drawn even more people who are looking for the perfect slice of city life with access to great countryside – this is especially true of families,” adds Nick Ingle of Savills. The train between St Pancras and St Albans takes between 20 and 30 minutes.

⇢ Population: 45,184 ⇢ Average house price: £609,723 ⇢ House price rise over the past five years: 23 per cent  ⇢ Properties here are 60 per cent more expensive than the county average

Property in the centre of Winchester is in high demand, says Toby Gullick of Knight Frank, and there is a shortage of family homes in the £800,000 to £1.4 million bracket. 

“The property market remains very strong with buyers looking for properties with home offices. We frequently hear buyers saying they are looking for a change of lifestyle, moving from sprawling cities to smaller ones like Winchester,” he says. Gullick has just sold a period terraced house for £865,000 and a four-bedroom end-of-terrace, which needs modernising, for £700,000.

The centre has many cafés and restaurants, including a branch of the Ivy. The Consortium on Jewry Street sells antiques and retro furniture and there’s also a new sports complex.

Winchester attracts families (due to its schools, for example the Ofsted-rated outstanding Peter Symonds College), but also downsizers who want to be near to grandchildren and within walking distance from amenities. There is a new 33-apartment retirement village on the western edge of the city called Pegasus Winchester Holts. The quickest train to Southampton takes 15 minutes.

⇢ Population: 94,782 ⇢ Average house price: £524,339 ⇢ House price rise over the past five years: 20 per cent  ⇢ Properties here are 52 per cent more expensive than the county average

Bath is famous for its Georgian architecture, with sweeping curved terraces of distinctive sandstone town houses and converted apartments built in the Regency era, such as the Royal Terrace – a row of 30 Grade I-listed properties. 

The city centre is a Unesco World Heritage Site and from its elevated position (or from the Bath Skyline Walk) views stretch across the Avon Valley. Hunter Harling of Savills describes it as a manageable city. “If you live quite centrally you won’t need a car. We talk about 15-minute cities and Bath is the perfect example of this.”

Harling also refers to the range of people who live in Bath, from students to retirees, and as a result believes it’s “forward thinking”. The Olive Tree is the longest established independent restaurant in the city and the only one with a Michelin star, and it is still possible to enjoy a Bath Bunn in Sally Lunn’s Historic Eating House.

⇢ Population: 28,657 ⇢ Average house price: £406,721 ⇢ House price rise over the Past five years: 9.1 per cent  ⇢ Properties here are 5.2 per cent less expensive than the county average

It takes at least an hour and a half to travel from London to Chichester. This had been off-putting for many families looking to commute, until the pandemic. “While we continue to have downsizers and second-home buyers drawn to the area, we have seen a trend of more families from London and Surrey moving to enjoy the county-coast lifestyle, thanks to remote working,” says Alex Leigh of Hamptons. 

In the city centre there are award-winning restaurants, such as Potager, which offers private dining and has two AA rosettes, as well as the Turkish eatery Reina Kitchen and the Rocking Horse cocktail bar. Chichester Harbour comprises a string of chocolate-box villages dotted around the water’s edge, such as Bosham and Itchenor. There are crabbing competitions for all ages, harbour walks and sailing is a way of life.

⇢ Population: 10,536 ⇢ Average house price: £321,551 ⇢ House price rise over the past five years: 17 per cent  ⇢ Properties here are 7 per cent less expensive than the county average

Wells is the smallest city in England but it punches above its weight in terms of tourism and culture, with visitors flocking to see the cathedral and the Bishop’s Palace. The events programme is varied, from the Comedy Festival featuring big names such as Paul Foot, and the Wells Festival of Literature, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in October. There is currently an Antony Gormley abstract sculpture outside the cathedral.

“People come to Wells as day trippers or weekenders, fall in love with it, and move here,” says estate agent Sally Killen, founder of Killens. “When the sun is shining it feels very European around the central marketplace, which is full of cafés, shops and restaurants,” she says.

The Bishop’s Eye wine bar is run by Louis Agabani, 51, and his wife Pip, 54, who moved from London 20 years ago to start their own business and raise a family. The couple live on the outskirts of the city with their two grown-up children, Archie, 21, and Poppy, 18.

Agabani worked in the M&S headquarters as a buyer while Pip was an accountant and swapped the frantic nature of central London for a gentler pace.

“We have always felt very safe here,” he says. “It takes four minutes to walk across the city centre, and you always see someone you know.” The Bishop’s Eye wine bar is in the middle of the central square in a building that dates back to 1450 and serves Somerset cheeses and charcuterie, and fish boards, paired with new world wines. Agabani also recommends the Queen Street Deli, fashion boutique Amba and the hardware store Whiting & Son.

⇢ Population: 19,090 ⇢ Average house price: £355,392 ⇢ House price rise over the past five years: 21 per cent  ⇢ Properties here are 2.5 per cent more expensive than the county average

Surrounded by marshes and fenland, Ely, on the River Great Ouse, is only 15 minutes on the train from Cambridge but isolated enough for those who want to feel off the beaten track. The estate agent Tucker Gardner sums it up: “Ely is renowned for its beautiful cathedral and highly regarded King’s school. 

It has a rich history and many pubs and restaurants with great transport links to Cambridge and London and links to the M11 motorway and A14 dual carriageway.” Schools rated good by Ofsted include Ely St John’s Primary School and Ely College for 11- to 18-year-olds. 

There’s plenty going on with the vegan café Truly Scrumptious, the Old Fire Engine House and the Three Blind Mice brewery. Cottages on the cobbled streets around the cathedral are in high demand, but there are also new-build homes available in the centre, too.

⇢ Population: 54,880 ⇢ Average house price: £331,624 ⇢ House price rise over the past five years: 13 per cent  ⇢ Properties here are 12 per cent less expensive than the county average

James Henley of Jackson-Stops says commuting from London to Canterbury started in Chaucerian times, albeit by foot or horseback rather than on the train with the luxury of a drinks trolley. It takes one hour and 17 minutes from Canterbury West to Blackfriars. Canterbury Cathedral is a Unesco World Heritage Site and a tourist attraction, which brings custom to the extensive shopping in the city, with high-street brands at the Whitefriars Shopping Centre (M&S, Zara and H&M), and there is still a department store – Fenwick. 

The Walrus & Oyster is an emporium of artisans with gifts, art and jewellery on sale, and the chocolatier Madame Oiseau is on King’s Mile. “This year we have seen a rise in demand for properties in the villages within five miles, with a particular focus on characterful homes with extensive gardens or land. 

Popular village hotspots such as Sturry will continue to appeal to Londoners looking for more space just 10 minutes’ walking distance from Canterbury city centre,” says James Henley. “The levels of interest and inquiries haven’t slowed down. Just last week we agreed sales on more properties than we have in any two weeks combined in the past two years,” he adds.

⇢ Population: 44,748 ⇢ Average house price: £328,457 ⇢ House price rise over the past five years: 16 per cent  ⇢ Properties here are 0.1 per cent more expensive than the county average

“Salisbury saw an influx of buyers and high numbers of sales during the exodus from London – it’s been a frantic couple of years – with movers looking towards Salisbury as a more affordable alternative to the likes of Winchester or Bath,” says Sarah Cull of Strutt & Parker. 

The most sought-after housing stock are low-slung medieval houses or handsome Victorian terraces, she continues, naming Mill Road as one of the most desirable roads, with 19th-century homes offering views across Queen Elizabeth Gardens and Harnham Water Meadows. 

The station is at the end of the road with trains into London taking 90 minutes. Independent businesses include the shoe boutique Raffinée, the clothes shop OSO and Maul’s wine and cheese bar. “Many buyers are attracted to the small feel of the city. They like that you bump into friends at the market and that you know your neighbours,” says Cull.

⇢ Population: 32,877 ⇢ Average house price: £311,377 ⇢ House price rise over the past five years: 21 per cent  ⇢ Properties here are 35 per cent more expensive than the county average

Lichfield is a “really successful” small city, says Paul Swinney. “Our research has shown that Birmingham, and its surrounding satellite towns, underperforms its size. The capital of the West Midlands has lower productivity and fewer highly skilled jobs than its scale should dictate. But Lichfield bucks this trend,” he says. 

He describes the small cathedral city as having affluent residents with high-paid jobs, low crime, a low dependency on benefits and historic, attractive housing stock. Kieran Beck of Connells is experiencing “very high buyer demand for three- and four-bedroom homes,” he says. 

“The joy of living in Lichfield is that you are only ever a short walk away from a coffee shop, supermarket or a market stall, and it’s home to plenty of small businesses, such as restaurants and bars,” Beck adds. Classic cars and pedal cars compete on the Curborough sprint track (on the old RAF Lichfield site) and there’s an antiques centre, several Georgian museums and a social enterprise coffee shop in the Hub at St Mary’s Church.

⇢ Population: 20,332 ⇢ Average house price: £306,061 ⇢ House price rise over the past five years: 26 per cent  ⇢ Properties here are 0.8 per cent less expensive than the county average

Truro is the only city in Cornwall as of 1877 and has a rare three-spire neo-gothic cathedral. According to Sophie Bowden of Miller Countrywide there is a healthy amount of homes coming on to the market. Bowden says homes range in price from £200,000 to more than £1 million, with the odd celebrity dotted around. 

“It’s well-known on the Truro grapevine that a famous rock star from the band Queen lives in the area,” she says. “First-time buyers will need £250,000 to buy a modest two-bedroom terraced house and more than £400,000 for a five-bedroom in need of modernisation.” 

Bowden adds that the Muddy Stilettos blog says Truro can be overlooked by second-home buyers who want to be by the seaside in Cornwall, which makes this quayside city more affordable than some of its coastal counterparts. The blog also recommends Sabzi deli by MasterChef finalist Kate Attlee, restaurant and lounge Sam’s in the City and the Alverton Hotel.

Eight towns won city status as part of the Jubilee celebrations earlier this month, demonstrating a unique community, a strong local identity and royal association. “City status is important for civic pride and helps strengthen further a sense of community,” says Paul Swinney for the Centre for Cities. 

“But the new status won’t necessarily drive investment or convince companies to relocate there. Be careful not to mix up the Jubilee and royal reasons to award city status to these places with an economic case. The two are very different,” he says. But for homebuyers, the winners may provide some inspiration.

⇢ Average house price: £229,025 (according to Savills) 

Artist Julia James moved from Islington to the outskirts of Colchester in 1994 and has witnessed a many changes. “It was a very rural town back then and you certainly couldn’t get a cappuccino, but now it is a fast-growing city,” she says.

Gainsborough’s House (a gallery in the artist’s former home) is one of her favourite haunts and is undergoing development ready to open in the autumn. 

There’s a department store (Fenwick) and the GreyFriars Hotel in a Grade II-listed 18th-century building in Colchester’s historic quarter. The hotel and restaurant is recommended in the Michelin guide. 

James, an abstract painter, is selling her family home, where she raised her son Alex, 28, in the nearby village of Great Horkesley. Some parts of the house date back to the 16th century and it has six bedrooms in two acres of gardens with wild flowering lawns and a tree-lined walkway (£1,850,000).

⇢ Average house price: £331,067 (according to Savills) 

Built in 1967, Milton Keynes has taken some stick over the years for its series of uniform roundabouts (130) and its concrete cows (a 1978 sculpture). But there is much more to the place. Milton Keynes Village has a church, green and pond and period housing. 

There’s Caldecotte Lake on the outskirts with its famous windmill (now a family-friendly pub), and rowing, angling, sailing and canoeing clubs. 

There is a new marina with 11 berths on the Grand Union Canal, walkable from the city centre, while Willen Lake has an aqua park. This sporty city also has indoor skiing and tobogganing at Xscape and Aston Martin is in the process of building a museum in Newport Pagnell to rival the Ferrari Museum in Italy.

⇢ Average house price: £178,350 (according to Savills)

There are large companies in and around this new city, including Airbus, Kellogg’s and Moneypenny, and the train line runs to Chester, Crewe and Manchester for larger employment centres. There’s an Odeon cinema and a bowling alley. 

Wrexham also has a lively music scene with venues such as Central Station and Rewind, and the Focus Wales Festival pulls in 300 local and international artists and bands, puts on film workshops and holds talks on the music biz (for tickets for May 2023).

⇢ Average house price: £127,942 (according to Savills)

Douglas existed as a settlement in Viking times, but by the 1870s it was a popular holiday resort (as a result of ferry links to Liverpool) with its two-mile Victorian promenade dotted with seafront hotels. A horse-drawn tramway runs visitors to the Manx Electric Railway and the top half of the island. 

It’s a foodie hotspot, with Manx queenie scallops being the national dish. The Barbary Coast is a budget-friendly restaurant with kids in mind, Jaks Bar & Smokehouse serves steaks, and head to Coast Bar & Brasserie for fine dining. The Tea Junction is the island’s first-ever tea room.

⇢ Average house price: £287,928 (according to Zoopla)

The population of the island is mainly British and most people live in Stanley, the capital, which has a deep harbour for visiting ships. Bars and restaurants, such as the Malvina House Hotel and Shorty’s Diner, can be found in the harbour too. It has a hospital, a swimming pool and an 18-hole golf course. 

Community events include an annual summer prom, sheep and shearing shows and dog trials. The mid-winter swim fundraiser sees people taking a dip in the South Atlantic. 

The school goes up to 16, after which pupils travel to the UK to attend Peter Symonds College in Winchester, or Chichester College if funded. Dog walkers, runners, surfers and whale watchers make their way to the sandy Surf Bay. 

⇢ Average house price: £168,445 (according to Savills) 

The market-town-turned-city, with Doncaster Minster at its centre, has one of the oldest racecourses in the world and plenty of cultural heritage, including the recently opened cultural hub Danum and the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum. Popular restaurants include the Spanish La Fiesta, La Boca steakhouse and La Rustica.

⇢ Average house price: £174,643 (according to Savills)

The cultural centre of the city is set around the Abbey and Carnegie Library & Galleries, which celebrates the philanthropist and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. 

There’s also a strong sporting element with a football club, rugby club and a basketball team, which plays in the top flight. Vegan baker Florence Ramage, 24, works at 269 Vegan café, serving up dishes such as scrambled tofu on toast with chilli jam. 

“There are a lot of small businesses in Dunfermline and therefore a real push for creativity. We have the Fire Station Creative, which hosts local artists and live jazz over cocktails,” says Ramage. 

“The music scene is great with exciting bands coming out of our city, such as Jupiter Strange. I have noticed there are more pubs putting on open mic nights and PJ Molloys has one of the most popular karaoke nights.” She also recommends Pittencrieff Park, a beautiful wildlife park with peacocks, and the Secret Door, a small antique store.

⇢ Average house price: £184,252 (according to Savills) 

This seaside resort has the Eisenhower Pier, so named because the US general addressed troops headed for the D-Day Landings. Edwardian houses line the front and act as a backdrop to the Blue Flag marina with the Royal Ulster Yacht Club and the Ballyholme Yacht Club, which makes it a first-class sailing venue. 

The Bloomfield shopping centre and Springhill retail park cater to most needs with plenty of independent stores as well. The Salty Dog is a boutique hotel in two converted Victorian town houses and there’s fine dining at the Boat House, in a building that dates back to 1849. 

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