Mumbles is 'Wales' best place to live' in Sunday Times list

The best place to live in Wales is Mumbles in Swansea, according to a list compiled by The Sunday Times.

It replaces Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, which topped the poll last year but does not make the 2018 list at all.

The newspaper drew on factors, including community spirit, broadband speed, shops and judges' views.

In total, 10 Welsh towns and villages make it on to the best places to live in Britain list for 2018.

There were 12 on the list in 2017 and only four locations - Abergavenny and Monmouth in Monmouthshire, Abersoch, Gwynedd and Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan - retain their places.

Of fishing village Mumbles, the guide says: "It was a bit run-down at the turn of the millennium but has just had a serious makeover.

"The area around the pier has been given a multimillion-pound face-lift, the Tivoli arcade has been transformed into a parade of high-end restaurants and fashion shops, the British Legion is becoming an M&S and the rugby club has been rebranded as Bar 1887.

"Mumbles' run of good fortune shows no sign of stopping."

It points to a recent Welsh Government allocation of £682,000 to widen the promenade, while famous faces such as a singer Bonnie Tyler along with actresses Catherine Zeta-Jones and Joanna Page are regularly spotted.

The list also gives the most affordable - with houses in Abersoch, Gwynedd (£119,500) and St Davids, Pembrokeshire (£125,000), the cheapest.

It compiles areas from Wales, Scotland and England's regions, with Cowbridge not the only big-hitter from 2017 missing out.

The Sunday Times home editor Helen Davies said: "Britain is scattered with thriving towns and villages, cool cities and suburbs, though people may be surprised how many traditional favourites haven't made the cut in 2018."