Orkney is best rural place to live... thanks to great pubs
FOR years it has topped the Scottish list for the best rural place to live.
But now, for the first time, the Orkney Islands have also taken the accolade for the whole of Great Britain – thanks to the abundance of pubs.
The area took the crown from leafy South Oxfordshire thanks to altered criteria. Methodological changes have seen the number of public houses taken into account in this year’s personal well-being survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
For those living in Orkney there are 20 pubs per every 10,000 adults. South Oxfordshire, with only 14.9 pubs, has fallen to 24th place, while the second spot is now occupied by Wychavon in Worcestershire.
Orkney also scored highly in terms of happiness, safety, employment rate and schooling, helping it to secure the top spot in the latest Bank of Scotland Rural Quality of Life Survey, which is based on the ONS data.
Prior to this year, Orkney has taken Scotland’s top spot in the rural quality of life survey since 2012. Last year, however, it came in at number 46 in the UK.
Factors that helped the islands win first place include a high employment rate – 87.6 per cent compared to the rural average of 77.4 per cent – and the UK’s lowest crime rate. Islanders also have the lowest levels of anxiety and the overwhelming majority of adults, 96.6 per cent, report that they are in good health.
Schoolchildren on the islands benefit from Britain’s highest spending per pupil – £9,281, double the UK average of £4,622.
Despite its impressive array of drinking establishments, Orkney is home to slightly fewer than Argyll and Bute which has 25.2 pubs per 10,000 adults. The Scottish average is 9.5.
Bank of Scotland mortgage director Graham Blair said: ‘The Orkney Islands is a stunning part of Scotland with some beautiful scenery.
‘Pair this with one of the lowest population densities and traffic levels in Scotland, as well as the lowest levels of anxiety and highest life satisfaction ratings, and it is not surprising that the Orkney Islands offer a quality of life that is unmatched elsewhere in rural Britain.’
Meanwhile, the BoS Rural Quality of Life Survey also shows that East Lothian is Scotland’s sunniest place, with an average of 26.5 hours of sunshine a week – one more than the national average.
It also has the lowest typical annual rainfall – just over 32 inches compared to the Scottish average of 52 inches.
Three of the top five rural areas are island chains, with the Shetland Islands ranked number two and the Western Isles in third spot. The Scottish Borders, in fourth place, has the highest mainland ranking.