Britain's 50 most desirable rural areas to live in
Britain's most desirable rural area to live in has been named as Uttlesford in Essex - home to the historic town of Saffron Walden as well as Stansted Airport.
Uttlesford helped to push last year's winner, Waverley in Surrey, into third place for 2014, with South Northamptonshire ranked second in Halifax's annual rural quality of life survey.
Halifax uses a wide range of statistics from various sources to find the top countryside idylls, including those relating to the health, personal wellbeing and life expectancy of residents, crime rates, weather, employment, school results and broadband access.
The top 50 is as follows:
50 East Devon, South West
49 Newark and Sherwood, East Midlands
48 Tandridge, South East
47 Wealden, South East
46 Cherwell, South East
45 East Dorset, South West
44 Huntingdonshire, East of England
43 Shetland Islands, Scotland
42 Wiltshire, South West
41 Babergh, East of England
40 Suffolk Coastal, East of England
39 West Oxfordshire, South East
38 Tewkesbury, South West
37 Wychavon, West Midlands
36 West Berkshire, South East
35 North West Leicestershire, East Midlands
34 Cotswold, South West
33 Selby, Yorkshire and the Humber
32 Harborough, East Midlands
31 North Dorset, South West
30 Broadland, East of England
29 Hambleton, Yorkshire and The Humber
28 South Oxfordshire, South East
27 Tonbridge and Malling, South East
26 West Dorset, South West
25 New Forest, South East
24 Orkney Islands, Scotland
23 Ryedale, Yorkshire and the Humber
22 Test Valley, South East
21 Aylesbury Vale, South East
20 Malvern Hills, West Midlands
19 St Edmundsbury, East of England
18 Mid Suffolk, East of England
17 Melton, East Midlands
16 South Norfolk, East of England
15 Maldon, East of England
14 East Hampshire, South East
13 East Cambridgeshire, East of England
12 Rutland, East Midlands
11 North Kesteven, East Midlands
10 South Kesteven, East Midlands
9 Mid Sussex, South East
8 Chiltern, South East
7 Vale of White Horse, South East
6 South Cambridgeshire, East of England
5 Rushcliffe, East Midlands
4 East Hertfordshire, East of England
3 Waverley, South East
2 South Northamptonshire, East Midlands
1 Uttlesford, East of England
Popular with both tourists and commuters with its close links to London and Cambridge, the district of Uttlesford was formed in 1974 when several boroughs merged.
As well as being the setting for Saffron Walden, which has been hailed as one of the finest preserved examples of a medieval market town in the country and whose attractions include a museum and mazes, Uttlesford also cradles the towns of Thaxted and Great Dunmow.
Another reason people flock to Uttlesford is to pass through Stansted Airport, which employs over 10,000 people and is the fourth-busiest airport in the UK, with around 17.5 million passengers a year.