11 coolest UK postcodes to move to in 2026

In the know Fancy a dip? Join the Manningtree Mermaids, who swim in the river year-round and campaign for better water quality. VB

• Read the latest edition of The Sunday Times Best Places to Live

For Gen Z trail-headsKeswick, Cumbria CA12

Swap that Barbour for a Gore-Tex jacket, and those Danner boots for a pair of Merrell hiking shoes. Yes, Gen Z are getting outdoors, and top of their destination wish list is this market town in the Lakes. There were signs — the Lake District was named the demographic’s happiest UK road trip in 2023 — plus Keswick town centre is a ten-minute walk from Derwentwater, the area’s third largest lake (after Windermere and Ullswater) and part maintained by the National Trust, which has recently reported a surge in the number of twentysomething members.

Keswick Mountain Festival (think Glasto but for hiking) has been going strong for almost 20 years and is a magnet for outdoorsy types (Columbia knit essential). But the hottest outdoor event is the Lakesman, a half Ironman-length triathlon that has become one of the most popular endurance races in the UK. There are lots of places to fuel up, like the Lake Road Brunch or Yonder, where the local 180 Run Club often meets. But you’ve not really seen Keswick unless you’ve climbed Catbells, a nearby fell offering breathtaking views over the town. All we’re missing is the sun …

In the know Rest your feet at the lakeside Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa, where guests have included the Gen Z power couple Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury. HE

For Northern Irish hipstersEastside, Belfast BT4

Residents of this postcode will know why it’s quickly becoming one of the most desirable neighbourhoods in Northern Ireland — and it’s not just because of Flout! pizzeria, whose incredible New Haven-style pies have had shoutouts on Angela Hartnett’s Dish podcast and in The New York Times. There are dozens of hipster hangouts close by too, including the Boundary brewery taproom, which serves craft beers by the pint or can (it also offers a subscription — just saying). Other perfect activities for a rainy day (of which there are a fair few here) can be found at Banana Block, a quirky events space and “living museum” in a former linen mill that is also home to a record shop, plant store and Bodega Bagels, arguably the city’s best spot for a quick lunch. The bagels are handmade and boiled every day and its hot Hello-You option (filled with sugar-cured streaky bacon, halloumi, a hash brown and hot honey) will rock your world.

In the know Bullhouse East is another hipster haven to head to in this area — it was the first permanent taproom in the city and hosts beer and cheese nights. Could there be a better combo? HE

For water babiesFlushing, Cornwall TR11

A ten-minute passenger-ferry ride from the bustle of Falmouth is the historic fishing village of Flushing (not to be confused with the cove of the same name on the Lizard Peninsula). On the banks of the Penryn River, it has a quieter beach, with everything here encouraging you to slip straight into life by the water, including a thriving sailing club. The Michelin-approved Harbour House, with visitor mooring spots, is the newest addition to the waterfront (rooms opening next month), from the people behind Beach House, the posh fish shack on Devon’s South Milton Sands. Don’t miss Thursday nights, when pints are £2.50.

Right now, though, the talk is all about the Food Barn, the weekly market selling locally sourced produce, such as pastries from Pavilion bakery, moreish handmade pies from Penny’s and crab from Camel Fish. In the evening, head to Flushing Beach for Kiln’s sauna socials, held on the shore until sundown — don’t forget to pack your sauna hat.

In the know For a revitalising early morning dunk, Harbour House’s weekly Sunday Swim Club at 8.30am is a must. HE

For Caledonian creativesWest end, Dundee DD2

The first clue that this corner of Dundee was getting a trendy revamp was when Fraser’s Fruit and Veg officially arrived on Perth Road. Sixteen years on, the deli, which sells charcuterie and Scottish hot sauces, is millennial catnip, along with a string of openings that are a magnet for Dundee’s artsy crowd. Think locally sourced homeware at Kist, also on Perth Road, the independent record store Le Freak, and vintage steals at the British Red Cross and Shelter. For trendy bending, the yoga class to sign up for is at Heart Space studio on Scott Street, where Finlay Wilson — aka @kiltedyogis, with 198,000 Instagram followers — runs sessions in a converted church. However, the highlight of the creative calendar is WestFest on Magdalen Green, a free live music community festival. Camp Bestival who?

In the know Dundee’s new favourite watering hole of choice? The Abandon Ship, where Justin Bieber filmed the video for his song Bad Honey. HE

• 20 best places to live if you’re under 35

For urban ‘makers’Poplar, east London E14

This low-key stretch of the Docklands has pedigree. It was once known for its roots in activism (the suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst worked with local female councillors), but these days you’re more likely to spot creatives stalking the Poplar streets. It’s also an architectural melting pot combining brutalist blocks (Erno Goldfinger’s Balfron Tower is a local icon) with Georgian terraces and the old warehouses of Narrow Street — home to the Grapes, the riverside pub (and Dickens’s haunt) part owned today by Ian McKellen. Lining the Limehouse Cut, a canal path stretching from Bow to the Thames, is Spratt’s Complex, the largest dog biscuit factory in the world by the 1900s, now a series of smart live/work spaces used by an artistic crowd, including in the past Queen Elizabeth’s tapestry restorer Ksynia Marko and the artist Lola Ley of Wax Atelier.

Creativity is currency here: the Poplar Works studios are home to upcoming fashion brands and makers, AB Fine Art Foundry casts bronze sculptures for the likes of Tracey Emin and Gavin Turk, and R-Urban Poplar is a community garden with a bulging calendar of workshops. Casual bites include the second incarnation of London Fields’s E5 Bakehouse beside Bartlett Park, sharing space with Poplar Union, a community venue that runs Pilates and pottery classes. There’s also Its Thecha for Marathi street food, or in Chrisp Street Market (next in line for a reinvention) snaffle old-school East End fare at JP’s.

In the know Just over Bow Creek is Fold, the best 24-hour club in London — no photos, Berlin vibes only. VB

For the ‘coastie’ crewFishguard, Pembrokeshire SA65

The southwest coast of Wales has long been a lure for aspiring coasties after that just-back-from-the-beach glow. Fishguard — or Abergwaun in Welsh — a half-hour drive from St Davids, is the new draw. Don’t be put off by its previous reputation as a passing-through port for those en route to Ireland. This pretty town has gone through a renaissance in recent years, emerging as a soulful spot by the sea. It ticks every box to tempt you away from the Big Smoke, from pretty fisherman’s cottages and cobblestone streets to a slew of stylish new openings, such as Ty Clai. Restored by the architect duo and former Londoners Emma Flynn and Luke Royffe, this gorgeous double-fronted townhouse with rooms is known for the therapeutic workshops held in its pottery studio. Keep an eye on its Instagram for news of supper clubs too. Around the corner you’ll find Nourish bakery — though you’ll know you’re close when you see the queue that forms outside each Saturday. Once you’ve exhausted yourself shopping for homeware and gifts at Jelly & Custard and Trove, recharge at the vibrant café Cove Corner or Ffwrn restaurant, which also serves Sunday roasts.

In the know Fourteen years after closing its doors, the grade II listed Farmers Arms pub is back after a soil-to-sky renovation. The homemade pizzas come highly recommended. HE

• Best coastal towns to live in the UK

For low-key poshRothley, Leicestershire LE7

Even the King has sampled the bakes made by Hambleton Bakery, an East Midlands temple to dough with an outpost in Rothley, a pretty village with an upmarket edge (we’ve spotted Burberry and Stella McCartney on the rails at the Vista charity shop) seven miles north of Leicester. Beside the Great Central Railway station — a throwback to when steam ruled the rails — you’ll find North’s Deli, an institution proffering a bouji selection of cheeses, sausage rolls and more. Plus there’s Woodcock Farm Shop for local veg, eggs and honey, as well as heavenly cookies and proper flat whites from Bom Bom patisserie. Real ale enthusiasts make a beeline for the Woodman’s Stroke (or the Woodies, as the locals know it), a thatched chocolate box of a pub.

This is peak English countryside, home to some of Britain’s oldest Precambrian rocks in the nearby Charnwood Forest Geopark (a childhood haunt of David Attenborough). Or spot great crested grebes and mandarin ducks bobbing across Swithland Reservoir. Travel a bit further and you’ll find the Griffin Inn (co-owned by the former England cricketer Stuart Broad). For indoor pursuits, yummy mummies head to MH Studio, a boutique gym and training space. Once you’ve built up an appetite, book in for a ruddy-cheeked lunch at John’s House for divine field-to-fork dining in a 16th-century farmhouse in the next village along.

In the know LE7 wine? You heard right. Go for a wine safari at Rothley Wine Estate. VB

For art geeksMilton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK9

Born in 1967, Milton Keynes is perhaps the best known of the much maligned postwar new towns. But the modernist playground is now a cultural hub with genuine clout. The artist Yinka Ilori recently unveiled Walk With Your Dreams — a huge artwork integrated into the flooring of Station Square — which takes its cues from Nigerian textile patterns and joins more than 270 public artworks dotted around the city. The clean-lined MK Gallery hosts exhibitions of works by artists including Andy Warhol and Vanessa Bell alongside current talent, while the biennial multi-arts International Festival brings together world-class public and performance art, as well as theatre and dance, at venues across Milton Keynes. Still seeking thrills? There’s retro gaming at Pixel Bunker, indoor skydiving and snowboarding on actual snow at Xscape, and thanks to its lakes, rivers and canal system more miles of shoreline than Jersey. Caffeinate at Milk & Beans (local slang for Milton Keynes) before your visit to the National Film and Sci-Fi Museum, where you’ll find treasures from Indiana Jones, Star Wars and James Bond. Fancy something more lo-fi? Bring your own vinyl to the record nights at Barista Culture, a blend of coffee shop, cocktail bar and the Blackened Sun microbrewery in the Stacey Bushes Industrial Estate, located just beyond the city centre.

In the know Locals can’t get enough of the pandan cake at neighbourhood caff-slash-patisserie Canal Street Coffee. VB

For modern-day mop topsLiverpool city centre, L1

OK, so Sam Mendes’s four-part opus of interconnected biopics following each member of the Beatles won’t land until April 2028, but Scousers are already enjoying its prequel. The films’ off-duty cast have been clocked pounding the city centre streets: Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney), Harris Dickinson (John Lennon) and Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr) were recently spotted sipping hugo spritzes at the small-plates gem Maray on Bold Street, a bohemian stretch within Liverpool’s Ropewalks district. This L1 pocket neatly edges into the vibey Baltic Triangle, a historical area that’s now an engine room of converted warehouses, food markets and venues such as Camp and Furnace — which has hosted everyone from Mogwai to Martha Wainwright — as well as grassroots spaces like Arts Bar Baltic, a creative hub café-bar hybrid.

The energy spills over to the Georgian Quarter, where Lennon once lived amid the grade II listed townhouses and where you’ll also find the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a higher education institution cofounded by McCartney in 1996, now training the new generation. Plum options for gastronomes include Bundobust (get the okra fries) and the Italian Club, which counts A-listers such as Ralph Fiennes and Matt Smith as fans.

In the know In the know vinylheads are spoilt for choice: flick through the records at a glut of great stores including Dig Vinyl, 81 Renshaw and Probe. VB

For in-the-know foodiesRedland, Bristol BS6

We all know Bristol is the sought-after city for the middle classes (it has one of the fastest-growing housing markets in the country, don’t you know?), but it is also drawing in foodies with its restaurant scene. The epicentre? Chandos Road in the northern suburb of Redland. If you can’t get a booking at the Michelin-starred bistro Wilsons, which appeared on Apple TV’s hit show Knife’s Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars presented by TopJaw’s Jesse Burgess and executive produced by Gordon Ramsay, there are plenty more places to sink your teeth into. Eat Michelin-approved pasta at Little Hollows, or Korean home cooking at Dongae, which has won the hearts of chef royalty such as Margot and Fergus Henderson. New on the block in the old florist’s is One Fish Street, an oyster bar that has relocated from St Ives, bringing with it brilliant seafood and tinned fish on toast. Around the corner, you’ll find proper pub grub at the celebrity chef Josh Eggleton’s boozer, the Kensington Arms — or, as the locals call it, “the Kenny”.

In the know The hottest booking? A spot at the sellout Chicken Lunch Club, a monthly rotisserie chicken supper club co-founded by Wilsons’ Jan Ostle and the chef Tristan Hogg, and hosted at Hogg’s home. HE

Do you live in an up-and-coming postcode? Let us know in the comments below…