The Thames village near Maidenhead with 'celeb neighbours' named among UK's best places to live

Cookham has been named among the UK’s best places to live for 2027.

The Thames village near Maidenhead was included in Muddy Stilettos’ list of the UK’s Top 260 Best Places to Live, published at the end of October.

Published annually, the guide picks out the best places to live in each county and looks at what they offer, from schools, commuting and house prices to where to eat, shop and spend a weekend.

Cookham is one of eight places in Berkshire to make the list, alongside Holyport, Sonning, Twyford, Pangbourne, Caversham, Aldermaston and Lambourn.

Why Cookham made the list

“Village idyll, but make it interesting,” the guide says.

It adds that there is “far more going on here than the chocolate-box good looks suggest”, with “indie shops, brilliant pubs, a thriving arts scene” and “home-grown festivals”.

The village is “particularly popular with families and London escapees who want proper village life without disappearing off-grid”, according to the guide.

It calls The White Oak “one of our favourites for smart gastropub food” and the revamped Bel and The Dragon “another village stalwart”.

Malik’s “serves award-winning Indian food from a rather fabulous 600-year-old listed building”, the guide says.

On the High Street, it names The Old Butcher’s Wine Cellar “a cracking wine shop”, alongside The Little Bookshop and Flat Harry’s bike shop.

The painter Sir Stanley Spencer “spent much of his life here and famously described the village as ‘a village in Heaven’”, the guide says, and it calls the Stanley Spencer Gallery “excellent”.

It also picks out the Gravity Grand Prix, where “homemade soapbox contraptions hurtle down the hill”, and the September regatta “with dragon boats, racing, fancy dress and plenty of competitive village spirit”.

The guide’s “best kept secret” is the village’s famous residents, with “Ross Kemp still calling the village home and TV legend-turned-artist Timmy Mallett a long-standing local”.

How much it costs to live in Cookham

“You won’t get much change from £866,000,” the guide says of buying in the village.

Average prices are down 11% this year, it adds, with detached houses selling for an average £1.24m, semis for £915,000 and terraced homes for £520,000.

Cookham has its own station, and the fastest journeys to London Paddington take “around 33 mins with a change at Maidenhead”, according to the guide.

It notes that contactless pay-as-you-go “now extends to Cookham too”.

For young families, the guide names Holy Trinity C of E Primary, Cookham Rise Primary and Cookham Dean C of E Primary as “strong primaries right on the doorstep”.

What do you think makes Cookham a good place to live? Tell us in the comments.