After it was shortlisted in The Sunday Times' Best Places to Live 2022, The Standard spoke to Christleton residents about life in the village.

Nestled to the south west of Chester, with the Shropshire Union Canal running through one third of the area and narrowboats idling through towards the countryside. It's hard to believe that this suburban tranquility is just minutes from the city.

The area was shortlisted alongside six other North West locations, including the winner, Trawden in Lancashire, and we spoke to some of those who live and work within the area to find out what they thought about the recent recognition.

In its recent feature, The Sunday Times said of Christleton: "This picture-perfect spot offers an aspirational version of traditional village life just a few miles from the centre of Chester.

"It’s beautiful, much loved by its residents, has excellent schools right on the doorstep and a shop, café and excellent pubs."

Sophia Ashley, from Christleton pub and restaurant The Cheshire Cat, said: "It is a lovely area to live in, provided you've got plenty of money.

"Everyone is very local and community orientated. The school is very nice, which I think makes it, and they do a lot down at the village hall also."

Indeed, the average house price in the village was listed by Halifax as £489,000 making it the second most expensive on the shortlist, behind only Altrincham (£531,000).

Mrs. Ashley said that the picturesque surroundings mean that it is often a popular destination for those from outside of the village too.

"The Institute, this pub [The Cheshire Cat] and the Ring O' Bells can get very busy.

"We get plenty of walkers coming in off the canal and a lot of locals either come to ourselves or go to the Ring O' Bells."

Dani Thirunavukkarasu, The owner of Christleton Stores and Newsagents, said that he understood why the area was so well thought of, even given its relative size.

Mr Thirunavukkarasu said that it was a "really good" place in which to live and work and had been throughout the six years that he had owned the shop.

A spokesperson for local school, Christleton High, said that the school was "extremely proud" to be a key part of the local community where so many of its students live and that the regional and national recognition was no surprise to them.

Alongside the aforementioned Trawden, Christleton and Altrincham were Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria, Prestwich in Greater Manchester and West Kirby in Merseyside.

For more information and the full list, visit: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/best-places-to-live.