Surrey only named 17th best county in the UK - here are all the ones that beat it

While those who live in Surrey might love it, not everyone agrees. According to a recent list of the best English counties by the Telegraph, Surrey only made 17th place out of the 48 - a fall of three places since 2022.

The ranking was curated taking into account a range of factors including length of coastline (an area Surrey struggles to compete in), crime rate and award-winning restaurants. The list was first made two years ago, but much has changed since then.

The downsizing of HS2 has meant more points in the peace and quiet category for several counties, while Suffolk basks in the glow of Ipswich Town’s promotion. But while Surrey’s 17th place finish may be disappointing, the county was highlighted for being the best across some areas, such as most woodland and most top-rated golf courses - a title it shares with Berkshire.

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As well as coming first in these categories, Surrey also got an honourable mention for punching above its weight. As one of the smaller counties, it beat some much larger competitors such as Lincolnshire and Essex.

So with all this praise why did Surrey end up in 17th place? The area it scored the lowest in was 'luxuries', which is perhaps surprising. This category was judged by nationally-recognised hotels, pubs, golf courses and spas - an area in which Surrey has a lot to offer.

However, it was pipped to the post by several locations including nearby Greater London and Kent. So what came above Surrey, and why?

The top five counties were:

1. Devon

Coming in first, Devon was head and shoulders above 2nd place. With two national parks and five national landscapes, it scored highly in the natural wonders category.

2. Cumbria

Despite being known for the Lake District, Surrey actually has more surface level water. However with such a large protected area, it scored well in the peace and quiet category.

3. North Yorkshire

Here, coastline was one of the stars of the show, but the county was held back by poor weather conditions.

4. Cornwall

With nine blue flag beaches and lots of sunshine, it is perhaps no surprise this county scored so well. However, it was an outstanding culinary scene and abundance of National Trust properties that helped shoot it up the list.

5. Somerset

Somerset did well for its peace and quiet ranking. This was partially due to its low population density as well as a lack of big cities, ports or airports.

The rest of the rankings:

6th: Kent

7th: Norfolk

8th: Hampshire

9th: Dorset

10th: Greater London

11th: Northumberland

12th: Gloucestershire

13th: Wiltshire

14th: East Sussex

15th: Suffolk

16th: West Sussex

17th: Surrey

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