The Telegraph have crunched data across 41 categories, from national parks to crime rate, to reveal which county is the best. This year The Telegraph judges have had new criteria added which consider the number of top golf courses, highest waterfall, number of National Trails and crime rate. They have also added points for properties recognised in the Telegraph Hotel awards and the new Michelin Keys scheme – both launched in 2024.
See below the final list ranked from highest to lowest counties in England: “Somerset’s landscapes are rich in legend, from the lush fields of ‘Avalon’ to Cheddar Gorge and the wilds of Exmoor,” Natilie Paris, destination expert said. Overall, Somerset ranked 8th for natural wonders in the UK, 4th for history and culture, 7th for luxuries and 5th for peace and quiet which took it to the semi-finals of the reader poll. In the end Somerset got a total score of 789.
The reasons for Somerset claiming the fifth top spot for best England counties has been explained to be the “archetypal ‘green and pleasant land’ steeped in Arthurian folklore”, it being home to Bath, a double World Heritage site, and Somerset’s “incontrovertible” rankings at the business end of the Telegraph awards. Likewise, on top of Exmoor National Park (worth 30 points), its National Landscapes – the Blackdown Hills, Mendip Hills and Quantock Hills have been reported to have set a new record (with each worth 50 points or more). Somerset also has 25 National .