Rutland is ‘hip’ and ‘cool’ according to Sunday Times best postcodes to live in 2024

Rutland has been branded ‘hip’ and ‘cool’ in the latest Sunday Times round-up of places to live in 2024.

Stamford and Rutland are regulars in the national newspaper’s ‘best place to live’ charts.

But this time Rutland’s ‘knick-knackery at the boutiques’ and ‘posh nosh’ from Hambleton Bakery have ticked enough boxes with journalist Victoria Brzezinski to earn it a place in the 10 coolest postcodes to move to in 2024, which featured in the Sunday Times yesterday (February 4).

Victoria reported: “Dotted with Cotswoldsesque honeyed stone houses… the vibe is muddy Range Rover with a fashionable twist: Le Chameau wellies (the Princess of Wales’s faves) and Barbour x Ganni jackets to pick up a pint of hyperlocal milk from the vending machines at two dairies.

“Then set off for some ruddy-cheeked mushroom picking or a shooting sesh — clay pigeon, natch.”

She name-checks Michelin-starred Hambleton Hall and its local menu, and ‘slow-fermented loaves from Hambleton Bakery and Scandi-inspired bakes at Lily & Honey’, describing it as ‘posh nosh indeed’.

As a tip for those who want to be ‘in the know’, she writes: “There’s no better place to get into fly-fishing than Rutland Water. Tweedy baker boy hats, like the Beckhams’, are optional.”

Responding to the article, Rutland columnist Allan Grey said: “To my eyes, Oakham’s Friday night ‘vibe’ is Skecher trainers, grey hoodies and strawberry vapes aplenty, generally accompanied by hyperlocal pints of amber nectar from The Grainy or The Nellie, natch.

“For most Rutland residents, there’s a bromidic alternative to the Cotswoldesque feel of the local countryside that doesn’t involve Manton asparagus, plump rainbow trout, Scandi-inspired bakes or tweedy attire, just a six pack of Stella, a Maccie D take-away and a pair of torn and faded Levis.”

Read Allan Grey’s fortnightly column on LincsOnline.