Skipton has once again featured as one of the most desirable places in the country.

Earlier this year, its High Street, a former winner of High Street of the Year, was named as a shopping street bucking the national trend.

And now, the whole town has been placed second best place to live in Yorkshire and the North East by The Sunday Times.

The newspaper, which over two weeks lists the most desirable places in the country to live, put Skipton as second behind Harrogate and in front of Richmond and Ilkley.

Other towns and cities in the top ten for Yorkshire and the North East were York, and Alnwick and Hexham, both in Northumberland.

Meanwhile, for the North West, Clitheroe in Lancashire was placed sixth, with Kendal in Cumbria at the top.

The Best Places to Live guide took a wide range of elements into account, including transport links, quality of schools, natural beauty and crime rates.

Skipton’s cultural life and employment figures were also taken into account, as was its numerous and varied festivals and events.

The article pays tribute to the town’s market – “one of the oldest in Britain” and to award winning Devonshire Arms, where “gastronomes flock”.

It continues butchers Stanforths and Drake and Macefield “battle to serve the best pork pies in the North” while for culture, there is the “cosy” Skipton Little Theatre.

The town’s “excellent schools” also win praise, with special mention going to St Stephen’s Catholic Primary, Ermysted’s Grammar School and Skipton Girls High School, while villages, Embsay, Grassington and Gargrave are highlighted as great places for families to settle.

Brett Butler, Skipton’s Town Centre Manager, said: “Once again, it’s great to see Skipton recognised in the national media. We’re really very lucky to have such a good mixture of all the things people value when they’re looking for a place to visit – and a place to live.”

He added: “Despite the economic downturn, there is still a lot going on and the town has continued to maintain its high profile. Add this to the excellent transport links, great schools, positive community groups and, of course, our position at the Gateway to the Dales.”