Marking Harrogate's five year run as one of the best places to live in the country

The Sunday Times Best Places to Live Guide will showcase Harrogate alongside nearby Skipton and York as three of its top 20 perennials in this weekend's edition, recognising areas that have frequently appeared in its lists over the years.

Despite adding another accolade to its name, including one of the happiest and safest places to live in the country, organisers continues to look forward to shining a light on what it has to offer.

Director of Visit Harrogate, Michael Newby said: "It is always great to receive recognition like this from my perspective, its a pleasure to live here and of course to visit as well.

"One of the big things that does not get recognised is the cultural offerings that we have, just looking at our listings shows there is always something going on everyday.

"We have smaller theaters in Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge and we can compete with bigger cities like Leeds and York."

Mr Newby also added his congratulations to the residents of Pateley Bridge, who are to become one of five North Yorkshire locations, alongside Helmsley, Malton, Richmond and Saltburn to be named the best places to live in the country.

The first edition of the Sunday Times series will be examining areas of the North and North East, Midlands, Northern Ireland, South East and Wales. On the following Sunday the paper will reveal the best places in the Southwest, East, London, Scotland and the Northwest, as well as the overall best place to live in the UK.