I like to think Bristol is pretty cool (which is maybe the first sign that it probably isn’t), filled with incredible pubs, clubs, bars and restaurants – plus, so many more envious activities. It’s not quite cool enough for The Sunday Times, apparently, as there was only room for one location along the River Severn on its list.
Gloucestershire’s Newnham was one of 11 places named on the ‘coolest UK postcodes to move to in 2025’ – which also included Digbeth in Birmingham, Newlyn in Cornwall, and Newport in Pembrokeshire. GL14, which is nothing more than a small village, is “emerging as one to watch for foodies in the know.” So what’s there to eat?
Grab “pastries and cake” at the George Community Hub; enjoy “a long, laid-back lunch at Post”, a bottle shop and restaurant with a blackboard menu of seasonal dishes; or pick up “charcuterie and sweet treats from Shop at the Ship, Newnham’s favourite deli” for a picnic “among the vegetable plots and orchards at Westbury Court Garden, a 17th-century Dutch-style water garden”.
For cider lovers, Newnham is also home to the low-intervention, Great Taste award-winning Severn Cider, while Bespoke Brewery is only a stone’s throw away in Littledean. Plus, the elegant Severnside Press B&B (not that you need anywhere to stay if you’re moving here) hosts regular supper clubs that are worth keeping tabs on.
Beyond being a foodie haven, you’re surrounded by natural beauty. Wye Valley is only a 20-minute drive west, but closer beauty spots include Puzzlewood, Mallards Pike and Soudley Ponds. For a touch of civilisation, you’re also only a 26-minute bus ride from Gloucester, where you can get a train back to Bristol if you change your mind about moving there.
The UK’s coolest postcodes to move to:
- Digbeth, Birmingham
- Portrush, Co. Antrim
- Hoole, Cheshire
- Fittleworth, West Sussex
- Farsley, Leeds
- Newnham, Gloucestershire
- Newlyn, Cornwall
- Newport, Pembrokeshire
- Penge, London
- Hull, East Yorkshire
- Port Ellen, Islay
You can read The Times’ full list of the UK’s coolest postcodes here.