The Shambles, York’s famous fourteenth century market road, has been named Britain’s prettiest street.
The street, which played host to a thriving meat market from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century, is characterised by overhanging timber-framed buildings that line the road, some of which date back over 700 years.
The Royal Mile of Edinburgh’s Old Town and the sweeping Georgian architecture of the Circus in Bath reside in second and third place in the countdown.
The survey of 1,000 people UK-wide was conducted to uncover the nation’s most charming streets in a bid to encourage people to take in somewhere new over the Easter weekend (Friday, April 14 to Monday, April 17).
National Express spokesperson, Chris Hardy, said: “We quizzed the nation, scouring the A to Z of Britain’s roads, rows, avenues and lanes to uncover the top 15 UK streets you need to see.
“A long Bank Holiday weekend is right up everybody’s street so we thought the time was ripe to reveal the UK’s prettiest to inspire people to take somewhere new in their stride this Easter.”
Colourful shopfronts and cobbled streets earned Steep Hill, Lincoln, a place in the list, while Gold Hill, made famous by Hovis in their iconic 1973 ad, appeared in sixth place.
BRITAIN’S PRETTIEST STREETS
The Shambles, York
The Royal Mile, Edinburgh
The Circus, Bath
Waterside (into Southern Lane) Stratford upon Avon
Steep Hill, Lincoln
Gold Hill, Shaftesbury and Kings Parade, Cambridge
Elm Hill, Norwich
Eastgate Street, Chester
The Market Place, Devizes
Main Street, Harworth and Harbour Street, Whitstable
The Square, Winchester
Thomas Street, Wells and Gay Street, Newcastle
Cecily Hill, Cirencester and Ledbury Road, Notting Hill
Catherine Hill, Frome
The Homend, Ledbury
