Penshurst has been named among the UK’s best places to live for 2027.

The Sevenoaks district village was included in Muddy Stilettos’ list of the UK’s Top 260 Best Places to Live, published at the end of October.

Published annually, the guide picks out the best places to live in each county and looks at what they offer, from schools, commuting and house prices to where to eat, shop and spend a weekend.

Penshurst is one of eight places in Kent to make the list, alongside Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Cranbrook, Marden, Wye, Oare and Sandgate.

Why Penshurst made the list

The guide calls the village “chocolate-box Kent without the museum-piece feel”.

It says Penshurst “combines seriously pretty period houses, rolling countryside and centuries of history with the sort of community you’d actually want to be part of”.

It picks out “its very own Leicester Square”, which it says is “said to predate London’s“.

In the middle of the village, the Leicester Arms “serves excellent food”, according to the guide.

Forge Stores is described as “a proper local treasure”, where you can “post a parcel or even fill up the car”.

Forge Stores on the High Street in Penshurst, with its petrol pump outside
Forge Stores, High Street, Penshurst. Photo: Tilman2007, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The guide also notes that “Penshurst has its own GP surgery”, with Warders Medical Centre “handily tucked into the Village Hall”.

Penshurst Place gets a section of its own.

“Henry VIII and Edward VI both owned it, before the Sidney family moved in back in 1552,” the guide says.

The front of Penshurst Place seen from the gates
Penshurst Place. Photo: griffp, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Its “best kept secret” is a Harry Potter link: the house was scouted as a possible Hogwarts, and “the wonderfully creaky floorboards of its Long Gallery were recorded for the films”.

The village year ends with what the guide calls “the magical Penshurst Christmas Market”.

How much it costs to live in Penshurst

The average house price in Penshurst over the last year was £1,055,833, according to the guide.

Detached homes averaged £1,387,500 and semi-detached homes £547,500.

“Penshurst station isn’t actually in Penshurst village, but around two miles away near Chiddingstone Causeway, so most commuters will need to drive or cycle to the station,” the guide says.

What do you think makes Penshurst a good place to live? Tell us in the comments.