The run up to Christmas in the UK is often characterised as damp, dreary and a little bit dull – but there’s so much more to autumn than terrible weather! After all, who doesn’t enjoy late afternoon in a warm cafe sipping a hot chocolate, with steam fogging up the windows as you watch the rain hammering the pavement outside?
With that in mind, Betway has compiled a list of the UK’s top ten cities according to their ‘cosiness factor’, based on the number of independent bookshops, cafes, parks and museums per 10,000 people, along with the average autumn rainfall in the region.
You can view a more detailed breakdown of the research here: https://blog.betway.com/casino/the-cosiest-cities-in-the-uk-this-autumn/
Chichester claims title of UK’s cosiest city
Chichester was named the cosiest city in the UK after posting the highest number of cafes and independent bookshops per 10,000 residents. With 67 cafes and six bookshops serving a population of 31,000, there’s ample opportunity for locals and tourists to relax in comfortable surroundings.
Meanwhile, the city’s 15 parks and nature areas, including the picturesque Bishop’s Palace Gardens and West Dean Gardens, are the ideal setting to watch the changing colours of the leaves as summer turns to autumn.
| Rank | City | Independent bookshops | Total autumn rainfall (mm) | Cafes | Parks / nature areas | Museums | Cosiness score |
| 1 | Chichester | 6 | 225 | 67 | 15 | 15 | 8.12 |
| 2 | Brighton | 12 | 308 | 267 | 23 | 56 | 6.78 |
| 3 | Wells | 1 | 220 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 6.75 |
| 4 | Bath | 7 | 213 | 154 | 30 | 46 | 6.04 |
| 5 | Inverness | 2 | 254 | 71 | 20 | 18 | 6.01 |
| 6 | Canterbury | 7 | 197 | 90 | 29 | 7 | 5.52 |
| 7 | Ely | 1 | 174 | 27 | 4 | 9 | 4.84 |
| 8 | Chester | 5 | 227 | 127 | 24 | 19 | 4.58 |
| 9 | York | 3 | 188 | 246 | 42 | 51 | 4.49 |
| 10 | Winchester | 4 | 216 | 41 | 16 | 8 | 4.36 |
*All metrics except autumn rainfall have been indexed based on the number of places per 10,000 people. The table includes the raw number of places.
Brighton and Wells come second and third, with one Scottish city making the list
Brighton comes in second with 12 independent bookshops and 267 cafes, the highest in the top 10. The real standout is the sheer amount of rainfall the area gets with 308mm of rain during the autumn months. Some may question how this translates to a good score rather than a bad one but, nothing beats the sound of rainfall as you cosy up with a book or watch the world go by from a cosy cafe window.
That old-world vibe is shared by third placed Wells, on a reduced scale. The city’s population of 11,000 makes it one of the smallest in the UK, but its cobblestone streets, 22 cafes and 3 museums provide plenty to do – not to mention the eight parks dotted around the city.
Fourth-placed is Bath with the most museums per resident (five per 10,000), including the iconic Roman Baths and wholesome Jane Austen Centre. With 154 cafes (16 per 10,000 residents), there’s also plenty of spots to enjoy a warm drink after a brisk autumnal stroll in one of its 30 nature areas.
Inverness, the only entry outside of England, comes in fifth. Despite its fairly small size, the city has two cosy independent bookstores and 71 cafes (15 per 10,000 residents).
If you would like to find out more, you can find the full research here: https://blog.betway.com/casino/the-cosiest-cities-in-the-uk-this-autumn/
