Even the weather in Hart, north-east Hampshire, is better according to the Halifax annual quality of life survey.

The region, centred around the town of Fleet, is described as “a step back in time”.

It has 84 square miles of woodland and the county’s largest freshwater lake.

Residents of the area enjoy better health, longer lives, higher earnings and a lower crime rate than most of the rest of the country.

Its villages include Church Crookham, dating back to the Domesday Book, Hartley Wintney through which the River Hart flows, and Dogmersfield which still raises a Maypole for dancing at its annual Mayfair.

Hart has come out on top five times in the past six years of the survey and has rocketed back up to first place from 26th position last year.

An Office for National Statistics survey found more than nine in 10 Hart residents report good or fairly good health and it has the longest average female life expectancy in the UK at 86.7 years.

And Hart residents enjoy 32.5 hours per week of sunshine, against the national average of 29.7 hours.

Halifax managing director Russell Galley said: “Hart seems to have been offering residents an unrivalled mix of living standards.”

However, the cost of living in Hart is high with an average house price of £419,231.

A cheaper option would be to live in the Orkney Islands, placed second in the Halifax survey. Landlocked Rutland in the East Midlands came third, the Wychavon district in Worcestershire – which includes Pershore and Evesham – was fourth, and last year’s winner, Winchester, famed for its cathedral and public school, was fifth.

Craven in North Yorkshire, centred around Skipton, was the best scoring northern district, coming in at eighth.

A Halifax spokesman said: “Many areas in southern England score strongly in categories including the labour markets and health. Northern areas tend to perform well on education and more affordable properties.”