For the third year in a row, High Wycombe and Aylesbury have made the shortlist to be named as some of the worst places to live in the UK.

Conducted by the satirical website iLiveHere.com, which allows registered users to write the most notorious remarks about their place of birth, both Buckinghamshire titles are in the running for the unwanted title – a notorious award that was won by Aylesbury in 2021.

However, whilst it’s easy to knock something, let us look at the positives of what both High Wycombe and Aylesbury bring to society.

What’s good about Aylesbury?

Aylesbury boasts many popular restaurants and shops with many of them being independent – some have even become famous through the power of the internet.

The business in question is Hi-Tide Fish and Chips which is based along Mandeville Road in the central Buckinghamshire town.

Kyle ‘Hollywood’ Hawley, who works at the award-winning chippy, has accumulated 164,000 followers on Tik Tok, as he asks customers to see what weird and wonderful food combinations they can come up with before they are deep-fried and eaten by himself.

The shop has since gone viral, with many hungry fans visiting the Aylesbury-based from a far…and when we say a far, we mean Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and beyond.

What else is good about Aylesbury?

Well, how can one forget Stoke Mandeville Hospital?

Yes, despite it being named after the village next to the town, the hospital is located within Aylesbury, which boasts one of the world’s best spinal units since its opening in the 1940s.

Aylesbury is also linked to the Chilterns, so you can walk through the woods that paint a beautiful Buckinghamshire backdrop if you fancy some fresh air.

And to give yourself a claim to fame, many successful people are native to the town such as former Premier League footballers Emmerson Boyce and Matt Phillips.

The duo played for Crystal Palace, Wigan Athletic, Blackpool, West Bromwich Albion and Queens Park Rangers in the topflight.

Other famous names include the Olympic bronze-winning gymnast Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova, Strictly Come Dancing professional Brendan Cole and actress, Lynda Bellingham.

What’s good about High Wycombe?

Where do you start good ol’ HW? It’s only a 30-minute drive away from Heathrow…the largest and busiest airport in the whole country, they boast a Football League team that not every place in the land can say, and you are surrounded by beautiful fields of green.

Hughenden, Naphill, West Wycombe, Holmer Green you name it.

Yes, these are places separate from High Wycombe, but when you’re there, how can you not love the view of the Chilterns when out and about?

The Wycombe Swan is one of the most frequently used theatres in the South East of England, and if we talk about the Eden Centre, the shopping complex is a busy hubbub of nationwide chains and local, independent shops.

The cinema boasts an arcade and several restaurants, you have a train line that can take you straight into London, and if we want to talk about famous names, then I think it’s fair to say that some of the world’s biggest stars have come from little ol’ Wycombe.

Leigh-Ann Pinnock from Little Mix, a girl band that has sold millions of records worldwide hails from HW, James Cordon, who has earned success through his comedy and television career, was raised in Hazelmere, rugby and NFL star Christian Wade was educated in the town.

The list goes on.

So yes, whilst Aylesbury and High Wycombe are not perfect, they offer lots to the wide public who may fancy visiting, either in terms of what is currently going on, or, in history.