LESS THAN a fortnight since Loving Dalston reported that Hackney had scraped – just – into a list of the 100 best places to live, London Fields, above, hits the high spot.

The 30 Most Glamorous Places to Live in the UK rates the area at 11, describing it as “the new Notting Hill”. Some residents can remember when estate agents were hesitant about calling this central part of Hackney “London Fields”, rather like Lauriston Road and Victoria Park village today.

Never mind, what made LF special for the list, compiled by The Times?

“Old-school gastro pubs, artisan bakeries and foodie mecca Broadway Market” is the answer, along with proximity to the City and Silicon Roundabout, which makes it “popular with entrepreneurs”.

There is a downside, of course: the list notes that celebrities, including Michael Fassbender, Will Young and, uhm, Mick Jagger’s son have moved to the Fields. The other downside is that a house can cost more than £1.6 million.

If you can afford to buy or rent there you’re going to need a weekend retreat. Where better than Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, beloved of the Notting Hill set?

Hamish Scott 240314

* Backstory: Hackney one of the 100 best places to live

* Emboldened underscored words in most cases indicate a hyperlink, a reader service rare among websites. If a link does not work, it is probably because the site to which the URL refers has not been maintained.