WHY?

Suffolk’s smallest town is often overlooked, but it’s a charming place to live, surrounded by some of the most stunning countryside in the county and ideally placed to reach key towns such as Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Haverhill and Newmarket. The old houses in the main part of the village create a lovely patchwork of pastel pinks and yellows, but the pièce de résistance has to be the 36-acre Clare County Park, which surrounds the 13th-century castle ruins, and contains a decommissioned railway (the only one built within a castle in the UK).

EAT

Considering the size of the town, there’s a good range of eateries. The Bell Hotel is a traditional coaching inn for pub grub and community events, and The Swan Inn has a lovely pub garden. There’s Honey Hill for authentic Italian pizzas, pasta and pastries, and for tea, coffee, cakes and other life essentials check out the Tea at Number 5 café, the Smalltown Café & Bakery, Tuckermans sandwich shop and the Platform One café within the park.

SHOP

Some lovely indies to browse and support around the town, including Harris & Harris Books; Cloth Clare for fabric and bespoke pieces; the Roughacre Microbrewery; and Hangers Boutique, a Muddy Awards finalist 2024, for women’s clothes and accessories.

HEALTH & WELLBEING

Love the idea of country life but still want on-tap pampering? The Muddy Award-winning Gainsborough Health Club & Spa is just outside Clare towards Cavendish – a luxury day spa and members club with a pool in a beautiful beamed barn and a gym. Have a mani and pedi and lift some weights before donning your wellies for a country walk.

Want to work on your mind as well as your body? You’ll also find holistic therapies such as gong baths, psychotherapy refelxoly and sound therapy on the high street at the lovely Luna Moon.

COMMUNITY

The beauty of a small town like Clare is that there’s a really strong sense of community and neighbourliness, but enough people to make big events worthwhile. Clare Castle hosts an annual Party in the Park every June; there’s an annual Craft Fair in the priory; a Horticultural Show; and a regular market on the third Saturday of the month. At the end of November the Christmas festivities start with a Winter Festival followed by a large Christmas Fair with over 90 exhibitors. The beautiful and huge St Peter and St Paul Church is right in the middle of town and central to the community here, with regular choir performances and many events.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS

Clare is steeped in history with the Castle, the truly magnificent wool church, the Ancient House Museum and Clare Priory. The countryside around Clare has miles of wonderful walks.

AVERAGE HOUSE PRICE

The average house here will costs £456,839. In the last year detached properties sold for an average of £581,429, semi-detached for £366,250, and terraced for £331,833.

HOT PROPERTY

NURSERIES

There’s Clare Bears Pre-School (Ofsted Good) in town as well as Little Woodland Tribe, a nursery and pre-school, where children do a huge amount of learning outside in a forest school-style setting.

SCHOOLS

Stoke College is an independent day and boarding school in nearby Stoke-by-Clare with gorgeous grounds and a an excellent reputation for pastoral care and individual attention. Read our review here. There’s also Clare Community Primary School and for secondary Stour Valley Community School, both rated Ofsted Good. The Yellow House School in town is a specialist independent school for Y9 onwards for children with specific needs such as Asperger’s syndrome, dyslexia, ADHD, ADD, Tourette’s syndrome and other sensory and communication disorders.

BEST KEPT SECRET

Clare Manor and Clare Castle were once owned by John Elwes, who was such a notorious miser that he inspired Charles Dickens’ character, Scrooge!

COMMUTE

It’s 20 mins to Bury and 40 mins to Cambridge. London by train is via Sudbury (28 mins drive) and the rail journey is 1 hour 18 mins.

View the full Top 300 Places to Live.