The happiest place to live in Scotland has been revealed.

Stirling has taken the top spot for Scotland, after more than 21,000 people across Britain were asked how they feel about various aspects of where they live as part of the "happy at home" index.

The “happy at home” index, now in its 10th year, asked more than 21,000 people across Britain how they feel about various aspects of where they live.

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Happiness measures in the index compiled by Rightmove include friendliness and community spirit, whether people feel they can be themselves, nature and green spaces, opportunities locally to develop skills and amenities including schools, restaurants, shops and sports facilities.

But Stirling was the only Scottish location to make the top 20 in the UK.

The Herald: Stirling. Photo by Jamie Simpson/Herald & TimesStirling. Photo by Jamie Simpson/Herald & Times

Hexham in Northumberland was crowned Britain’s happiest place, after previously topping the index in 2019.

St Ives in Cornwall, which came top last year, was eighth in this year’s rankings.

Rightmove’s study also found that people living in coastal villages tended to be the happiest group in the study.

Around a third of this year’s top 20 happiest towns are market towns, it added.

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted many people to move home in order to make lifestyle changes.

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The study found that more than two-thirds (69%) of people who had moved in the last year relocated to a different area. Nearly two-thirds of these people (64%) reported feeling happier where they now live.

Eight in ten (81%) of those who had moved from a town to a village said they now feel happier with where they live.

Rightmove predicts 1.5 million house sales will have taken place this year.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, said: “It’s been an incredibly busy year in the housing market, with a lot of people deciding that now is the right time to move.”

Here are the happiest places in Britain, according to Rightmove, with the average asking price for a home and the average monthly asking rental price:

1. Hexham, North East, £297,088, £842

2. Richmond-upon-Thames, London, £1,196,892, £3,235

3. Harrogate, Yorkshire and the Humber, £353,624, £1,163

4. Hove, South East, £525,906, £1,879

5. Llandrindod Wells, Wales, £193,601, £445

6. Stirling, Scotland, £191,226, £877

7. Monmouth, Wales, £312,649, £929

8. St Ives, South West, £494,393, £1,150

9. Anglesey, Wales, £278,391, £776

10. Leamington Spa, West Midlands, £350,981, £1,203

11. Perth, Scotland, £167,160, £679

12. Hitchin, East of England, £491,223, £1,392

13. Woodbridge, East of England, £427,542, £1,129

14. Kendal, North West, £258,961, £837

15. Macclesfield, North West, £277,772, £981

16. Exeter, South West, £303,215, £1,234

17. Salisbury, South West, £318,806, £1,090

18. Horsham, South East, £433,892, £1,433

19. St Albans, East of England, £632,320, £1,888

20. Guildford, South East, £542,947, £1,913

And here are Scotland’s top 10 happiest places to live with the overall rankings across Britain in brackets:

1. Stirling (6)

2. Perth (11)

3. Inverness (51)

4. Edinburgh (76)

5. Dundee (80)

6. Ayr (94)

7. Glasgow (98)

8. Kirkcaldy (141)

9. Paisley (149)

10. Aberdeen (156)