Poole the eighth friendliest city in the UK

There’s something special about Poole and we’re not just talking about the sea air: Poole is the eighth friendliest city in the UK.

According to recent rankings published by charity project The Big Lunch, Poole is friendlier than many of the UK’s biggest cities, such as London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Poole ranked one place below fellow seaside town Bournemouth, with Lincoln, Plymouth and Reading the top three.

The rankings were calculated by working out how many people per capita have joined in with The Big Lunch, a series of neighbourhood events designed to bring communities together.

The Big Lunch holds annual get-togethers for neighbours every June in towns and cities across the UK. After last year’s events, 85 per cent of participants said the event made them feel better about their neighbourhoods. Eight out of 10 people surveyed had also kept in touch with people they’d met at previous Big Lunches.

On a county level, the South-West was found to be one of the friendliest places in the UK, while Yorkshire and the Humber scored poorest.

The complete top 10 cities are:

1. Lincoln
2. Plymouth
3. Reading
4. Norwich
5. Exeter
6. Canterbury
7. Bournemouth
8. Poole
9. Worcester
10. Nottingham