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Richmond rated as London’s top borough, according to The Telegraph

By Tilly O'Brien   29th Oct 2025

The Telegraph has crowned Richmond as London's top borough (credit: Cesar Medina).
The Telegraph has crowned Richmond as London's top borough (credit: Cesar Medina).

The Telegraph has ranked and rated all of London's 32 boroughs and Richmond borough has been crowned first place. 

To compile the list, Telegraph Travel crunched data across 34 categories, incorporating everything from high culture to live sport, green space, fine dining, heritage sites, and crime rates.

It compared the 32 London boroughs (excluding the City of London) across four main categories: Great Outdoors, Hospitality, Culture and Activities and Good Vibes.

So why was Richmond borough ranked in the top spot?

The Telegraph says: "Unfurl a map and just observe the extraordinary wash of green space that is Richmond upon Thames.

"Within its bounds are the glorious Richmond and Bushy Parks (both stomped by stags), the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, Hampton Court Palace and the WWT London Wetland Centre in Barnes.

The Telegrah praises Richmond borough for its parks, including Richmond Park (credit: Cesar Medina).

"These form the foundations of Richmond's victory in our study. Some 37.6 per cent of Richmond is public open space (earning it 32 points), boasting 9,111 wildlife species (eclipsing all other boroughs by thousands and worth another 32 points), eight of London's "Great Trees" (60 points) and three Sites of Special Scientific Interest (20 points). So leafy is Richmond that you could think you are in the countryside. Indeed, this did count as "Surrey" until as recently as 1965.

Richmond borough is home to Allianz Stadium in Twickenham (credit: Cesar Medina).

"But today, it is very much London, and there's more to Richmond than its open space. With one of the capital's lowest population densities (56 points) and a low crime rate (62 points), and a rugby stadium or two (50 points) to while away a boozy Saturday, Richmond is consistently named the capital's happiest borough (62 points). So happy, indeed, that it was selected as the filming location of the feel-good American television series Ted Lasso, which has sparked a tourist boom in the area in recent years."

Much of 'Ted Lasso' has been filmed in Richmond (Credit: @chewybadboy/X)

The newspaper added: "Throw in splendid Thames-side pubs, views (literally) worthy of a Turner painting, two golf courses (35 points), a Michelin-starred restaurant (the Dysart Petersham; 10 points), one of England's 500 best pubs (the Masons Arms; 10 points), and Richmond upon Thames fully deserves the top spot as London's finest borough."

Richmond borough was ranked first in the 'Great Outdoors' section, second for 'Culture and activities', first for 'Good Vibes', and 13th for 'Hospitality'.

In addition, it had a crime rate of 59.1 and a total score of 791.

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