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Leafiest’ places to live in UK revealed for those in search of green spaces
Lifestyle
Tamunofiniarisa , ,
Leafiest’ places to live in UK revealed for those in search of green spaces

Lifestyle

A lifestyle website has named the best and “leafiest” places to live in the UK for all people who love their green spaces and want to be around nature

Lifestyle The best

The best “leafiest” places in the UK to live have been revealed

The best places for nature lovers who want to enjoy green spaces close to their homes have been revealed.

Lifestyle website Muddy Stilettos has listed its most leafiest places in the UK for 2024. It refers to a place where it’s not just the places in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland with the most leaves, but its places where more than half of its land area is green.

The top ranked places in the West Midlands include locations in-and-around Birmingham, such as Harborne, Hampton-in-Arden, Edgebaston, Bournville, Moseley, Earlsdone and Dorridge. However, it’s Sutton Coldfield and its family-friendly area and 2,000 acre park which was very popular. It takes just 20 minutes to drive into the centre of Birmingham, 25 minutes by direct train or 35 minutes by bus. There’s easy access to the motorway too, making it a great base for commuting further afield too.

A forest in autumn near Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham (

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Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Elsewhere, Falmouth, St Agnes and Carbis Bay made the list for the Cornwall area. While in Oxfordshire, which also has plenty of places which have been complimented, the likes of Henley-on-Thames, Woodstock and Witney are included, Birmingham Live reports.

In Kent, Faversham, Cranbrook, Tunbridge Wells and Tankerton were among a dozen places picked. Describing Tunbridge Wells, the website said: “Forget those letter-writing retired colonels: this spa town is all about attracting well-to-do families seeking a best-of-both-worlds commuter lifestyle. With yoga studios and art galleries galore but being only moments from the Garden of Englands apple-orchards, this town has it all.”

Some other “best of the rest” places in the UK the lifestyle website mentions are: Alnwick in Northumberland, Barton-Under-Needwood in Staffordshire, Cartmel in Cumbria, Clitheroe in Lancashire, Ledbury in Herefordshire, Lincoln in Lincolnshire, Newport in Pembrokeshire, Perth in Perthshire, Stamford in Lincolnshire and Stockport in Manchester.

Sutton Coldfield has been ranked one of the best places to live (

Image:

Getty Images)

Speaking about the leafy side of Suttin in the West Midlands, the website explained: “The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield is one of the leafiest places to live in the UK, with more than half of the towns total land area being green the other half is littered with Premiership footballers swanky cars!” said a spokesperson for Muddy Stilettos. “The town also has one of the largest urban parks in Europe (thatd be Sutton Park, with its 2,000 acres and wild deer herds), but its far from being out in the sticks youve got all the amenities a girl could want, as well as fantastic commuter links and plenty for the family to do.

“Suttons restaurant quarter and its nearby strip along Birmingham Road should be destination number one for foodies, as theres a healthy number of buzzy indies such as Migas Tapas and Wine Bar and The Bracebridge in Sutton Park. We love The Four Oaks just next to the park, with its gorgeous outdoor terrace, boho interiors and delicious menu, and for a special occasion check out the historic New Hall Hotel serving up modern British food.”

Sutton Coldfield is known for its schools. Boldmere Junior School, Little Sutton Primary School, Four Oaks Primary School and Moor Hall Primary School are all rated outstanding. And for outstanding secondary schools, you can choose between Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls, Bishop Veseys Grammar School and The Arthur Terry School. There are more than 30 nurseries available too.

Now for the crunch time. If you’re looking to move to Sutton Coldfield, you’ll need some cash in your back pocket. The average house price, according to Muddy Stilettos, was 324,177 over the last year. A semi will cost you around 296,235 but if you want a detached, youll be shelling out an average of 601,148. Better start saving now.

NASA just found places where microbial Martians might be able to thrive
Science & Technology
Tamunofiniarisa , , , , ,
NASA just found places where microbial Martians might be able to thrive

NASA Space Technology

NASA Space Technology Cryoconites on a glacier on Earth

Scientists believe conditions might be suitable for microbial life in pockets of meltwater formed by so-called cryoconite, dust particles that melt into ice, such as these holes found in Antarctica on Earth. Credit: Hassan Basagic / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Scientists have discovered small, potentially habitable areas on Mars where life could, in theory, transform sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into oxygen, according to a new NASA study.

Though the research doesn’t mean photosynthetic aliens are indeed living in these environments now — or even that they were there in the past — the findings provide the U.S. space agency with attractive targets for future searches.

For years, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter — a spacecraft circling the Red Planet — has seen white material lining dry gullies thought to be dusty water ice. This environment in the Martian tropics could be mottled with small pockets of meltwater, similar to features found within glaciers on Earth.

A team has proposed that simple lifeforms like microbes could potentially find refuge up to 10 feet below the Red Planet’s surface in these ice deposits found near the Martian equator.

“If we’re trying to find life anywhere in the universe today, Martian ice exposures are probably one of the most accessible places we should be looking,” said Aditya Khuller, lead author of the study, in a statement.

NASA Space Technology Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observing dusty water ice

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spots several gullies tipped in white, believed to be areas of dusty ice.Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona

Over the course of several ice ages spanning eons, snow mixed with dust fell on the ground of Mars, a world an average of 140 million miles away. That ancient snow — now ice — still contains flecks of dust.

Through computer simulations, the team demonstrated that a habitable zone could exist on Mars in ice with such dust. Their paperpublished in the journal Communications Earth & Environmentsuggests that just the right amount of sunlight could penetrate the ice to allow photosynthesis to occur in pockets of meltwater below an icy layer.

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But why, pray tell, does a pinch of dirt matter?

NASA Space Technology The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter imaging dusty water ice.

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter flies over a gully believed to have areas of dusty ice similar to those modeled in the study.Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona

On Earth, dust within ice can form so-called cryoconite holes — small areas where dust carried by wind lands on the ground, absorbs sunlight, warms up, and then melts deeper into the ice each summer. Eventually the particles stop sinking, but they continue to create enough heat to melt small pools of water around them.

And when this process happens here, the water holes tend to be brimming with life, hosting entire ecosystems: algae, fungi, and microscopic cyanobacteria, for instance, all of which get their energy from photosynthesis.

“This is a common phenomenon on Earth,” said co-author Phil Christensen of Arizona State University. “Dense snow and ice can melt from the inside out, letting in sunlight that warms it like a greenhouse, rather than melting from the top down.”

On Mars, where there isn’t a protective magnetic field enveloping the planet, the sun beats down on the world with high levels of toxic radiation. But a thick slab of ice could absorb the rays, protecting biology below the surfacewhile allowing enough light to pass through it and enable photosynthesis.

Though the environment at Mars’ poles would likely be too cold for cryoconite holes to form beneath ice, the planet’s tropics may present the right conditions. During the NASA study, scientists learned that too much schmutz in the ice would make for a very small habitable zone, of perhaps just 2 to 15 inches below ground. In clearer ice, that zone could potentially extend to 10 feet deep.

Scientists are excited about these findings because they provide a sort of liquid water loophole for Mars. The planet has such thin and dry air, water ice is thought to “sublimate,” converting directly from a solid to vapor, at its surface. But the problems presented by Mars’ atmosphere for ice to melt into water don’t exist below a glacier or tightly packed snow.

The team plans to map out the most likely spots on Mars where shallow meltwater could exist. These may become some of the most enticing locations on the Red Planet for future astronauts to explore.

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Elisha Sauers writes about space for Mashable, taking deep dives into NASA’s moon and Mars missions, chatting up astronauts and history-making discoverers, and jetting above the clouds. Through 17 years of reporting, she’s covered a variety of topics, including health, business, and government, with a penchant for public records requests. She previously worked for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia, and The Capital in Annapolis, Maryland. Her work has earned numerous state awards, including the Virginia Press Association’s top honor, Best in Show, and national recognition for narrative storytelling. For each year she has covered space, Sauers has won National Headliner Awardsincluding first place for her Sex in Space series. Send space tips and story ideas to [email protected] or text 443-684-2489. Follow her on X at @elishasauers.

NASA Space Technology The Penguin Random House logo on a phone.

NASA Space Technology The Penguin Random House logo on a phone.

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