John Craven
BBC Countryfile Magazine|December 2017

Happiness Is...A Craven Community

John Craven

I have had some early glad tidings this Christmas because the happiest place in the country is an area whose name I bear and which is close to my heart: the Craven district, that stunning stretch of the Yorkshire Dales centred round the market town of Skipton.

People have lived in Craven for 11,000 years and during its long history there were times, I’m sure, when they were far from happy. They can’t have been too pleased about the Normans dividing up their lands or the Scots raiding their homes. But right now, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Craven folk are more than just happy. They also have the highest levels of life satisfaction and the lowest level of anxiety.

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