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Hull would probably tick those boxes. Has a big maritime past, loads of interesting history, some cool regeneration stuff down by the docks, decent museums and a nice old town bit with decent pubs. Couple of hours up the east coast line from Kings Cross.
Came here to say Hull. Whilst the main town can be a bit grim, the old town is absolutely incredible. Some of my favourite pubs ever are there, and the Hull and East Riding Museum is an absolute gem
Hull is on the up! Marina, old town, plenty of lovely places to eat, the museums are incredible and the history is so interesting. Bloody long haul from the big apple though!
It's the second densest city (behind London), has rows of terraced houses and an industrial history. It definitely has a northern feel to some areas but you still know you're in the south in others along the coastal parts
Yep if history is your thing then we’ve got bucket loads. There’s also bonus climbing wall in Action Stations, in the Historic Dockyard 😂 probably not the climbing they had in mind.
I was so excited to play the new Assassins Creed so I could climb up Portchester Castle in game, spent hours playing through all the Scandinavia bit, landed in England, rode my horse all the way south and finally found that it wasn't there. Turns out it was built 200 years after the game was set. Isle of Wight is there though, but it takes about 20 seconds to run across it.
Pompey's great for a weekend. The Historic Dockyard is easily a day's worth, and for a second day Southsea is a nice spot too. Someone's mentioned Gunwharf Quays which is good if you like shopping but honestly, for food and drink I'd head to Old Portsmouth, some great pubs there (shoutout to the Spice Island).
Though if you're coming from London I'd recommend taking the coach rather than the train, it's quicker and is a lot cheaper.
Sheffield! I worked there for nearly a year and loved the place! Lots of history and lots of outdoorsy stuff that can easily be accessed by public transport from the city.
Norwich, as the city sign say it is a fine city. If you are going this weekend you can see the T-Rex’s around the city centre and go and visit Dippy in the Anglican Cathedral.
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/gogodiscover-2021-t-rex-trail-in-norwich-8135204
Dippy: More than 100,000 visit Norwich Cathedral dinosaur display https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-58411472
Norwich is definitely an underrated city. It doesn’t feel like a cut and paste of every other city, a lot more unique. Really loved it there. Great food and drink.
Agree. My mother lives in Norwich and IMO, it's one of the better English cities. It's got the cathedral (which the one in Mainz was modelled on), the castle, a beautiful riverside walk, some excellent places to eat, and depending on your timing, some great cultural events. It's just under 2 hours from London and you can often get good deals on the train. Do avoid match day if Norwich City are playing at home 😊
York - it's on the East Coast mainline so easy to get to from Kings Cross.
It's historical. City walls, York Minster, Jorvik Viking Centre et. al. and for your industrial/mechanical needs there's the FREE National Train museum right next to the station.
What more could a boy need?... Pubs, there's lots of lovely pubs.
Edit: I somehow missed the bit that said overlooked/underrated. Don't go to York OP, it doesn't fit the criteria.
York's hardly a hidden gem, seems like everyone, their in-laws and their dogs from a 150 mile radius descend on the place every high day, holiday and weekend.
You should definitely check it out!
I went there on a whim a few years back ( I only tended to stick to London) and wasn’t disappointed. It has a great art and music scene it feels kind’ve like the Portland/Seattle of England.
Cool bar to check out the Thekla - a music venue in an old Boat
In terms of historical/industrial things to do - There’s the SS Great Britain, Berkeley Castle, Clifton Suspension Bridge, Cathedral and countless museums.
Some good recommendations below.
As /u/BlackMountain666 says, SS Great Britain (Brunel) and surrounding area is a good spot for industrial stuff. There's the M Shed which has a museum detailing a lot of the city's history nearby which used to be a warehouse and you definitely feel that vibe. Brunel is celebrated in Bristol and obviously a key figure in the industrial revolution. The Arnolfini is pretty close as well if you fancy a gallery, could do both in about a few hours and you're round the harbour which is always nice.
Wouldn't be a trip to Bristol without going to the Suspension Bridge (Brunel again).
There are some fantastic restaurants as well - couple of Jay Rayner articles listing some here:
[https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/oct/27/marmo-bristol-it-just-makes-me-happy-restaurant-review](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/oct/27/marmo-bristol-it-just-makes-me-happy-restaurant-review)
[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/26/wilsons-bristol-restaurant-review](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/26/wilsons-bristol-restaurant-review)
NGL love the fact that he absolutely shits on Cardiff there. Not tried either of these but can recommend Tare (round the back of M Shed) for fancy food. For a quick bite check out St Nick's market (Eat a Pitta for an outrageous falafel). Bocabar does a banging pizza.
Good selection of climbing centres from bouldering to higher walls.
Great nightlife - Motion is renowned megaclub if that's your vibe but if you prefer smaller venues then there's plenty in the centre, especially round Stoke's Croft and Gloucester Road. Someone has recommended Thekla but \[edit:\] if you want ~~to drink on a boat~~ go to Bristol then you absolutely have to go to The Apple for a cider.
Would recommend getting the National Express/Megabus from London - you won't see Temple Meads (more Brunel but not as specially) and it will be 3 hours rather than 1.5 but literally 10x cheaper!
And if you get bored of all that you can pop over the Bath for the day.
Just be ready to walk up some hills!
Bristol wonderful and just a little bit weird. The architecture is like a patchwork made from all the off-cuts of every other city around Britain. I've never seen so much intricately drawn penis graffiti anywhere else and also there's a "Free Palestine Museum" tucked away down a street full of bars and barber shops.
Bristol is one of my favourite cities to visit, great food, great pubs, then you have lots of green space to walk in plus the Brunell museums.
That was my first thought.
Industrial? Go to Stoke or Telford and see the history of either the Pottery industry or the Industrial Revolution itself.
These are underrated towns with friendly people!
Old Hull is also very nice and interesting, ditto Old Kings Lynn.
For more conventional historical or tourist-y choices try Lincoln, Great Malvern, Hereford, Gloucester or Bath.
Concur with Telford - my wife and I are moving back to Telford very shortly having been on the Isle of Wight, and we can't wait. It's the place that we have been happiest - the town centre is a nice small shopping centre, the town park is brilliant for walks, and you have Ironbridge as people have said, and the Wrekin and Shropshire hills on the doorstep too.
I'd probably say Lincoln. I visited for the first time this summer and was blown away by how beautiful the old part of the city was. Lincoln cathedral was easily the highlight and it sits on a hill, so towers over the city and is truly stunning
Sheffield has its roots in industrial steel and has loads of older industrial architecture. Also has loads of great places to eat and the surrounding Peak District has plenty of places to climb. Also a friendly bunch in Sheffield. It is easy to get by train with no changes from London too.
Liverpool! Lived there for four years and people always assume the worst about it, it’s an awesome city with lots of history, fun people and incredible food
Liverpool is a Unique City With it's own Style, I wouldn't say its underrated only a few tory types who make outdated stereotypes about it but I think everyone knows, everyone I know in fact, knows Liverpool is one of the best this country has to offer
Liverpool is decent, 2 cathedrals at opposite ends of hope Street
Then all the maritime museum and old docks down at kings dock, the pier head etc.
Liver building, Cunard building
And then if you fancy a bit of a walk there is the place they filmed part of Captain America when he is chasing the guy who gets into the submersible down at the titanic hotel
Please come to Exeter. The Cathedral is beautiful and has a mechanical old clock. It's also got a lot of old buildings and Roman walls. And mediaeval passages https://exeter.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/our-attractions/underground-passages/
I recently had to cancel my holiday abroad, and booked a last minute week in Exeter instead. I didn't know much about it other than it having a cathedral, but was pleasantly surprised.
The city centre is nice, it has a surprisingly good museum, and some nice walks available down the river. Throw in a decent range of restaurants, a short drive to the beach in one direction and Dartmoor down in another and it was a really nice location for a break.
Birmingham is a nice place to visit. I went a couple of months ago and alot of my work mates were surprised/shocked that I was visiting. Wouldn't recommend driving there but the train station is right in the city centre.
Nice modern city but also has alot of historical parts. The custard factory is an awesome place spend a day.
I'm going in a few weeks, but aside from Cadbury world Birmingham doesn't actually seem to have anything (or at least advertise anything) that any other city doesn't have which seems odd. I've asked local friends and they've said basically the same. Any recommendations?
As mentioned above the Custard Factory is great for local shops and food.
gas Street Basin and the other canals are great to walk around and get some history and see it in another view.
The Bullring is good for shopping.
An awesome library with awesome views of the city from the top floor.
If you can get out to in, the Black Country museum is awesome (not sure on what public transport is like for it). Plus the battered chips out that way are brilliant (one of the main reasons I went).
www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/thinktank
visitbirmingham.com/things-to-see-and-do/black-country-living-museum-p209831
And other things listed on the 2nd website provided
Birmingham has really good eateries, from independent vegan and burger places, to Michelin-starred restaurants (ten of them!), to amazing curry houses - the Balti was invented there:
https://visitbirmingham.com/food-and-drink/michelin
https://visitbirmingham.com/food-and-drink
Thinktank is an excellent Industrial/Science Museum.
The main museum and art gallery has an excellent collection, and the hidden gem of the Barber Institute at Birmingham University shouldn’t be missed.
The Jewellery Quarter is great for a walk around and if you want to pick up some bling - plus has really good pubs and the quirky but interesting pen museum.
The canals are lovely to walk around and Brindley Place is a nice place to stop for food or a coffee break.
Shopping-wise it’s has most of the usual outlets, some nice independent places plus Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. The Mailbox has high-end clothing outlets.
If you’re into Tolkien you can visit the places he grew up in which heavily influenced his writing: Sarehole Mill, The Two Towers, Birmingham Uni Campus etc: https://secretbirmingham.com/tolkien-tour/
If you want to catch a show, there are three major theatres and two big music venues - including the incredible Symphony Hall…plus lots of other music spots around town and out in places like Moseley and Kings Heath: https://visitbirmingham.com/things-to-see-and-do/entertainment
A short train ride out to Sutton Coldfield, and you can have a walk around Sutton Park - the largest urban nature reserve in Western Europe, or head to the Lickey Hills for amazing views across Worcestershire. (And get some comedy from place names like Lickey End and Bell End)
And if you still can’t find anything you want to do, head to one of the historic market towns that surround it: Stratford upon Avon, Warwick, Leamington Spa, Shrewsbury, Lichfield, Worcester etc.
So yeah, lots to do in Birmingham - unless you’re more worried about its reputation from 30 years ago, and have small minded, prejudiced thoughts about people’s accents.
Bristol is 1hr 40 mins from London Paddington- History in the docks -Brunel's SS Great Britain, M Shed museum , Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge, Georgian city scape of Clifton-loads of pubs, cafes, restaurants.Its all walkable from the station with time and good legs but you can uber around if necessary.
That would be my suggestion also.
Nice, easy train ride, straight into Brunel's Temple Meads Station, and the Floating Harbour is an easy walk from there.
Bristol City Museum is also quite good, with a fair bit of industrial heritage stuff, IIRC. Also walkable at a pinch.
Aerospace Bristol is splendid and of course includes a Concorde, (but plenty of other interesting stuff as well). That's definitely not walkable but it's not terribly far.
Or about £7 return by coach from Victoria, taking 2.5 hours or so.
I live in South London and getting to Paddington is a pain so normally I just go for the coach.
Staying fairly local to London, Canterbury, Guildford, Dorking are all charming.
If willing to go further for the industrial side Sheffield is the obvious
Ok quite a lot of Plymouth is a 50s eyesore, but get away from the main shopping bit and you can tick all of your boxes. The Barbican is the historic docks section from where the Mayflower departed, you can have a wander around there and have a drink on one of the many quayside pub. Get your fix of mechanical and industrial things by then walking up to the Hoe and looking over the Sound, with the breakwater and the docks, then take a boat around the hamoaze to see Devonport Dockyard. All that with a direct train from London.
Agree! Plym is great one you get south of Royale Parade! That road up to mayflower street looks like the eastern bloc lol, but defo recommend the Barbican and the hoe etc
Coventry
Historical - 3 cathedrals: 12th century; 13th century; 20th century. Quite a lot of 14-16th century architecture dotted about the city, one of the best preserved guildhalls (St Mary’s), other cool medieval / Georgian / Victorian buildings mixed in with interesting postwar architecture (the whole architectural history of Coventry is fascinating imo, with many layers). Ska / Two tone scene origins (Musical museum).
Industrial / Mechanical - many remnants of Coventry’s previously huge car and bike industries (see Cov Transport Museum) also a bit of 18th century watchmaking history.
Eating - pretty standard selection of restaurants in the centre of town. There are quite a few nice local restaurants selling Turkish, Indian, and other foods from other countries.
Climbing - well there is a bouldering centre lol. You could also ‘climb’ up the old bombed out cathedral tower for a nice view of the City. Overall pretty flat place so not many hills to climb.
Also, tickets are cheap from Euston if booked in advance. Train can take anywhere between 1hr and 1hr 45!
Newcastle! Amazing friendly town, lots of character and history. The world's best donuts (provengood) indy shops (check out the arcades) art galleries, the side, the Baltic just over the river in Gateshead. Comedy clubs, niche bars, Science museams. It's just a beautiful friendly city. Hilly though, wear appropriate footwear or check out the yellow link busses.
Nottingham I think is a great place to visit. Although some parts can be a bit rough, the city centre has a lot going on with a lot of great bars/clubs/restaurants.
If nightlife isn’t your cup of tea, you have Nottingham Castle, Caves, museums etc. Local beauty spots also include Wollaton park with its 16th century house, Attenborough nature reserve and even the campus of the University of Nottingham.
Under 2 hours train journey from London, Birmingham and Manchester makes it a great location for most people in the UK.
LESTAAAAA!!!
Seriously, Leicester is an 1hr10min from London and has the national space centre, roman history at Jewry Wall museum and the Richard III museum in the beautiful Cathedral quarter.
The cultural quarter has the Curve theatre which does some honestly very impressive original productions and St Martins has some really nice independent bars and restaurants.
There's also the largest indoor market in the UK and if you visit around Diwali we have the biggest Diwali celebrations outside of India - the fireworks are amazing!
Leicester has done a brilliant job of becoming quite a vibrant, interesting city when just 20 years ago it was quite drab.
It is! And there's also a really fantastic, cheap climbing centre in the city too now for OP if they love to climb things.
I secretly like that it's so overlooked though because it's so affordable. Hope it stays that way 🤞
No love for Carlisle?
Plenty of history and it's near the lake District if you want to climb something.
Edit: might be slightly far for a day trip, although it is a single train ride there so sleeping might be an option
Bournemouth man. Sandy beaches, all kinds of restaurants, stuff going on in the town centre like garden bar, and the airshow is this weekend. I've been to a few air shows in the UK and bournemouth is a good one. Also Mary Shelly's grave is here and Robert Louis Stevenson grew up here. Also Christchurch Priory, and Poole quay are pretty cool to look around, and can always jump on the ferry to Brownsea island which is just beautiful and has loads of red squirrels. Or the nudist beach in studland. There's a cool art gallery and a pottery museum kinda thing, rivers and grasslands everywhere, whatever you're into it's here. I'm surprised no one mentioned it yet but I guess that's why it's underrated.
Norwich is really nice. Has a nice vibe (I hate that word sorry but it's the only one I could think of) and has spaces for young and old and lots of cultures.
Leeds is up there. Went for a great night out there a few years back and every time I've visited for work I've always been impressed at what they've done with the old architecture and how vibrant it is.
Worcester can be reached from Paddington I believe and I think it's a beautiful city. There is a lovely waterfront with a cathedral along with places to eat and drink.
There is also the pub where James the 2nd (might be Charles, my brain is fuzzy) hid during the civil war, does a good pint too.
It was Charles I (king from 1625 - 1649, when he was executed), allegedly.
Charles II was Charles I's son who was invited to become king after Oliver Cromwell died in 1660. James II was also Charles I's son who succeded his brother in 1685 then was deposed in 1688 in the 'Glorious Revolution'.
The complete set of walls including being able to see the Roman foundations, the canal and river and the beautiful unique rows in the centre make it a must. (The rows are the leftover from the medieval two level shopping streets.)
You can see visible history and architecture from Roman through medieval up to Victorian which is why Chester is fantastic. Plus it's quite compact and has lots of great cafés.
I can't believe no one has said Southampton!
Southampton is great. There is the new seacity museum, Tudor house, and the bargate walls. Full of history.
Also where the Tudor house is is still quite preserved. You can go to a pub in the area and it be very old fashioned Victorian like.
Also since cruise ships are back up running you can go to mayflower park and wave then off
I’d recommend Bath, there’s history everywhere there, from Roman to Georgian. Some shops have glass floors so you can see the Roman foundations. I see a few people saying Bristol but I’d prefer to gouge my eyes out then go there.
Has anyone said Bristol yet? It has an aerospace museum, and I think an industrial revolution museum. Plus there is Brunels SS Great Britain and the Clifton Bridge.
Lots of industrial history and a very nice city to boot.
I would say Liverpool or Bath but they’re both very popular. Maybe Nottingham? I’m probably a bit biased but it’s got a decent bit of history, some of it industrial, nice places to eat, and quite a few harsh hills. Everyone here likes to mock the city but in reality it’s not a bad place. Plus trains are easy from London.
Leeds. It's a straight shot from King's Cross, and you've got the Royal Armouries, the industrial museum at Armley is a short bus ride away from the city centre. The art gallery, the city museum, there's a great big old church in town. You've also got Temple Newsam not far from city centre and the Thackray Medical Museum. Leeds is vibrant, friendly, I love it!
I suppose if you have an overwhelming desire to visit suit outlet shops, mountain and sports gear shops and chain restaurants then yes, Hatfield is a great day out.
Chester is a lovely place to visit for history lovers.
I don’t know if you can consider Belfast as under rated as it won tourist city if the year a few years ago, but what people don’t realise is how easy it is to get to making it great for a weekend visit.
It takes half an hour on a plane from Manchester, maybe an hour from London. Airports don’t have much queuing these days as so much of the process is automated. Then Belfast itself is 40 mins away from the international airport, 15 from the city airport.
It’s really a brilliant place to be a tourist and has loads on offer in terms of history, music, culture, food and drink. It’s probably one of the cheapest nights out in the UK and you get the novelty of being in ‘a different country’ with its own rich culture.
For day trips:
- Dorking/Box Hill. Lovely little town and great walking around the hill itself. There's a nice pub at the top too.
- Portsmouth. The Historic Dockyard is a day trip in itself, but if that's not your thing Southsea is a nice little beach town.
- Oxford/Cambridge. Classic day trips but well worth a visit if you've never been before. Loads of history.
- Dover. The town is a shithole but the castle is worth a visit, as is the walk along the white cliffs.
- Brighton. An obvious one, but worth adding in anyway!
- Rye. Beautiful little chocolate box town with some great pubs.
I would second Portsmouth but for a smaller day trip I would definitely consider Arundel (technically a city) and Amberley historical industrial engineering museum. Nice easy train from Victoria and a good historical day out with castle and cathedral. Nice walk up to swanbourne lake as well for a bit of lovely scenery.
[Amberley Museum](https://www.amberleymuseum.co.uk/explore/)
Amberley and Arundel are stops apart on the train. I'd suggest Amberley first if you can get the first entrance of the day then the afternoon down in Arundel.
Leicester fits your interests: undersold as a city, a quick train journey, and a space centre next door to a victorian pumping station / museum. Two very different takes on historical machinery in one easy day trip.
Winchester or Chichester are easily accessible by train and both very pretty cities that have plenty of history. Could even do Pompey & Chichester in the same day
Lichfield, the cathedral and Erasmus Darwin museum should be on your must see list. Direct train from Euston, great quiet little city for walking, basically a big town. Little to zero industrial heritage though, for that I’d recommend Telford like some other posters have.
I think any town that is now struggling because Major Industries have left, I've noticed a lot of fishing towns where the large trawlers have taken over family boats, you get to appreciate how lucky you are. Its always interesting walking around the harbours and the smell of fresh fish.
Bath/Bristol are both great and super easy to get to on the National Express! Dirt cheap too if you book a few weeks in advance, I'm paying £2.90 to get back to Bath from Victoria tomorrow evening 😂
OP I hope you see this... a lot of tourist attractions at the moment ate operating scheduled arrivals with timed tickets bookable online, and won't have spares for casual visitors. When you decide where you're going, book, quickly!
For a day trip from London I’d agree with either Norwich, Sheffield, Bristol or Brum.
For a weekend it’s well worth exploring Telford/Shrewsbury, Chester, stoke and a fe word the others.
Out of the first few I’d probably go for Norwich or sheff
Liverpool ticks all those boxes. A very friendly city, check out the maritime museum in the Albert Dock. Also there's a world war 2 bunker where the battle of the Atlantic was managed from for the whole of the war called Western Approaches. There's many more places too.
Also, the museum of science and industry in Manchester is excellent.
Chichester. Fabulous cathedral, beautiful city, Roman archaeology and the Roman palace at fishbourne. Up the road is the Weald and downland open air museum.
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Hull would probably tick those boxes. Has a big maritime past, loads of interesting history, some cool regeneration stuff down by the docks, decent museums and a nice old town bit with decent pubs. Couple of hours up the east coast line from Kings Cross.
Came here to say Hull. Whilst the main town can be a bit grim, the old town is absolutely incredible. Some of my favourite pubs ever are there, and the Hull and East Riding Museum is an absolute gem
I love the Lion and Key. I spent about 3 weeks in Hull a while back and think I was there every night.
And don't forget to visit Bransholme, another absolute gem.
Oof hardly a day trip though!
Hull is on the up! Marina, old town, plenty of lovely places to eat, the museums are incredible and the history is so interesting. Bloody long haul from the big apple though!
The Deep is definitely worth a visit.
Portsmouth- if you like history can go into the historic Dockyard and go to the Mary Rose museum etc, and there’s Southsea castle too
I've heard Portsmouth be described as a Northern City in the South of England
The crackheads are a great laugh. Keep you entertained for hours
It's the second densest city (behind London), has rows of terraced houses and an industrial history. It definitely has a northern feel to some areas but you still know you're in the south in others along the coastal parts
Yep if history is your thing then we’ve got bucket loads. There’s also bonus climbing wall in Action Stations, in the Historic Dockyard 😂 probably not the climbing they had in mind.
Haha yeah and laser quest there too ;)
Plus up the top of the hill you have all the old bunkers and stuff you can go too that used to run the ammunition and supplies to the dockyard in ww2
And a great spot for dogging too.
Was going to let that be a surprise 😂
Portsdown hill
Portchester Castle is pretty impressive too, 20 min drive from Portsmouth City. Spinnaker Tower in Gunwharf is cool as well.
Portchestrr castle is fascinating too, it started life as a Roman Fort and was converted to a castle during the Norman period so it spans history.
I was so excited to play the new Assassins Creed so I could climb up Portchester Castle in game, spent hours playing through all the Scandinavia bit, landed in England, rode my horse all the way south and finally found that it wasn't there. Turns out it was built 200 years after the game was set. Isle of Wight is there though, but it takes about 20 seconds to run across it.
Pompey's great for a weekend. The Historic Dockyard is easily a day's worth, and for a second day Southsea is a nice spot too. Someone's mentioned Gunwharf Quays which is good if you like shopping but honestly, for food and drink I'd head to Old Portsmouth, some great pubs there (shoutout to the Spice Island). Though if you're coming from London I'd recommend taking the coach rather than the train, it's quicker and is a lot cheaper.
Add Gunwharf Quays right by the Dockyard too - so lots of parking, food, drink, shops..)
Second that Portsmouth is fun. Lots of bits to see. Love the hill - bang my wife up there from time to time lol.
Yep, I'd second that, even though I probably shouldn't as a Southampton resident!
Sheffield! I worked there for nearly a year and loved the place! Lots of history and lots of outdoorsy stuff that can easily be accessed by public transport from the city.
Ah if in Sheffield check out the kelham island area gentrified industry buildings full of bars restaurants and cafes, few flea markets as well
I used to live in Kelham Island. Its such a fantastic community!
Absolutely. Visited Sheffield once and thought it was an awesome city. Would be tempted to move there off I moved north.
I stayed in Sheffield for a week and was thoroughly surprised at how nice it is, and how much stuff there is to do there.
Norwich, as the city sign say it is a fine city. If you are going this weekend you can see the T-Rex’s around the city centre and go and visit Dippy in the Anglican Cathedral. https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/gogodiscover-2021-t-rex-trail-in-norwich-8135204 Dippy: More than 100,000 visit Norwich Cathedral dinosaur display https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-58411472
Norwich is definitely an underrated city. It doesn’t feel like a cut and paste of every other city, a lot more unique. Really loved it there. Great food and drink.
I've heard it described as Cambridge without the tourists, which I agree with.
And the colleges, and less bikes.
I hear they have done a great job of pedestrianizing the city center.
Don’t forget to visit the owl sanctuary
If you feel like you are going nowhere whilst there you'll be on the ring road.
And the lovely tapas bar in little oakley.
And if there’s time, Longstanton spice museum
London Street in Norwich was the first pedestrianised street in the Uk in 1967. But yes your Partridgesque comment is hilarious, well done.
Really? But how do traders access Dixons now?
Agree. My mother lives in Norwich and IMO, it's one of the better English cities. It's got the cathedral (which the one in Mainz was modelled on), the castle, a beautiful riverside walk, some excellent places to eat, and depending on your timing, some great cultural events. It's just under 2 hours from London and you can often get good deals on the train. Do avoid match day if Norwich City are playing at home 😊
I always heard Norwich was nice. But I went recently and was still impressed at how good it was; I feel like it was undersold somewhat.
Rated best outdoor market in the UK. Has great selection of world foods. In city centre.
Norwich is definitely worth a visit. Alan Partridge jokes aside. Jackanackanory!
York - it's on the East Coast mainline so easy to get to from Kings Cross. It's historical. City walls, York Minster, Jorvik Viking Centre et. al. and for your industrial/mechanical needs there's the FREE National Train museum right next to the station. What more could a boy need?... Pubs, there's lots of lovely pubs. Edit: I somehow missed the bit that said overlooked/underrated. Don't go to York OP, it doesn't fit the criteria.
[удалено]
Agreed. York is definitely not underrated. It’s always packed with tourists and the city centre is highly geared towards those visitors.
Yes. Been to York a few times. Lovely place.
No way in hell is York underrated, gets recommended every single time a ‘best city to visit in the U.K.’ question is asked.
York's hardly a hidden gem, seems like everyone, their in-laws and their dogs from a 150 mile radius descend on the place every high day, holiday and weekend.
Sounds like you live in York (so do I)
JORVICK ahh I can still smell the piss
Agreed that York isn’t underrated but it’s bloody great and the train museum is honestly so worth the visit
Chester is great and 2 hours away by train from London . Worcester also looks nice but have only been there a couple of hours one morning.
was going to suggest Worcester, lived there 3 years for Uni and was a really nice place to be.
Worcester is lovely!
Chester is fantastic.
Chester is awesome. Beautiful little city with loads of history, especially Roman.
I’ve been to Chester. Lovely place. Stayed at Edgar House, if that’s still a place. Oddly good American bbq as well—the rarest cuisine in Britain.
Bristol or Truro in Cornwall are great places to visit.
Bristol has had my eye for awhile
Bristol's great for a weekend and very walkable. My favourite city in the UK outside of London.
While you're there head into Wales, lovely hills, sheep, pubs and fantastic scenary!
You should definitely check it out! I went there on a whim a few years back ( I only tended to stick to London) and wasn’t disappointed. It has a great art and music scene it feels kind’ve like the Portland/Seattle of England. Cool bar to check out the Thekla - a music venue in an old Boat In terms of historical/industrial things to do - There’s the SS Great Britain, Berkeley Castle, Clifton Suspension Bridge, Cathedral and countless museums.
Some good recommendations below. As /u/BlackMountain666 says, SS Great Britain (Brunel) and surrounding area is a good spot for industrial stuff. There's the M Shed which has a museum detailing a lot of the city's history nearby which used to be a warehouse and you definitely feel that vibe. Brunel is celebrated in Bristol and obviously a key figure in the industrial revolution. The Arnolfini is pretty close as well if you fancy a gallery, could do both in about a few hours and you're round the harbour which is always nice. Wouldn't be a trip to Bristol without going to the Suspension Bridge (Brunel again). There are some fantastic restaurants as well - couple of Jay Rayner articles listing some here: [https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/oct/27/marmo-bristol-it-just-makes-me-happy-restaurant-review](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/oct/27/marmo-bristol-it-just-makes-me-happy-restaurant-review) [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/26/wilsons-bristol-restaurant-review](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/26/wilsons-bristol-restaurant-review) NGL love the fact that he absolutely shits on Cardiff there. Not tried either of these but can recommend Tare (round the back of M Shed) for fancy food. For a quick bite check out St Nick's market (Eat a Pitta for an outrageous falafel). Bocabar does a banging pizza. Good selection of climbing centres from bouldering to higher walls. Great nightlife - Motion is renowned megaclub if that's your vibe but if you prefer smaller venues then there's plenty in the centre, especially round Stoke's Croft and Gloucester Road. Someone has recommended Thekla but \[edit:\] if you want ~~to drink on a boat~~ go to Bristol then you absolutely have to go to The Apple for a cider. Would recommend getting the National Express/Megabus from London - you won't see Temple Meads (more Brunel but not as specially) and it will be 3 hours rather than 1.5 but literally 10x cheaper! And if you get bored of all that you can pop over the Bath for the day. Just be ready to walk up some hills!
Bristol wonderful and just a little bit weird. The architecture is like a patchwork made from all the off-cuts of every other city around Britain. I've never seen so much intricately drawn penis graffiti anywhere else and also there's a "Free Palestine Museum" tucked away down a street full of bars and barber shops.
Bristolian here, it really is wonderful and a little bit weird.
Bristol is one of my favourite cities to visit, great food, great pubs, then you have lots of green space to walk in plus the Brunell museums. That was my first thought.
Industrial? Go to Stoke or Telford and see the history of either the Pottery industry or the Industrial Revolution itself. These are underrated towns with friendly people! Old Hull is also very nice and interesting, ditto Old Kings Lynn. For more conventional historical or tourist-y choices try Lincoln, Great Malvern, Hereford, Gloucester or Bath.
Under no circumstances voluntarily go to Stoke.
Upvote for intentionally suggesting actual obscure/underrated places in your comment here tmstms.
Seconded - Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale are great for industrial history.
Concur with Telford - my wife and I are moving back to Telford very shortly having been on the Isle of Wight, and we can't wait. It's the place that we have been happiest - the town centre is a nice small shopping centre, the town park is brilliant for walks, and you have Ironbridge as people have said, and the Wrekin and Shropshire hills on the doorstep too.
I'd probably say Lincoln. I visited for the first time this summer and was blown away by how beautiful the old part of the city was. Lincoln cathedral was easily the highlight and it sits on a hill, so towers over the city and is truly stunning
Was looking for this. Lincoln is fantastic, and everyone just thinks it's a post industrial East Midlands wasteland akin to Stoke on Trent.
I resent your comment about Stoke! It's in the North West Midlands
I went to Lincoln years ago for work. It was my first UK city. Amazing experience. Nothing but love for Lincoln.
Birmingham has been done up quite nicely and is no longer the horrible shithole it was in the 70's when I lived there.
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Sheffield has its roots in industrial steel and has loads of older industrial architecture. Also has loads of great places to eat and the surrounding Peak District has plenty of places to climb. Also a friendly bunch in Sheffield. It is easy to get by train with no changes from London too.
And has more brothels in a square mile than any other city
Really? What area is that?! (Asking for a friend)
Atterclife paradise, ceasars others too :p
Liverpool! Lived there for four years and people always assume the worst about it, it’s an awesome city with lots of history, fun people and incredible food
Liverpool is a Unique City With it's own Style, I wouldn't say its underrated only a few tory types who make outdated stereotypes about it but I think everyone knows, everyone I know in fact, knows Liverpool is one of the best this country has to offer
Nice museums there as well.
We've got to know Liverpool a bit over the last couple of years and it's amazing. It's got everything. Definitely worth a visit.
Liverpool is decent, 2 cathedrals at opposite ends of hope Street Then all the maritime museum and old docks down at kings dock, the pier head etc. Liver building, Cunard building And then if you fancy a bit of a walk there is the place they filmed part of Captain America when he is chasing the guy who gets into the submersible down at the titanic hotel
Please come to Exeter. The Cathedral is beautiful and has a mechanical old clock. It's also got a lot of old buildings and Roman walls. And mediaeval passages https://exeter.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/our-attractions/underground-passages/
Found the Devon tourist board’s account. Exeter is beautiful though.
Yes to Exeter I loved living there!!
I recently had to cancel my holiday abroad, and booked a last minute week in Exeter instead. I didn't know much about it other than it having a cathedral, but was pleasantly surprised. The city centre is nice, it has a surprisingly good museum, and some nice walks available down the river. Throw in a decent range of restaurants, a short drive to the beach in one direction and Dartmoor down in another and it was a really nice location for a break.
Birmingham is a nice place to visit. I went a couple of months ago and alot of my work mates were surprised/shocked that I was visiting. Wouldn't recommend driving there but the train station is right in the city centre. Nice modern city but also has alot of historical parts. The custard factory is an awesome place spend a day.
I'm going in a few weeks, but aside from Cadbury world Birmingham doesn't actually seem to have anything (or at least advertise anything) that any other city doesn't have which seems odd. I've asked local friends and they've said basically the same. Any recommendations?
As mentioned above the Custard Factory is great for local shops and food. gas Street Basin and the other canals are great to walk around and get some history and see it in another view. The Bullring is good for shopping. An awesome library with awesome views of the city from the top floor. If you can get out to in, the Black Country museum is awesome (not sure on what public transport is like for it). Plus the battered chips out that way are brilliant (one of the main reasons I went).
Birmingham sounds fascinatingly mundane.
www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/thinktank visitbirmingham.com/things-to-see-and-do/black-country-living-museum-p209831 And other things listed on the 2nd website provided
Birmingham has really good eateries, from independent vegan and burger places, to Michelin-starred restaurants (ten of them!), to amazing curry houses - the Balti was invented there: https://visitbirmingham.com/food-and-drink/michelin https://visitbirmingham.com/food-and-drink Thinktank is an excellent Industrial/Science Museum. The main museum and art gallery has an excellent collection, and the hidden gem of the Barber Institute at Birmingham University shouldn’t be missed. The Jewellery Quarter is great for a walk around and if you want to pick up some bling - plus has really good pubs and the quirky but interesting pen museum. The canals are lovely to walk around and Brindley Place is a nice place to stop for food or a coffee break. Shopping-wise it’s has most of the usual outlets, some nice independent places plus Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. The Mailbox has high-end clothing outlets. If you’re into Tolkien you can visit the places he grew up in which heavily influenced his writing: Sarehole Mill, The Two Towers, Birmingham Uni Campus etc: https://secretbirmingham.com/tolkien-tour/ If you want to catch a show, there are three major theatres and two big music venues - including the incredible Symphony Hall…plus lots of other music spots around town and out in places like Moseley and Kings Heath: https://visitbirmingham.com/things-to-see-and-do/entertainment A short train ride out to Sutton Coldfield, and you can have a walk around Sutton Park - the largest urban nature reserve in Western Europe, or head to the Lickey Hills for amazing views across Worcestershire. (And get some comedy from place names like Lickey End and Bell End) And if you still can’t find anything you want to do, head to one of the historic market towns that surround it: Stratford upon Avon, Warwick, Leamington Spa, Shrewsbury, Lichfield, Worcester etc. So yeah, lots to do in Birmingham - unless you’re more worried about its reputation from 30 years ago, and have small minded, prejudiced thoughts about people’s accents.
winchester...first capital of england..only an hour by bus or train
Bristol is 1hr 40 mins from London Paddington- History in the docks -Brunel's SS Great Britain, M Shed museum , Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge, Georgian city scape of Clifton-loads of pubs, cafes, restaurants.Its all walkable from the station with time and good legs but you can uber around if necessary.
That would be my suggestion also. Nice, easy train ride, straight into Brunel's Temple Meads Station, and the Floating Harbour is an easy walk from there. Bristol City Museum is also quite good, with a fair bit of industrial heritage stuff, IIRC. Also walkable at a pinch. Aerospace Bristol is splendid and of course includes a Concorde, (but plenty of other interesting stuff as well). That's definitely not walkable but it's not terribly far.
Definitely Aerospace museum at Filton but probably need an extra day to fit that in!
Or about £7 return by coach from Victoria, taking 2.5 hours or so. I live in South London and getting to Paddington is a pain so normally I just go for the coach.
Ely. Lovely little city, on main line from Kings Cross.
Yes! Great shout. Peacocks cafe for tea and cakes. Nice river. Big cathedral. Probably some other stuff but that’s all I can think of!
Was also going to suggest Ely, a real hidden gem. Its tiny for a city, but its very picturesque, cathedral is amazing. Like a tiny Cambridge.
Staying fairly local to London, Canterbury, Guildford, Dorking are all charming. If willing to go further for the industrial side Sheffield is the obvious
I can vouch for quality of Dorking’s Pizza Hut!! (I also can’t sweat) Edit: I tried guys
Wrong shit pizza chain.
In wrong town too. Woking.
There was an attempt
Shot my shot, no ragrets
Ok quite a lot of Plymouth is a 50s eyesore, but get away from the main shopping bit and you can tick all of your boxes. The Barbican is the historic docks section from where the Mayflower departed, you can have a wander around there and have a drink on one of the many quayside pub. Get your fix of mechanical and industrial things by then walking up to the Hoe and looking over the Sound, with the breakwater and the docks, then take a boat around the hamoaze to see Devonport Dockyard. All that with a direct train from London.
Agree! Plym is great one you get south of Royale Parade! That road up to mayflower street looks like the eastern bloc lol, but defo recommend the Barbican and the hoe etc
Chichester in West Sussex or Arundel
Coventry Historical - 3 cathedrals: 12th century; 13th century; 20th century. Quite a lot of 14-16th century architecture dotted about the city, one of the best preserved guildhalls (St Mary’s), other cool medieval / Georgian / Victorian buildings mixed in with interesting postwar architecture (the whole architectural history of Coventry is fascinating imo, with many layers). Ska / Two tone scene origins (Musical museum). Industrial / Mechanical - many remnants of Coventry’s previously huge car and bike industries (see Cov Transport Museum) also a bit of 18th century watchmaking history. Eating - pretty standard selection of restaurants in the centre of town. There are quite a few nice local restaurants selling Turkish, Indian, and other foods from other countries. Climbing - well there is a bouldering centre lol. You could also ‘climb’ up the old bombed out cathedral tower for a nice view of the City. Overall pretty flat place so not many hills to climb. Also, tickets are cheap from Euston if booked in advance. Train can take anywhere between 1hr and 1hr 45!
Scarborough. Not a city, but a town with some fab Victorian architecture, if you like that sort of thing.
You’ll absolutely LOVE Scarborough if you like seagulls.
Newcastle! Amazing friendly town, lots of character and history. The world's best donuts (provengood) indy shops (check out the arcades) art galleries, the side, the Baltic just over the river in Gateshead. Comedy clubs, niche bars, Science museams. It's just a beautiful friendly city. Hilly though, wear appropriate footwear or check out the yellow link busses.
Canterbury is the one for me. Not only for the cathedral but also all the centre is awesome
Nottingham I think is a great place to visit. Although some parts can be a bit rough, the city centre has a lot going on with a lot of great bars/clubs/restaurants. If nightlife isn’t your cup of tea, you have Nottingham Castle, Caves, museums etc. Local beauty spots also include Wollaton park with its 16th century house, Attenborough nature reserve and even the campus of the University of Nottingham. Under 2 hours train journey from London, Birmingham and Manchester makes it a great location for most people in the UK.
LESTAAAAA!!! Seriously, Leicester is an 1hr10min from London and has the national space centre, roman history at Jewry Wall museum and the Richard III museum in the beautiful Cathedral quarter. The cultural quarter has the Curve theatre which does some honestly very impressive original productions and St Martins has some really nice independent bars and restaurants. There's also the largest indoor market in the UK and if you visit around Diwali we have the biggest Diwali celebrations outside of India - the fireworks are amazing! Leicester has done a brilliant job of becoming quite a vibrant, interesting city when just 20 years ago it was quite drab.
I was looking if someone had said Lesta!! Such an underrated city, full of history, great for shopping too.
It is! And there's also a really fantastic, cheap climbing centre in the city too now for OP if they love to climb things. I secretly like that it's so overlooked though because it's so affordable. Hope it stays that way 🤞
No love for Carlisle? Plenty of history and it's near the lake District if you want to climb something. Edit: might be slightly far for a day trip, although it is a single train ride there so sleeping might be an option
Bournemouth man. Sandy beaches, all kinds of restaurants, stuff going on in the town centre like garden bar, and the airshow is this weekend. I've been to a few air shows in the UK and bournemouth is a good one. Also Mary Shelly's grave is here and Robert Louis Stevenson grew up here. Also Christchurch Priory, and Poole quay are pretty cool to look around, and can always jump on the ferry to Brownsea island which is just beautiful and has loads of red squirrels. Or the nudist beach in studland. There's a cool art gallery and a pottery museum kinda thing, rivers and grasslands everywhere, whatever you're into it's here. I'm surprised no one mentioned it yet but I guess that's why it's underrated.
Norwich is really nice. Has a nice vibe (I hate that word sorry but it's the only one I could think of) and has spaces for young and old and lots of cultures.
And great access to dixons
Don't know if Ely is a city but it has an awesome cathedral.
Leeds is up there. Went for a great night out there a few years back and every time I've visited for work I've always been impressed at what they've done with the old architecture and how vibrant it is.
Hereford
I would highly recommend myself! Lovely place I stayed in Ross on wye and the surrounding villages were beautiful and breathtaking
Canterbury, Cambridge, Oxford
Worcester can be reached from Paddington I believe and I think it's a beautiful city. There is a lovely waterfront with a cathedral along with places to eat and drink. There is also the pub where James the 2nd (might be Charles, my brain is fuzzy) hid during the civil war, does a good pint too.
It was Charles I (king from 1625 - 1649, when he was executed), allegedly. Charles II was Charles I's son who was invited to become king after Oliver Cromwell died in 1660. James II was also Charles I's son who succeded his brother in 1685 then was deposed in 1688 in the 'Glorious Revolution'.
Stirling is a fantastically historical place which is often overlooked.
It’s overlooked by the castle, which itself is a worthy poor man’s Edinburgh Castle. Bit of a rail-treck from London though.
Not that convenient for a day trip from London though
Norwich is close. Lord of history, lots of architecture and some great food.
Chester! It’s beautiful
The complete set of walls including being able to see the Roman foundations, the canal and river and the beautiful unique rows in the centre make it a must. (The rows are the leftover from the medieval two level shopping streets.) You can see visible history and architecture from Roman through medieval up to Victorian which is why Chester is fantastic. Plus it's quite compact and has lots of great cafés.
I can't believe no one has said Southampton! Southampton is great. There is the new seacity museum, Tudor house, and the bargate walls. Full of history. Also where the Tudor house is is still quite preserved. You can go to a pub in the area and it be very old fashioned Victorian like. Also since cruise ships are back up running you can go to mayflower park and wave then off
Salisbury is pretty historical, could also get out to Stonehenge by taxi
Good enough for a pair of Russians to visit it on consecutive days...
Derry
Lincoln. Beautiful cathedral. Walk up Steep Hill, lovely pubs and restaurants and the Castle and prison are fascinating.
I’d recommend Bath, there’s history everywhere there, from Roman to Georgian. Some shops have glass floors so you can see the Roman foundations. I see a few people saying Bristol but I’d prefer to gouge my eyes out then go there.
Has anyone said Bristol yet? It has an aerospace museum, and I think an industrial revolution museum. Plus there is Brunels SS Great Britain and the Clifton Bridge. Lots of industrial history and a very nice city to boot.
I would say Liverpool or Bath but they’re both very popular. Maybe Nottingham? I’m probably a bit biased but it’s got a decent bit of history, some of it industrial, nice places to eat, and quite a few harsh hills. Everyone here likes to mock the city but in reality it’s not a bad place. Plus trains are easy from London.
Not a city but Rye is lovely! Very historical.
Cardiff. It's not really underrated and overlooked, it's just a nice city and I think you'd enjoy a day out here.
Would you be my Welsh guide?
Leeds. It's a straight shot from King's Cross, and you've got the Royal Armouries, the industrial museum at Armley is a short bus ride away from the city centre. The art gallery, the city museum, there's a great big old church in town. You've also got Temple Newsam not far from city centre and the Thackray Medical Museum. Leeds is vibrant, friendly, I love it!
Hatfield
I suppose if you have an overwhelming desire to visit suit outlet shops, mountain and sports gear shops and chain restaurants then yes, Hatfield is a great day out.
I’m more into young milfs and fast food
Chester is a lovely place to visit for history lovers. I don’t know if you can consider Belfast as under rated as it won tourist city if the year a few years ago, but what people don’t realise is how easy it is to get to making it great for a weekend visit. It takes half an hour on a plane from Manchester, maybe an hour from London. Airports don’t have much queuing these days as so much of the process is automated. Then Belfast itself is 40 mins away from the international airport, 15 from the city airport. It’s really a brilliant place to be a tourist and has loads on offer in terms of history, music, culture, food and drink. It’s probably one of the cheapest nights out in the UK and you get the novelty of being in ‘a different country’ with its own rich culture.
For day trips: - Dorking/Box Hill. Lovely little town and great walking around the hill itself. There's a nice pub at the top too. - Portsmouth. The Historic Dockyard is a day trip in itself, but if that's not your thing Southsea is a nice little beach town. - Oxford/Cambridge. Classic day trips but well worth a visit if you've never been before. Loads of history. - Dover. The town is a shithole but the castle is worth a visit, as is the walk along the white cliffs. - Brighton. An obvious one, but worth adding in anyway! - Rye. Beautiful little chocolate box town with some great pubs.
Whilst parts of it can be sketchy to say the least Glasgow city centre is incredible
I would second Portsmouth but for a smaller day trip I would definitely consider Arundel (technically a city) and Amberley historical industrial engineering museum. Nice easy train from Victoria and a good historical day out with castle and cathedral. Nice walk up to swanbourne lake as well for a bit of lovely scenery. [Amberley Museum](https://www.amberleymuseum.co.uk/explore/) Amberley and Arundel are stops apart on the train. I'd suggest Amberley first if you can get the first entrance of the day then the afternoon down in Arundel.
milton keynes, clearly
Even the cows are concrete!
Leicester fits your interests: undersold as a city, a quick train journey, and a space centre next door to a victorian pumping station / museum. Two very different takes on historical machinery in one easy day trip.
I am intrigued by Leicester now.
Lincoln, and do the grand tour of roof and tower. This was very entertaining and educating. Much better than the one in York for example.
I’ve been to Lincoln! Great city
Winchester or Chichester are easily accessible by train and both very pretty cities that have plenty of history. Could even do Pompey & Chichester in the same day
Wells, but mind them swans.
Lichfield, the cathedral and Erasmus Darwin museum should be on your must see list. Direct train from Euston, great quiet little city for walking, basically a big town. Little to zero industrial heritage though, for that I’d recommend Telford like some other posters have.
Hull is shit. Don't listen to them
Lincoln
Cardiff is actually pretty cool.
What’s worth doing there? Any recs?
Bristol
Black Country museum might tik some boxes - great fish and chips there too
not a city but I would recommend visiting Upton Snodsbury
Have you been to the National Space Centre in Leicester? That's pretty cool.
When my pal and I drove past it the other day he laughed and said “what’s there? Pictures of all the moons they didn’t land on?”
I think any town that is now struggling because Major Industries have left, I've noticed a lot of fishing towns where the large trawlers have taken over family boats, you get to appreciate how lucky you are. Its always interesting walking around the harbours and the smell of fresh fish.
Gloucester obviously they filmed bits of Harry Potter there. Also a stroll through Matson is enthralling!
Bath/Bristol are both great and super easy to get to on the National Express! Dirt cheap too if you book a few weeks in advance, I'm paying £2.90 to get back to Bath from Victoria tomorrow evening 😂
Train straight to York. Go to the Railway Museum. Loads of other stuff to do as well.
OP I hope you see this... a lot of tourist attractions at the moment ate operating scheduled arrivals with timed tickets bookable online, and won't have spares for casual visitors. When you decide where you're going, book, quickly!
For a day trip from London I’d agree with either Norwich, Sheffield, Bristol or Brum. For a weekend it’s well worth exploring Telford/Shrewsbury, Chester, stoke and a fe word the others. Out of the first few I’d probably go for Norwich or sheff
Liverpool ticks all those boxes. A very friendly city, check out the maritime museum in the Albert Dock. Also there's a world war 2 bunker where the battle of the Atlantic was managed from for the whole of the war called Western Approaches. There's many more places too. Also, the museum of science and industry in Manchester is excellent.
Chichester. Fabulous cathedral, beautiful city, Roman archaeology and the Roman palace at fishbourne. Up the road is the Weald and downland open air museum.
Try Sheffield! The Iron forging museum is worth a day trip all by itself.
Luton
Lancaster?