I live in a crappy Scottish town, only ever left maybe around 10 times in my life. I want to see the rest of the UK. Are there any must-visit or underrated places I should visit? Here's my plan so far:
Aberdeen > Dundee > Glasgow > Cumbernauld > North Berwick > Edinburgh > Newcastle > York / Cotswolds > Scarborough > Sheffield > Southport > Liverpool > Manchester > Blackpool > Birmingham > Leicester > Stoke-on-Trent > Nottingham > Luton > Ipswich > London > Basildon > Southend > Brighton > Bournemouth > Poole > Cornwall
Don't think I'll have time to visit Wales sadly.
Stirling is decent. Lots of cool historical stuff in that area. Whereabouts in Scotland are you from?
Dundee, it's grim.
How is Dundee grim?
Also aren't you technically in one of the least rainy places in Scotland? As a leaf I'd trade places in a heartbeat to get away from my cold miserable existence.
Dundee is a post-industrial poverty-stricken dump trying to rebrand itself as a left-wing progressive hipster experience for tourists bored with Edinburgh despite having some of the worst poverty in the country. All the money from regeneration projects like the V&A goes straight to developers' pockets while locals see no benefit. Look up schemes like Douglas, Fintry, Lochee, Kirkton, Linlathen, and Charleston and you'll see just how bad it is. I grew up in a family on benefits and we were constantly on the verge of homelessness. Dundee has the highest drug death rate in Europe, the highest teen pregnancy rate in the UK, and consistently ranks as having the highest crime rates in Scotland despite only having a population of 150k. There are times I can't go out because of all the junkies in the street. I hate it here, I want out.
Cumbernauld is to see the brutalism. I want to laugh at the TOWIE stereotypes of Essex and go to Bas Vegas. The rest is for football really.
Spend a day with the benefit-scrounging mutants of Douglas and Kirkton and you'll be begging to go back to sunny Middlesbrough.
What's in Norwich?
>What's in Norwich?
it is way more comfy than ipswich
nice cathedral, medieval houses (ipswich has some too)
there are some dumpy areas but ipswich the whole town centre is dumpy, less obvious visibility of junkies in norwich
I wanted to go visit Ipswich to see their football stadium as the club recently got promoted. But Norwich seems cooler. I'll visit there instead then.
i mean there were some nice things in ipswich
the stadium wasn't difficult to get to only 10min from train station
My point was more that Ipswich is not amazing and if you were only visiting one east anglian city then Norwich is the better choice. Norwich was the 2nd most important city in england until the end of the rennaissance (and may well have been chosen for the capital had the Thames not been a more suitable river). It has roman walls, norman castle and cathedral, cow tower (one of the first buildings in the uk built with gunpowder and cannons in mind), market, some comfy cobbled streets.
Looks comfy, I'll visit there instead.
Might still visit Ipswich if I have time. People overlook working-class towns and write them off as rough and boring, but as soon as a regeneration plan comes along everyone is suddenly interested in the unique history and culture. Every town has its beauty but people are too busy with glitz and glamour to see it. Happened in my hometown, no one would ever come to Dundee and now it's a tourist hub. I barely recognize it these days. A few years back if you saw an Asian person walking down the street you'd wonder why they were not in the takeaway shop, but now there are rich middle-class people from all over the world coming here. Seeing the city transform itself made me realize I've got to get out and experience the world instead of wallowing in my little small-town bubble. My hometown is a blip not even on the map so don't want to waste my life doing nothing. Blackpool is gonna be next for the regeneration treatment no doubt, with hipster artisan cafes, indie shops, luxury shopping centers, and expensive hotels in a crap town with 60+% on benefits known for stag dos, strip clubs, cheap package holidays, chavs, and poverty. Gentrifying a town as far gone as Blackpool is something I thought impossible but it's actually happening. Can't wait to see all the articles titled "Blackpool: a town reborn" and have all the hipsters from down south visit only to be sorely disappointed by the reality of Norf men and junkies.
How’s the coomin’?
wdym?
Which would be the best route to take? I'm not familiar with the northeast, the only part of England I have been to is the northwest (Carlisle, Blackpool, and Southport)
It would take too long to travel there, it warrants its own trip. I had planned to visit the Highlands, the Lake District, and the Cotswolds all together but I realized that those would take way too long to experience and enjoy fully in a single road trip. But if I did have the chance, I'd visit Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham, and some of the rural countryside areas.
Traveling by caravan. We're pre-packing stuff for the trip and made a budget of around £6000 for petrol, food, and touristy stuff. London will be the most expensive as we're staying there for around a week and a half. But everywhere else shouldn't be too bad. The only other places of concern in terms of budget are Edinburgh, Manchester, and Blackpool as they have ripoff prices. The goal is to spend at least 3 days in each major city with a day trip to the other smaller towns if possible. What other places would you recommend visiting?
>Traveling by caravan.
>London
have you really thought this through anon?
>What other places would you recommend visiting?
depends what you're into. if you like outdoorsy stuff get maps that show national trust, english heritage and woodland trust places, especially around the coastline there should be plenty of places to park up for a night or two as well
Does London not allow caravans? I've never been before so idk the rules of big cities. Outdoors road trips take time to appreciate whereas you can go city hopping easily in a camper.
I want to see all parts of Britain whether it be dull or exciting. Many people only visit the big touristy areas without appreciating the lesser-discussed parts of Britain that embody the true spirit of the country. But the only reason we're visiting Luton is because I want to visit their football stadium before it gets knocked down. It's hideous but in a cool traditional way, unlike most modern football stadiums that lack sovl. Other than that yeah it is a dump. It's just for a quick day trip then heading off to Ipswich to see their stadium.
Don’t know how you’ll get a caravan into London unless you park it well outside the city or in the suburbs then take the train in. No way you’ll get a caravan into central without it being a nightmare + paying £25 a day.
why not wales? it’s beautiful and cozy
>York / Cotswolds
this doesnt seem like an either or choice
newcastle to york to scarborough is vastly different from newcastle to cotswolds to scarborough driving times
how are you getting around? driving or public transport?
the underrated places are outside the towns and cities but are more difficult to get to without a car
Most of these places are cities that are frankly dull, with little to nothing going on, apart from decent/busy nightlife.
I don’t even know why you’d go Luton for example. It’s consistently ranked as the shittiest town in the country year after year, and is full of Pakis/Chavs.
>Stoke-on-Trent
It's a working-class city but has a few good museums and restaurants, + they have a decent football team too. It's rough but so is everywhere these days. Worth a visit even for a day.
new what this would be before I clicked it. Glad not to be disappointed.
As a Canadian living in bongland biking through Stoke sent me into a 2-day long depressive episode
as all truly British places should, none of that happiness poof crap. 'Mon the Potters.
If you've left home so few times, why not fly over to Europe and do a little trip there instead? You can fly there cheaply, you'll spend WAY less money (if you travel a bit east or south), and it'll be way more interesting. The UK is alright, but if you've lived there all your life, you're unlikely to experience anything particularly interesting tbh.
I want to see other towns and cities so I figured doing it in an all-in-one road trip. But it would probably be a lot cheaper to visit each city individually. I was thinking of traveling through Italy and the Balkans. Wanting to start a souvenir collection too.
You're probably going to realise that most English town centres are really fucking similar now. All the same small selection of shops.
Anyhow, under-rated:
Great Yarmouth
Working museums (especially Beamish and Black Country museum)
The big country fairs. South of England show etc. Steam Rallys can also be comfy if they're big enough.
If you've got family, holiday camps, especially Butlins (fuck anyone who badmouths them, I got given a prize by Keith Chegwin at one and met Timmy Mallet).
Not interested so much in the shops, usually that just means it's for posh hipsters from Oxbridge and everything is overpriced. It's the history of the place I like. Places like Stoke and Nottingham seem rubbish on the surface but have cool museums, restaurants, and architecture to look at. There's beauty everywhere, you just have to find it.
Heard good things about Great Yarmouth, the pier looks lovely. I used to go to the Marton Mere holiday park in Blackpool but stopped going since it was very chavvy. My bf says the one in Southport used to be good but turned rubbish. Cheers for the recommendations.
>luton
why
see
Fucking hell, mate. Don't go to Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, or Luton. Got to Bristol and Bath.
Bristol is expensive and full of hipsters and Bath is too posh and boring. All the midlands towns are true working-class with a proud history. The real Britain, not the soppy stuff shown on TV.
Dude WTF. There is zero reason to visit Scumbernauld. Go to Stirling instead. Also consider St Andrews, Oban, Perth, Inverness, Fort William.
Dundee is like fucking Beverly Hills compared to some of these destinations
why would you go to ipswich but not norwich?
>Dundee
>Cumbernauld
>Stoke
>Luton
>Ipswich
>Basildon
Is this a joke?
I'd suggest watching the kino series 'Coast to get a holistic overview of the UK coast, then map that to some inland places.
You should aim to get a feeling and experience from each place. Think why you're their, the story you're being told, and what you really want to ge tout of it.
Also, I'd ignore any destinations which you're likely to otherwise visit, or which are easy to get to. The value in an extended road trip, is you get to experience depth. Imo, doing anywhere in Scotland, or London, would be a waste, as you're likely to go there at other times in life.
Some ideas of '''experiences'''
>York & Viking heritage
>Norfolk and the unique landscape
>Midlands and its industrial heritage
>Cornwal and pirates
>Any seaside town in England and its decay
,etc, etc
You might also have a chance to hit the highlights of each layer of British history in such a trip, so earmark any areas of of historical signifance.
You'll also be missing out focusing heavily on the major cities and neglecting rural areas, where culture is not as globalised.
I wouldnt bother with southport, blackpool, stoke on trent, luton or basildon. And infact alot of the big cities are going to start bleeding into each other. Liverpool and manchester are OK, but not worth your time visiting both.
Id try to prioritise some locations instead of going for bredth. Youre missing places like Oxford, Bath etc.
Harrogate in yorkshire is nice and is close to yorkshire dales which id reccomend.
also probably worth seeing the lake district.
as for cornwall, id recommend driving around the coast and visiting the small villages dotted along it. Lands end is good, but filled with tourists. but theyre all so fat and lazy that if you walk 5 minutes up the coast it is completely devoid of people, and super nice (picrel).
Bath, Briston, York, Reading, Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton
There's nothing in Reading.
>There's nothing in Reading.
Not him but there's nothing in this fucking country in general mate
sure there is
There isn't tho. Lived here 30 years and it's boring. Once you've seen one city you've basically seen every city E.G. Leeds or Newcastle or Manchester. The only two unique citiies are Edinburgh and London. Scotland has some nice mountains and that's about it. Coastal towns like Blackpool, Great Yarmouth or Rhyl are poor as fuck and full of people who do drugs or end up leaving to go the cities, since there are nothing but minimum wage jobs there. Places like the Lake District or Peak District are nice but again, you can do them maybe once or twice before they feel too samey. I ride my motorcycle through the Peak District frequently and while the scenery is nice I wouldn't go there for any other reason but maybe to hike. Cliffs of Dover seen them once no reason to go back. Same for Stonehenge
It's a boring country mate.
i think you need to put some appreciation to the details in life - of whatever subjects interest you
if anyone had the desire to leave i wouldn't tell them not to - maybe they find what they seek or they don't but if they stay they will resent it sure. but dont wallow in being unhappy because you're not where you want to be
Thanks, ChatGPT.
>York / Cotswolds
I think you've made a mistake here, because these are about three hours apart from each other (the Cotswolds is a couple of hundred miles further south). Lots of lovely countryside around York, but it's not the Cotswolds.
The Cotswolds can be tourist-filled and inauthentic, but it's definitely still worth visiting. Beautifully preserved villages built from local stone, avoid the typical traps and it's one of the few places in the country that still feels like old, traditional England.
After Birmingham you should head south rather than east (literally who cares about the East Mids), go to Bristol and/or Bath, and then head east to Oxford through the Cotswolds, and then on to London after that
fwiw, a few questions/comments you might want to consider when route planning:
Have you visited the Scottish nature areas already? I haven't been yet myself, but I'm reliably informed it's some of the best in the UK, so you might want to see if you can work it into the route so that you visit places like Skye, Ben Nevis, etc
I don't think you should necessarily exclude Wales tbh, it's a relatively small country and you could easily find the time if you skipped some of the shitholes in your England route (was there a particular reason you wanted to visit places like Leicester, Stoke-on-Trent and Luton?). It wouldn't be too difficult to do something like crossing over from Liverpool to Snowdonia, heading down to the Pembrokeshire Coast, heading across into Cardiff, and then back out into Bristol (probably about 10 hours of driving in total, which could be split over a few days) and feel like you've seen a good amount of Wales and a good diversity of its landscape
As I mentioned in previous post, I think you should include Bath, the Cotswolds. and Oxford in your trip. All touristy destinations, but still worth seeing on a trip through England. I'd also try to spend more time in the South West on your way through to Cornwall, Dorset and Devon are very nice too
Durham, York, Canterbury
Cotswolds are definately worth a visit.
Check out the Scottish Highlands if you haven't already. The NC500 is a good route to take.