[Closed] Few days away in the UK - Where to go?

Might sound weird but Leeds is a nice city for a little break. Compact centre, loads of nice places to eat, stuff to do. I took the missus and kids there for a few days when I was working over that way and we had a lovely time.

It's pretty dry there also as it's in the rain shadow of the Pennines.

Train to Scotland. Sleeper even for adventures.

I like Leeds I don't think it's a daft suggestion.

Bath.

Lincoln

York

St David's

Chester

Peak District

Cromer

Felixstowe

If you are going as far north as Leeds (as two people have suggested as a destination) I would say York would be the better option (unless you both like shopping).

Cromer? Yikes!

Chester
York

I quite like Shrewsbury too

Cromer? Yikes!

Chester
York
Southwold
Falmouth

I quite like Shrewsbury too

If you're on the train to York (good suggestion) or god help us Leeds (I'm from Leeds, but nah it's okay...) I'd be inclined to stay on to Edinburgh.

I do know that when work occasionally took me from near Leeds to Southampton it was easiest and cheapest to fly.

Felixstowe!?! 🤣🤣🤣

Falmouth +1. Take a ferry to St Mawes.

+1 for Bath. Arrive by train, stay at 8

https://www.eightinbath.co.uk/

eat there one night too.

Do a Roman baths spa day, mooch round the city, SUP on the Avon, hit Komedia for some comedy, theatre royal for some culture, eat cheese at the fine cheese company cafe, relax.

Weather for next week looks poor everywhere!

I’d be inclined to stay on to Edinburgh

Check hotel prices first...

Long range forecast (for what its worth) is a bit iffy. If avoiding rain over three days is a definite, id leave deciding until as late as possible.
I'm a small town guy, so id be looking at Totnes, Ludlow, Aldeburgh....
Or for a city, Edinburgh, although that might be pushing 6 hrs travel time.
Chester?

With a southish/ midlandsish focus I'll throw in some nice, easily walkable, interesting places:
Oxford/ Cambridge
Cheltenham
Warwick
Cardiff

If a city isn't important then the North Norfolk coast is nice - from Hunstanton over to Cromer. Stay in Wells-next-the-Sea and explore East and West.

Chester's good for an afternoon but I'm not sure I'd want more than a few days there, unless I was planning on driving over to Wales and doing some walking.

Oxford/Cambridge sounds like a good shout.

Stratford upon Avon?

Been to York recently, very nice. Spent three days in the city found enough to keep me and the mrs busy and you can cover the inner city on foot easily. Edinburgh has got to be my current favourite.

If I lived on the south coast, I'd be jumping on a ferry to France, not visiting Leeds.

Cardiff.
Plenty to do and see and easy to get around as it is a small city.

York is a good shout, from there it's easy for day trips to other places Lots of nice places in North Yorkshire.

Cheltenham

Is getting tattier and tattier, High Street is very tired, even the Prom is looking past it's best.

Anyway, my suggestions:

Wells
The Cotswolds, base yourself in Cirencester, nice walks through the Park and Abbey Grounds there, decent restaurants and pubs, easy access to Cotswoldy villages.
The Peak District, base yourself in Bakewell, trip to Chatsworth, Eyam etc
What about London and do the touristy stuff?

Leeds - Possible but didn't seem great when I was working there
Bath - Been there a few times as it is quite close and easy to get to
Lincoln - uncle and Aunt live there so been lots
York - Good call, haven't been since I was a kid
St David’s - Not thought of it before but will check it out
Chester - Nice last time we visited and if we do a long trip we could stop there for a night
Peak District - Been a few times. Lovely but need to walk to enjoy properly
Cromer - Been there - nice but not another few days worth of stuff
Felixstowe - It seemed a dump when I worked there for a couple of weeks
Edinburgh - Definitely fly but unsure about the weather right now
Falmouth +1. Take a ferry to St Mawes - MrsWCA 1st husband lives in St Mawes so maybe not
Oxford/ Cambridge - Done both repeatedly
Cheltenham - Possible
Warwick - Okay but not sure if it fills three days
Cardiff - I had this on my list
Stratford upon Avon - Lovely when we visited last year

Weather for next week looks poor everywhere! - That is my concern 🙁

Thanks for the suggestions. Considering the ones in bold but more welcome

We will probably be choosing on the day we leave depending on the weather. Th

Hay on Wye

Church Stretton

Llangollen

Ludlow

How long ago did you work there WCA? Depends on your tastes obvs but it's become quite s****y/hipster since I was a student there 20 years ago.

York is nice but too touristy for me and better hipster food options in Leeds. 🙂

better hipster food options in Leeds

Yeah we do have Assembly Rooms and Kirkgate Market - enough options in those two to keep you fed for a month.

The weather looks like there will be bands of rain no matter where you stay, but East will be better than West, probably Tues-Fri ish, and I suppose that means city breaks more than countryside.

I would suggest North Norfolk for nice pubs, short walks if you can manage on to the beaches, and the boat trip to see the seals and a few country houses / deer parks if you like that kind of thing. Similarly Southwold / Aldeburgh won't be too busy mid-week, for eating and drinking in nice pubs and walks / drives to the nature reserves along the coast and country estates inland. There might be seals at Winterton / Horsey Gap. If you get good weather you can hire a boat for a day pootling on the Norfolk Broads. There are many small war / air force artefacts or museums. And Sutton Hoo.

I am sure there must be similar places in the south-east e.g. Rye.

Edniburgh a good call for indoors things to see in between rain, similarly Cardiff. Though IMO both require quite a lot of walking.

Dungeness.

Shropshire, a diverse and rural county

If doing a week in York you could add in an away trip to Scarborough, Castle Howard or the North York Moors for a day.
From Leeds could do Harrogate, Ilkley (remembering thy hat ont moor), Skipton or the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (near Barnsley so you drive past en route to York too).
If Warwick then twin with trips to Leamington or even Coventry for the Cathedral.

We did YSP from Leeds it was great. Nice cafe/shop too.

Liverpool?

Lot to see n do!

Bit too far probably, but I'm taking my long suffering partner to Liverpool for her birthday. I've worked there a bit (for the universities) and always enjoyed my stays there.

We were considering Edi/Glasgow as well but been there before and fancied something different. Not going till November tho, so we'll be looking to do stuff mostly inside 😉

If I was in Southampton, I'd head over to Guernsey as a foot passenger.

Lovely place, plenty to see and easy to get around. Very sunny as well!

Cumbernauld
Canvey Island
...

@mrsheen Dungeness is a quirky one that I really enjoyed. Use the mini steam railway to get you around.

You haven't said what kinds of things you like to do

Food? Shopping? History? Scenery? Staying in a cosy hotel room? Twee tourist traps?

In lieu of that, my suggestion if you've been to Bath loads is our rough neighbour Bristol. Great food scene, lots to do, total hipster, Gert lush with an edge. Better than Cardiff that's for sure.

Was about to suggest Bristol too. Brooks Guest House in Old Market is a great little place to stay & close to the Harbour. Clifton Village worth a visit too. Much nicer than Barf but I'm a slightly biased (rough) Bristolian 🙂

Yeah Bristol is a good shout. You can go up to Clifton and be fancy or go and snort ketamine off a crusty's dog in Stokes Croft.

Was going to do similar we will end up having to go wherever I can find some accommodation good luck

Despite the comment on the previous page Cardiff is a pretty good shout for a city break. National museum in the centre, St. Fagans open air museum, shops, food, Penarth for the beach, all sorts around the bay area etc., opera might be on for a fancy evening out and all sorts always going on. Fewer hills than Bristol too.

Edit: just remembered you don't want rain so probably avoid Cardiff and Manchester.

Edinburgh – Definitely fly but unsure about the weather right now

Dinnae fly - its a pain. Direct train from your part of the world

east lothian is the second driest part of the UK after kent Lovely in Autumn. Edinburgh gets half the rain of Glasgow and far less rainy days than the north of england

Another vote for Leeds.

Your regular posts suggest you like art and creativity. Leeds is an ideal centre to enjoy the Sculpture Triangle - Henry Moor Institute Leeds, Yorkshire Sculpture Park off the M1 near Wakefield, and the Hepworth in Wakefield. You could also easily head off to Saltaire (UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the stunning Salts Mill which houses a gallery of David Hockney's work along with several interesting shops (including a large bike shop), and then head to Haworth the home of the Bronte sisters, and then to Bradford for the National Science and Media Museum followed by a delicious curry in one of the dozens of decent restaurants.

Leeds itself has some amazing Victorian architecture (Town Hall, Kirkgate Market, the Victorian arcades), the Royal Armouries Museum, the Thackary Museum of Medicine (which with your reputation for injuring yourself might be of particular interest), and as others have said is great for shopping, food and boozing. Also you can further engross in northern culture at the acclaimed Leeds Playhouse (formerly the West Yorkshire Playhouse), Grand Theatre, or the City Varieties Music Hall (home of the Good Old Days). Other places of interest which can be accessed in a day include York, Harrogate, Ilkley, Skipton, Castle Howard, Fountains Abbey to name but a few. Many of the places listed can be easily accessed by train if you fancy a few bevvies on your travels.

Canterbury and Whitstable (6 miles apart) for a mix of nice small city and a great coastal town with working harbour, beaches and good food and drink. Probably best chance of good weather too I’d imagine.

Okay so we are narrowing it down and depending on where the better weather is the current favourites are:

From the West - Bristol / Cardiff - Perhaps 1-2 nights in each as they are close enough to drive between without losing much of the day

From the North* - Leeds - Allowing trips out to other places if required

From the East - Canterbury - I had forgotten about this place but it was quite pleasant when I worked there for a few days I seem to remember.

*I assume there is an East and West in the North as well but it all sort of blurs into one above the M4 🙂

York, Cardiff, Shrewsbury, Exeter.

Direct train from your part of the world

OP states 6hrs. Google has 6hr22 best run and that's it you are right on at the train station.

Tenby is quite nice for a short break, heading there on Monday for a couple of days.

*I assume there is an East and West in the North as well but it all sort of blurs into one above the M4 🙂

There is no longer any demarcation between different areas such as Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle. It's all one large homogenised zone of poverty, drug abuse, crime, grimness, flat caps and whippets - 'tis best avoided at all costs