Hi,
I was wondering if anybody has any suggestions of "must-sees" in England. Cities, sites etc.
I've done most of the main tourist sites in London, but if anybody knows of any less-known sites that they would recommend that would be much appreciated!
Thanks!
Obvious ones would be York, Oxford, Cambridge, Bath. There are literally hundreds of "less-known" places. A few for starters would be Rye, Lacock, Arundel, Winchester, Avebury, Lavenham, Chester, Ludlow, Lancaster etc., etc.
#1 underestimates the possibilities - the country is bursting with must sees. What criteria are you using / what research have you already done / why are you doing this / how long are you visiting for?
Any chance of narrowing down a bit?
This is a little like saying "I am going to North America - any ideas?" Context - in the UK there are about 600, 000 registered histoic monuments and 12, 000 km of coast. England alone has around 2400 cities, towns and villages. What kind of things do you like?
I agree that this is a bit of a daft question- imposiible to answer objectively - how long have you got?
Problem could be public transport and without a car younneed to stick to the main road/rail arteries - the cheapest way is road and you can start early morning cheaply whereas the fares before 09.30 are horrendous. it is also not easy to travel cross-country either as all roads seem to lead to london.
Just get yourself a guidebook and make up your own mind - there are few unvisited places but Lincoln would be one of them - at one time the major city North of the Thames for the Romans.
Clarification - rail fares are expensive prior to 09.30hrs.
Edited by: Grahamapoole
Birmingham! Birmingham is gritty, post-industrial, urban jungle but very edgy, ethnically diverse, with some great (cheap) restaurants. If you have only seen London and the usual tourist sites around the UK (York, Oxford etc) be prepared for a massive surprise. Birmingham is partly gentrified (old canalside area converted into apartments, bars and pubs), and partly run down - walking around the old abandoned industrial paths that some of the canals lead to is truly fascinating. There is an old Irish Quarter, the old Jewellery Quarter (where they still have 100s of jewerlly workshops), the Chinese quarter (with awesome and cheap authentic Chinese and Vientamese restaurants like Cafe Soya), an artists' quarter in a converted former custard factory (called The Custard Factory)...
It has the best Indian restaurants in the country, and an incredible nightlife, great old pubs etc. It's manic, a bit random, it's not pretty, but its fascinating and it's the 'real England' in many ways :)
Birmingham's an acquired taste and I love it.
Bicester Shopping Village, Wroxham broads, Leeds Castle, Blenheim Palace, Chatsworth House, Ironbridge Gorge, Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, the coast to coast walk, Blackpool (also an acquired taste), Liverpool, Stow-on-the-wold, St Mawes, Clovelly (this is before I dive into Wales, N Ireland or Scotland or specialise in festivals!) :-)
