Stirling, for the castle
Edinburg
Bath
Salisbury
Bristol, for the Great Eastern
(you could ride there from Bath, but be sure to get back in daylight)

Was that pic of N’castle taken just before the pubs kicked out, and off?

London
Oxford
Bath
Bristol
Liverpool
Manchester
Sheffield
Durham
Exeter
Portsmouth

a northern town.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUB1jyBomCA&feature=c4-overview&list=UU_kaz1vhOldrsr4Gw_N5GDQ[/video]

Luton
Bracknell
Skelmersdale (A visit to The Concourse is a must)
Runcorn
Telford
Coventry
Warrington
Cumbernauld
Slough
Livingston

Enjoy

Don’t go to Bolton, it is a total dump.

In no particular order:

Aberystwyth – spectacular view of the sea, and lively, wonderful town

Tenby – like a postcard

Cardiff – so much to see and do in so small a city

Bath – Jane Austen fantasy land

Oxford – name says it all

Chester – like being on a movie set

York – a romantic, gothic bustle

Durham – castle and cathedral are spectacular

Newcastle – my favourite city

Edinburgh – everything about this place is great

Alternative list:

Tintagel – King Arthur & other, more empirical history

Salisbury – that commercial

Bradford-on-Avon – Saxon church; whole village is gorgeous

Hay-on-Wye – books and a ramble

Hebden Bridge – a congenial former mill town

Haworth – windswept gothic, and very beautiful

Ripon – the cathedral is beautiful, and the town lovely

Barnard Castle – a gem in county Durham

Hexham – you’d be suprised

Alnwick – ’nuff said

Come to think of it, it’s very hard to limit the UK to ten cities/towns. 8)

Another vote for Cambridge, but throw in Oxford so that you can compare and contrast. Avoid Newcastle/Gateshead though, there’s nothing there but nice little bars and pubs, reasonably friendly people and some decent shopping and sights. No need to go there at all.

Add York to your list though.

There are some pretty good lists there considering I didn’t give any criteria. To be honest the criteria are pretty vague – food, history, stuff to look at, stuff to do, interesting things.

If I actually get myself planned enough I will post up where we are planning to go on various weekends and I am sure MrsWCA would be delighted to meet other STWers* as she always enjoys that at the BBB.

**That may not include a whiskey fuelled Binners who tries to ride over policement on the way home (real policemen, not sleeping ones)

Chalke Valley history festival is interesting and different. Could combine with a visit to Salisbury or Shaftesbury.

What about one of the towns on the Jurassic Coast?

I could give her some amazing trips to business parks and souless Travellodges but I suspect she wants more.

Take her to the Doncaster Restover – does wonders for restoring your faith in travelodges.

I think a sign of a good town for a short break is if you eye gets drawn to estate agent windows

My list in no particular order…..

Liverpool
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Hastings
Newcastle (and take the metro out to the sea)
Keswick
Hebden Bridge (with a train ride into Manchester)
Bristol
Stromness
St Ives.

Newcastle (and take the metro out to the sea)

If you do this:

a.) take a kite.
b.) dinogolf is essential.
c.) Cullercoats bay is nicer to sit on than Long Sands

Next year, you’ll be in Leeds on the 5th July.

Blackpool
Morecambe
Preston
Barrow in Furness
Millom
Ulverston
Workington
Salford
Bolton

Follow ‘The Trip’ with Steve Coogan & Rob Brydon

Other than that, if I was doing my top 10 would be, in no particular order

Durham
York
Whitby
Keswick
Near Sawrey
Ilkley
Bristol
Beaumaris
Rye
Ludlow

Rhosneigr
Alnwick
Buxton
Ullapool
Berwick
Portree
Machynlleth
Aberdyfi
Plockton
Oxford

dartmouth/ kingswear
bath
harrogate
cardiff

Oxford
Winchester
Bath
Canterbury
Ludlow
Chester
York
Ross-on-Wye
Salisbury
Shaftesbury

@DT – you missed one
Blackpool
Morecambe
Preston
Barrow in Furness
Millom
Ulverston
Workington
Salford
Bolton…..
….. Maryport

Durham
Newcastle upon Tyne
Poole
Woolacombe
St Davids
Brighton
Birmingham
Whitby
Winchester
Bath

Leyland as an optional extra

Oh yeah…and WTF’s wrong with Ulverston, cheeky c**t

I’ll add another:

Exeter.

Really rather lovely and a good zip down the road for you WCA. Lovely City, bit of a Church there too.. then hop down the coast to Teignmouth with the top down and head into Dartmoor on your way home.

Say Hi to Cara for me, phah.

Edinburgh
Glasgow
Manchester
Bristol
Keswick
Hay-on-Wye
Machynlleth
Hebden Bridge (say hi if you do 🙂 )
Kirkby Lonsdale
Settle

Oh and for those dissing Morecambe: yes the town is depressed but on a nice clear day you’ll struggle to find a more beautiful promenade and more dramatic sunsets.

York and go to KraKatoa Restaurant. Sorry shameless plug for my mates place.
Liverpool
London to see how bad life can get.

Salisbury – that commercial

?

Braemar
Ballatar
Dinnet
Aboyne
Kincardine o’ Neil
Lumphanen
Torphins
Banchory
Drumoak
Aberdeen

Everywhere else is crap.

For a fairly small place on the grand scheme of things, Durham crops up a lot, can’t imagine why….

002 by jimmyg352, on Flickr

Anyway here’s my top 10.

Durham.
York.
Harrogate.
Newcastle.
Edinburgh.

Just do them twice. 😉

Another vote for the Jurassic Coast, I would choose Lyme Regis – you can find fossils a few mins walk from the town, if you get the right time for the tide and good for a wander around.

Hexham I would also second, good for a couple of hours and cup of tea, we went there this year and then visited nearby Vindolanda by Hadrian’s wall, amazing to walk down the same streets on the same flagstones as people did 2,000 years ago.

In both cases reasonable weather helps!

If you go to London, IMHO it’s well worth doing one of the tourist bus rides.

At least that’s my idea of a good time…

No one’s mentioned Mansfield yet?

Barnsley has everything you need. Great pubs and restaurants, fantastic people and amazing culture.

Edinburgh
Glasgow
London
Stamford
Bath
Ambleside
Salisbury
Chester
York
St Andrews

Edinburgh
Bath
Ludlow
Pitlochry
Stratford
York
Betws-y-Coed
Dartmouth
Lincoln
Oban

Shrewsbury as its the ‘capital’ of the largest in land county in England.

Goole
Redcar
Ashington
Chopwell
Ashford Middlesex
Tottenham
Nelson
Oldham
Hattersley
Dagenham

Shropshire is a great place to start……..
Shrewsbury – birthplace of darwin
Much Wenlock – birthplace of modern olympic games
Ironbridge – birthplace of industrial revolution
then theres always Ludlow, Church Stretton and surrounding areas with great scenery and pretty good places to ride yer bike.

Some good suggestions here.

I’d go for

Alnwick
Durham
Inverness
Cambridge
Edinburgh
Tenby
York
Belfast ( remember NI is part of UK!)
Brighton

Don’t be tight. Take her on a world cruise.

Add some voices to the Northumberland stuff, Alnwick (castle, gardens, beaches nearby – stay on the coast) couple it in with Rothbury/Hexam and Newcastle for a long weekend
Keswick/Cockermouth lakes without the hoards
Shrewsbury nice place
Glasgow
Edinburgh

Liverpool, it really is the best place in the uk.

(You would expect anything else from me though would you…)