Recommend an ‘interesting’ holiday town (England, mid)

Norwich

A fine city

And Mid  – if you mean North/South. Rather than East/West.

@MoreCashThanDash

Suggesting a week in Derby!? You evil, evil person! 😉

I was reading the Op thinking ‘Knaresborough could be worth a mention then…

Is Knaresborough any good ?

It certainly is – the walk along Waterside and Abbey Road is lovely, there are a few very nice pubs all around town and by the river (at the Waterside/Abbey Road junction there are two (Half Moon and Mother Shipton’s) on either side of the bridge and are both lovely (MS has a nice beer garden next to the river too). And Knaresborough is on the Leeds > York railway line (trains at least every 30 minutes all day) so either (and Harrogate which is on the same line) can be accessed within 45 minutes.

Much as I struggle with the concept of having “done” places by staying there for just a few days, (this, coming from somebody who thought 3 days was enough for Hanoi, and maybe we should now head off to Hue) I would recommend Some of Stuart Maconie’s books. The Full English made me want to look a little deeper into a few places he stopped off in.

Beeston Castle, Peckforton Castle, cycling between them

The secret bunker, Hack Green near Nantwich

Wroxeter and RAF Cosford museum a bit further away

It’s STW and no one’s said Hebden Bridge!

I’m actually serious. The town’s great and there’s fantastic countryside, valley of Hardcastle Crags, Heptonstall and the bridleway down to heb’s glamorous Midgehole. I’m told there’s a bit of riding. Actually I am serious,  Handy for Halifax and I’m not fully joking – piece hall etc;  Howarth. Some good places to eat.  I’d go myself, just that living in Ilkley it’s all a bit rough and real.

Middlesbrough!It will be interesting in ways you wouldn’t believe.

Should you go to Ludlow, the carvings on the misericords in St Laurence church are outstanding.

Durham

From Chester one obvious suggestion would be Liverpool. Maybe now townie enough for you, but loads to do in the city and plenty of attractive areas around it with excellent public transport connections.

A bit left field but Lancaster

Easy access to the Lakes, Forest of Bowland, Yorkshire Dales. Nice little town, lots of eating and drinking options, very close to the sea, it’s on the west coast mainline too.

Castle is interesting, huge antique centre on edge of town. Lots of parks and culture too

St Lawrence, Ludlow continued….

Try and get up the tower. The view is well worth it, see also the castle keep which was sadly closed throughout my childhood when visiting was affordable. It is accessible now and I did get up there eventually.

Somewhere I went on a whim, and really enjoyed, was Lincoln and the Lincolnshire Wolds. A very lovely part of England.

We have just booked a couple of cheap nights in Lincoln to explore that area, only 90 minutes away but not been for about 40 years.

Two nights in the city centre Travelodge for £90. More money for cafes and beers.

Another vote for Lincoln. I live here and it’s a pretty nice city with a decent town center and plenty of history, with a castle and its Victorian prison  and copy of the Magna Carta, its cathedral with trips in the roof space and up the tower, and roman ruins scattered about. A few museums and nice places to eat and drink.

Norwich

A fine city

Do you like owls?

I like Ludlow, the CSON cafe by the weir is one of my favorite places, but why anyone would recommend a week there is beyond me, go to Shrewbury (again, it’s worth it) and if you want a day out got to Ludlow

I like Ludlow, the CSON cafe by the weir is one of my favorite places, but why anyone would recommend a week there is beyond me, go to Shrewbury (again, it’s worth it) and if you want a day out got to Ludlow

If you spend a week in Ludlow, there isn’t a cordon around it! You are allowed out to visit some of the many interesting places nearby. Enough to fill several weeks. You could even visit Shrewsbury if you were really desperate! <wink emoji>. Good call on CSON, we’ve never had anything but superb fresh seasonal food in there.