The UK's ten worst places for a city break (and why I still love them)

Times

a day ago

Last year I discovered a life-enhancing travel hack — city breaks in unsung places. After a string of unsatisfying weekends in the likes of Edinburgh and Rome, I decided to give such hotspots a breather and seek out unfancied locations instead. After compiling a league table that ranked cities by popularity, based on stats supplied by tourism boards, I turned the thing upside down and proceeded from there, starting with Sunderland. Over the next year I visited some of the least fashionable cities in the UK — and loved every one of them. The outcome of my unconventional adventure is a book called Shitty Breaks, which is a celebration of the underdog, a love-letter to the wrong direction, and a small and imperfect answer to overtourism. Here are my top ten unsung cities in the UK.
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When I first got a look at Sunderland, a former shipbuilding heavyweight in the northeast of England, I thought I was in California: a couple of Mackems were rollerblading on a sunlit prom while holding hands and drinking directly from a coconut. Over the next two days, I hiked to a folly, skied down a slag heap, jumped into the North Sea and watched a glass-blowing demo. I learnt that the artist LS Lowry was a big fan of the city, and that the Venerable Bede — a medieval boffin considered to be the father of English history — used to rent a bedsit by the river. Pop Recs is the spot for gigs and cappuccinos, Si King's Propa is doing game-changing pies (propa1.com), while Mexico 70 is ideal for experimental tacos (instagram.com/mexico__70). Where does the city fall short? I certainly wouldn't introduce all of its buildings to my parents, but other than that it's grand. The Seaburn Inn is a modern seaside hotel that won't let you down. Details B&B doubles from £80 (inncollectiongroup.com)
The historic capital of Essex gave birth to the radio (via Marconi) and tried more witches than anywhere else in the country (nothing wrong with a strong judicial instinct). I went ice-skating, went kayaking and went green after trying the jellied eels at a place called Robins. A walk along the river delivered me to the best pub in Essex — the Galvin Green Man (galvinrestaurants.com) — while a visit to the New Hall Wine Estate allowed me to stick my nose in some chablis (newhallwines.com). Hot Box is a fantastic music venue (hotboxlive.co.uk), and the local museum punches well above its weight. I stayed at the County Hotel, which is blessed with a mural of local legend Grayson Perry on its south elevation. Details Room-only doubles from £104 (countyhotelchelmsford.co.uk)
The northwest underdog gave the world Wallace & Gromit, helped kick-start the industrial revolution and hosted the last major battle on English soil. I had the best lunch of my life at a place called Aven (avenrestaurant.com), saw Freddie Flintoff at the bingo, spotted Harry Styles in a café called Brucciani's and even went curling. I enjoyed learning — halfway through a knees-up that began at Plug and Taps, continued to the Conti and wound up at the Ferret — that Preston is the spiritual home of the teetotal movement, and I also enjoyed learning about a local suffragette called Edith Rigby who, back in 1913, burnt down the cottage of a soap magnate from Bolton before escaping to Ireland by bicycle. The best thing in Preston is the bus station. It is massive and otherworldly and looks about to take off, which I suppose is appropriate for a transport hub. Winckley Stays is above the Aven and just up the road from a gorgeous Victorian park that must be one of the finest in the country. Details Room-only doubles from £67 (winckleystays.co.uk)
Wolverhampton is a Black Country diamond that's the equal of Birmingham. The gallery is a must (not least for its pop art), while the National Trust's Wightwick Manor is a shrine to William Morris wallpaper (nationaltrust.org.uk). I enjoyed learning that the old constituency office of Enoch Powell, infamous for warning of the horrors that would be delivered by a multicultural Britain, is now a social hub underpinned by the local Afro-Caribbean community.
Wolverhampton luminaries include the singer Beverley Knight and two excellent writers in this paper's employ — Caitlin Moran and Sathnam Sanghera. There's a diverting array of architecture — from striking art deco to twee medieval — and local photographer Tom Hicks is in the habit of making Wolvo look gorgeous on Instagram (instagram.com/blackcountrytype). I experienced an unfortunate moment at the racecourse, I'm sad to report, where I backed a horse called Probable that duly came last. I stayed at the Mount, which is attached to a golf course and was built by a local lad who did well out of varnish. Details Room-only doubles from £97 (themount.co.uk)
I spent most of my time in the venerable city of Wrexham looking for a Canadian called Ryan. When I wasn't doing that, I regret to say that I rather wasted my time: I went to a science discovery centre (xplorescience.co.uk), visited a gallery called Ty Pawb, and even tramped out to a Unesco-approved aqueduct. My weekend peaked at the Golden Lion, where I learnt that Wrexham was the birthplace of British lager (wrexhamlager.com), and did a duet on the mic with someone called Racquel. Decent grub can be had at Lisbon tapas bar and the Fat Boar pub, while the barista at Bank Street Social deserves a gong for services to coffee (facebook.com/BankStreetSocialWxm). The Lemon Tree is an excellent small hotel doing top-notch food.Details B&B doubles from £70 (thelemontree.org.uk)
Newry is a small city in the southeast of Northern Ireland, between Belfast and Dublin. It's known for its shopping, being in the thick of The Troubles and ex-goalkeeper Pat Jennings. It's not known for the quality of its museum, the friendliness of its people or the beauty of its countryside — but it should be. Its town hall straddles a river and is a sight for sore eyes; and it has a number of excellent cafés: Nine Squared, Measured Brew Bar, Finegan & Son. The Bridge Bar will see you through to midnight (bridgebarnewry.com). Canal Court Hotel is a four-star in the centre of town (canalcourthotel.com), but Balance Treehouse — a five-star retreat that offers a star-gazing hammock and a hot tub — is the place to bed down if you have enough pennies. Details One night's self-catering for two from £592 (airbnb.co.uk/rooms/613633313084147759)
The 1960s new town of Milton Keynes was constructed an equal distance from London, Oxford, Birmingham and Cambridge — presumably so it didn't get in the way. The cakes at Canal Street Coffee are worth dipping into (canalstcoffee.co.uk), one Wetherspoons has no name and there's a dinosaur in the library. I went skydiving, saw Tom Allen at the theatre and strolled out to Bletchley Park, the home of Second World War codebreaking (bletchleypark.org.uk). The Craufurd Arms is convivial (thecraufurdarms.com), while the local street-food scene is something to reckon with, not least Good Times Café, which dishes out superlative cheese toasties (instagram.com/goodtimesuk). You could stay at the Travelodge for £30, but La Tour is a fancy alternative that has views of nearby Leighton Buzzard.Details B&B doubles from £80 (hotel-latour.co.uk)
Bradford is this year's City of Culture, and rightly so (bradford2025.co.uk). It is one of my favourite cities in Europe. There's just something about the place that gets under my skin. I walked an alpaca on Baildon Moors (altreka.co.uk), saw the telly scientist Brian Cox at St George's Hall and copped a lot of local painter David Hockney — first at Salt's Mill in nearby Saltaire (saltsmill.org.uk), and then at Cartwright Hall (which will host this year's Turner Prize). Boar & Fable is the place for decent craft beer (boarandfable.com), while My Lahore is a British-Asian kitchen that does a banging spicy spag bol (mylahore.co.uk). There's also the Science and Media Museum and plenty of excellent countryside on the city's doorstep. The Great Victoria is an old railway hotel which, unsurprisingly, can be found right by the station. Details B&B doubles from £71 (victoriabradford.co.uk)
When I told Alexis Conran on Times Radio that I'd rather have a weekend in Newport than a weekend in New York, he almost terminated the broadcast to check that I was all right. The Transporter Bridge and Le Pub (lepublicspace.co.uk) are two reasons to visit the southern Welsh city, while the history and the people are two reasons to stay. I went to the rugby, enjoyed a session of track cycling at the Geraint Thomas Velodrome, learnt all about the Chartist uprising of 1839 (when a bunch of workers chucked their tools out of the pram and duly got deported to Australia), played on a Ryder Cup golf course, and discovered a wonderful Italian, Vittorio's, at the top of Stow Hill (vittoriosrestaurant.co.uk). I also encountered a peculiar monument to the local poet WH Davies, enjoyed some 'rogue' Welsh cakes at the revived indoor market (roguewelshcakes.com), and met a statistician in the sauna at the Celtic Manor Resort, where you'll find both comfortable rooms and the golf course. Details Room-only doubles from £115 (celtic-manor.com)
By my reckoning, the ancient Scottish city of Dunfermline has more history per square metre than Edinburgh. Robert the Bruce, Andrew Carnegie, St Margaret: the city is teeming with local talent that made an impression on the world stage. The city is also teeming with quirky diversions within walking distance. I went water-skiing at Town Loch, hovercrafting at Craigluscar Farm (craigluscar.co.uk), and saw the local football team come from behind to beat mighty Inverness. Caught a gig at the Monarch Bar, ate handsomely at Jack 'O' Bryans, discovered the work of Sandy Moffat at Fire Station Creative (firestationcreative.co.uk), and fell for a café called Wynd. I loved the peacocks that bowl around town, strutting between buildings hewn from a handsome grey sandstone, and I will never forget the spicy haggis supper I had from a chip shop called Sauro's. 'Dunfy' is a special place, end of discussion. Garvock House is a good-looking boutique hotel with friendly staff and a formidable breakfast. Details B&B doubles from £155 (garvock.co.uk)
Shitty Breaks by Ben Aitken (Icon £18.99). To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk. Free UK standard P&P on orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members.