Shall we make a list of good non touristy places to visit?

[Ultrasoft]

It seems like foreign travel is off for the foreseeable and there are lots of reasons not to visit the busiest tourist spots in UK, so I've decided the next couple of years at least will be spent visiting some less obvious places in UK and getting to know the "real" country.

Where would you aim for?

& a waste of time...

Romney Marsh is weird in a rather wonderful sci-fi sort of way. You really do feel that you’re on the edge of the world.

Not Reculver! Hideous. And that horrible walk to sandy Minis Bay, past those lagoons. Don’t even think about visiting.

If anyone likes hiking, I have my mind set on Pddars way and north Norfolk coast path... it does look like some of it can be done with older DC and the dog!

You could easily fill ten days in Kent. Dover castle, vineyards, zoos, coastal towns, inland castles (Hever, Sissinghurst, Scotney, Leeds, Rochester, Chiddingston, Tonbridge, Upnor, Chillham), Winston Churchill’s house, Charles Dickens’ house.

I'd be interested in walking the Pennine Way, visiting Northumberland - now there's a county where you can go for hours without seeing other people - and going to Scotland, beyond Edinburgh and Glasgow.

@Ylvamoon I did Peddars way as a teen as a college challenge from thetford to Cromer in 14 hours.... It was not a pleasant trip.

Liverpool is great. Loads of museums, all free except the one about the Atlantic War which was well worth the money. Began to get embarrassing how little we had spent.

Nice trip to the beach to Crosby to see the Anthony Gormley statues. More fun seeing the Egyptian mummies than at the British museum as no hoards of people.

Plus loads of great places to eat. Brilliant holiday.

Second brilliant holiday - Leeds. DH said 'don't you mean York' - no Leeds. was near the DIY Kitchens showroom

Royal Armouries, far more interesting than we thought they would be, Sculpture triangle - went to Hepworth Wakefield and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Stately homes galore - in fact so many we had to skip some, a cause of severe pain and distress when they now appear on BBC4 documentaries. Enjoyed going round the abbey ruins which aren't as well known as Fountains so not many people there.

Really did well on restaurants in Leeds as well, possibly our best food holiday in the UK.

Left us thinking we could plan a holiday in almost any UK city/town, however unlikely. Planning for Leicester next based on the art gallery.

Yorkshire is gorgeous

Agree with 1morerep. We had a week's holiday in Cheshire last year and it was lovely - canals, pretty villages, very 'english' landscapes, beautiful gardens.

The border between England and Scotland, so many amazing landscapes, fantastic houses/ castles on the Scottish side particularly, great coastline, abbey's, Roman ruins, dark skies.

Dumfries and Galloway - wildlife, beaches, forests, walking, biking, seafood.

Jedburgh just before lockdown. Part of a drive that took in Kielder and the Yetholms.

I second Lincolnshire but why does everyone think it’s flat? Yes, the Fens in the South east are flat but Lincolnshire is a huge county and Lincoln the main city was actually built on a hill. And of course there are the Lincolnshire Wolds to the North
Steep Hill in Lincoln is the the fourth steepest hill in the country and leads to the Stunning Cathedral and Castle. Slower pace of life and no motorways.

Wiltshire has some lovely places to visit; Stonehenge, Avebury, Salisbury etc, and lovely walks along the Ridgeway.

@AnnaMagnani - Kirkstall Abbey?
I live 3 miles from YSP and agree it’s gorgeous, although currently closed.

I spent a night in Kidderminster for work in September and thought it was lovely, went to a seminar in Bewdley the next day and it was gorgeous! I’d like to go back to that area, and take in Ironbridge and Blist’s Hill. We went for a weekend when DS was tiny, but he’d love it now, he’s a proper history buff.

I had a day trip to Liverpool a couple of years back and loved it - I think there may be something in the theory that cities that have songs about them are worth seeing. (so London, Liverpool, Newcastle but not Birmingham)

don't tell anyone about the Shropshire/Cheshire area, don't want it getting too busy! Everyone dashes off to Snowdonia to get rained on, let's keep it that way.

we are of course all tourists unless we live somewhere.

I've been to Lincoln. There's at least one very steep hill in Lincolnshire

@BikeRunSki yes that would have been it. Had lots of explanation about history of abbeys, could wander round the grounds, and just on the edge of town.

Also we bought and planned a very nice kitchen at DIY Kitchens

A lot of my holidays end up based around where I or DH are at a conference, so Liverpool in January. Apart from it being freezing cold and nearly being blown into the Irish Sea, it was amazing.

We've also gone to a lot of European cities in the same way. But think it may be a long time before that starts again

Lent and Norfolk coast are definitely tourist spots

I would suggest some of the pretty villages of Surrey, Buckinghamshire or Oxfordshire

Some have beautiful river walks

Abingdon isn’t at all touristy and not somewhere you’d think would be nice for a day trip but it’s a lovely spot for a walk along the river

I loved that steep hill in Lincoln. DS went for a University open day and DH and I had a brilliant time there. Loved it all.

I love York and Chester but they probably come under 'touristy'.

I live in Worcestershire and wondered if anyone had any recommendations for seaside with towns along the lines of Weymouth but don't involve that hideous journey south on the M5. Don't want secluded, or fussed about getting in the beach, just to see the sea.

Feel a bit out of breath just looking at it. Lincoln Steep Hill.

Ceiriog Valley - lovely walks, impressive feats of engineering, a canal, a castle, nice places to stay/eat, scenic train journeys ... a very lovely and often overlooked corner of the world

Having holidayed in the UK most of my life. I have come to the opinion that anywhere can make a nice holiday.

If you have a car then within 1 hours drive of anywhere you can probably find either beach or beautiful countryside or both, a museum, a stately home with gardens or a castle, somewhere for an expensive day out such as theme park, zoo or aquarium. Some thing small and historical, monuments, steam train, ruins, etc. As well as leisure centres, swimming pools, golf, soft play, playgrounds etc And shopping centres, town centres, village pubs, etc etc.
(With the exception, perhaps of central London, which of course has its own attractions)

It doesn't take long to find 6 activities for a 7 night holiday.
Think about where you live. I bet you could find 6 day trips for a tourist to do. The place is boring to you because you live there and have done it all, but for a person looking at it with fresh eyes, I bet there are loads of activities.

Spot on, isittheholidaysyet.

East Yorkshire! Walking the Yorkshire Wolds Way, Beverley, Holderness Coast, The Deep aquarium in Hull. It’s often overlooked in favour of North Yorkshire but there are lovely market towns and beautiful scenery in East Yorkshire too.