Undesirable holiday locations, please!

[WouldBeGood]

I’m far too scared to book a wholesome staycation in a beautiful tourist area, lest I be run out of town by angry locals; or refused service in the extortionately priced local farm shop.

So, I’m planning to go to places that are not holiday destinations, where they might be pleased people are visiting. Or, even better, not notice.

My sole requirement is a nice hotel.

Any recommendations?

My old uni town of Canterbury is lovely. Some great hotels. Surrounded by nice countryside. Really easy day trips to Deal, Whitstable, Margate and Folkestone.

@Leapyleaffrog

Given the likely absence of hoards of foreign tourists, Chinese tour groups etc I’ve decided this is the perfect year to go to London, Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford, York or Edinburgh. Basically I’ll be avoiding countryside or coast.

I went to Cambridge last year for this very reason and found a lot of colleges closed. Whereas London was subject to social distancing restrictions but absolutely wonderful

When I say colleges closed, I mean closed for visitors.

We are planning a few city breaks. Definitely going to Durham (visiting my sister), but hopefully also London, Oxford and maybe Portsmouth.
I’m not a fan of beach holidays in UK at the best of times, couldn’t think of anything worse this year!

Oooh forgot to mention Cardiff we live not far from there and it’s a great city!

@rookiemere

Not really undesirable as it's absolutely lovely, but my too recommendation is Shropshire. Doesn't attract many tourists as its in the middle with few obvious tourist attractions, but we've stayed at a wonderful mansion near Ludlow a few times now - last time was last summer - and there's a goodly number of walks ending at fantastic pubs, some fine National trust cafes with historical things attached and Ludlow itself is definitely worth a visit with quite a decent castle.

I adore Shropshire for all the reasons you’ve said. Loved Ludlow, Ironbridge, the walks and the living museum

@FlibbertyGiblets

I am not saying Stoke is undesirable but it is an unpolished gem. No hotel reccs because we live near enough for day trips. Museum is ace. Regal Theatre is extraordinary. The iconic bottle kilns. Trentham Estate Gardens.

I'm from Stoke. Don't go on holiday to Stoke, it's grim and these places are not a patch on other areas. It would be a big mistake.

The Peak District on the other hand while only 30-40 mins away is lovely and you could pop and see the pottery museums (e.g. Gladstone is worth a look).

The Theatre is not brilliant and Trentham Gardens is okay-ish. The monkey park is a worthwhile trip, the rest of it is meh.

Norfolk - avoid the North Norfolk coast, you could stay In Norwich which is incredibly picturesque, depending on the budget the Norwich Assembly rooms are lovely, for beautiful but not touristy beach head to Gorleston, if you've got children you can go to Great Yarmouth for arcades and tat shops or head to Bewilderwood which is amazing for the under 12s

Carlisle
You have the lakes half - an hour away
Gretna gateway for a good outlet.
Newcastle /Hadrians wall/ north east coast all easily reached.
Glasgow /Edinburgh not too far away either an hour and bit on train.
Carlisle castle is fab, they have a lovely park next to it and a good museum called Tullie House.

Darlington has a brick train! It’s not far from north York moors, Richmond and Scotch Corner! I don’t think you’ll find many holidaying there

I can't recommend any hotels as we tend to self cater (though I agree with the poster upthread who mentioned The Midland in Morecambe - its fabulous.) However there are some beautiful plscrs in Britain that aren't too touristy.
Staffordshire is pretty and is in easy reach of quite a lot of attractions.
The Lake District is goung to be absolutely rammed of course but there's more to Cumbria than the LDNP. Out to the West it's still beautiful but much quieter. The whole of the Cumbrian coast is fairly undeveloped and quiet and further north Carlisle is more like a market town than a city but is still interesting with loads of places within easy travelling distance.
Keeping north, the Scottish Borders might be an option later. We stayed near Lanark last year and loved it. Dumfries and Galloway is also very scenic.
Back to England, both Lancashire and Northumbria have plenty of quiet but beautiful corners.
I don't know the South of the country so well but I've got family in Hertfordshire and places like St Albans and Hatfield would probably be quite nice for a break without being super touristy.

Every year my sister and I go away for a weekend somewhere her (lovely but not very adventurous) husband doesn't fancy.

We've been to :

Stoke on Trent - ordinary b+b, wonderful curry dinner, fascinating art installation in a container, wedgwood factory,
Hull - faded glory hotel above the railway station, very attractive docks / downtown area, nice architecture, sea
Cleethorpes - wonderful beech, good food, nice hotel
Liverpool - extremely faded glory hotel, loved the mersey, cruise up and down the river, excellent vegan cake in birkenhead, wonderful small french style cafe bar, interesting museum
Sheffield - stayed with a friend, good vegan meal in Park Hill flats, excellent malaysian meal, drive out to the peak district and an open air museum on the way, very cheap and good antique furniture market

We are thinking about Scarborough this year

Dd lives in Glasgow, Im 45 minutes by car from her, or she can get the train here and as I don't work, and she'll be off college we're planning an actual staycation, where you stay at home, at most we'll stay at each others homes.
We're going to do lots of things we've never done, "as we live here"
I only see Loch Lomond if I'm going to Aldi, we both only see graffiti when its making a mess, and why on earth would we go to a graveyard, but right there you have Loch Lomond, a street art tour of Glasgow and The Necropolis.

try googling St Katharine's Parmoor.

We have been to Stoke. We stayed at a premier inn near trentham Gardens (on the same site). It was a beautiful location. We only stayed two days so did the Trentham gardens and the monkey forrest both of which were amazing. If we had more time I would have liked to have gone to the pottery museum and had afternoon tea there but with toddlers in tow I thought it would be something I need to wait to do when they are older. It was also a great location for Alton towers.

We have also done York and Durham which were both amazing, if cobbled streets and independent shops are your thing. There are so many museums for you to visit and York minster is beautiful.

Chester is also quite beautiful and has an outlet with good designer brands and independent shops. It is also great for Chester zoo

@FlibbertyGiblets

I am not saying Stoke is undesirable but it is an unpolished gem. No hotel reccs because we live near enough for day trips. Museum is ace. Regal Theatre is extraordinary. The iconic bottle kilns. Trentham Estate Gardens.

Speaking as someone who used to live there- you must be JOKING

Hi, Lichfield and Leamington Spa are both pretty areas of the Midlands and handy for days out to lots of places. I wouldn't say either are overly touristy.

How about Lewes? Gorgeous little town, close enough to go on day trips to Brighton and tourist spots in Kent. Don’t know anything about hotels but I’m sure it has it’s fair share of charming b&b’s.

"Good point! But even without the crowds of tour groups and their blasted selfie sticks I don't think I can afford the second mortgage that you seem to need to buy anything to eat or drink in London."

Just eat at the chains?

Is Wagamama cheaper elsewhere in the country?

Hull would be a good choice.

Or Paisley.

Oh yes @Waxonwaxoff0 , I'd forgotten about Nottingham. We did a few house swaps there when DS was young because DH has friends from uni living there, and it had a lot more to offer than I expected with a pleasant city and country walks and cycling on your doorstep.

Is there actually anything to do at the scotch corner?

What about Beverley?

Or Paisley

Never thought Paisley would be mentioned

It's pretty well located though with easy access to loads of places.

@Waxonwaxoff0 agree with Nottingham, we did it a couple of years ago and went to somewhere called Edwinstowe near the sherwood forest and had the best cake!