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?

@INeedtobealone

I live near Reading. You could stay in Reading town centre, plenty of restaurants and shops, the theatre The Hexagon might have reopened.

Hotels, The Forbury or the Malmaison.

You can walk along the Kennet and Avon canal from there and onto The Thames Path.

Get the train to Windsor, Henley on Thames, London, Bath, Oxford.

No one would notice you're a tourist.

The forbury has a different name now but it is the most fabulous hotel.

@OverByYer

Agree Pembrokeshire is v touristy. You could do Cardiff / vale of Glamorgan, to get beaches and the city. St David’s hotel / vale of Glamorgan hotel . If you want really undesirable the Celtic Manor is a 5 star hotel in Newport but easy access to lots of nice places

The Celtic manor has some very grim rooms. Huge, impressive looking hotel but be very particular about specific rooms.

Lockdown Lake District was heaving last year. Every lake rammed, lots of people having bbqs.
Same in the evenings, even trees cut down to burn , lots of rubbish.
Hot spots no parking, so narrow lanes rammed and cars parked in front on farmer's gates , so lots of standoffs.

If you have kids Leicester is a good option - space centre is interesting, all the city museums are free, great parks, take a cabal trip/locks to visit, bosworth battlefield does re-enactments etc. City has normal complement of shops and restaurants with the added attraction of the best (and very diverse) Indian cuisine. Theres lovely hotels out in the county or chain ones of course. Added advantage is apart from when Richard iii was discovered, very few tourists so no hiked up prices

@DanceToTheMusicInMyHead I grew up in Halifax, went to Uni in Hull and now live about 10 miles away

If OP is seriously thinking about Hull, then I'd suggest staying in Beverley. 10 mins on train to Hull, 30 minutes to the coast, beautiful Minster, lots of history, lots of walks.....

So many great ideas! I’m quite looking forward to holidays now.

I’m thinking a night or two in lots of the suggestions. An Undesirable Tour. 😃

Thanks, all.

Oh, and Hull is a must, now I’ve googled a patty 😍

I went to school in Paisley and grew up nearby and would rather die than go on holiday there. And to be fair, back in the day when I was growing up there that was an option always on the cards - it was quite stabby back then.

I have to drive through to visit my parents if I fly back - I try to avoid that as much as possible but it does look like it's only got more depressed. I would avoid at all costs. It is a horrible place.

Agree Hull is much better than expected. Have spent a lot of time in Stoke because family are from there and there are nice things to do around, definitely, but it's not a very nice place. Newcastle and Liverpool are great shouts.

@WouldBeGood

So many great ideas! I’m quite looking forward to holidays now.

I’m thinking a night or two in lots of the suggestions. An Undesirable Tour. 😃

Thanks, all.

We are thinking of some kind of road trip and will check out these suggestions. Thanks for the thread OP.

Shrewsbury. Beautiful town, near Wales. Lovely.

@thirstyformore's suggestion is good. Beverley is lovely. Handy for Hull, York, the Yorkshire coast. The Beverley Arms is a lovely hotel that has been refurbished quite recently.

Liverpool, including a visit to Crosby /Formby for the beach and Southport for the shabby seaside vibe.
Lytham is lovely too for a couple of nights.

@osbertthesyrianhamster

A staycation is when you don't leave your house except for day trips. When did it start to mean a fecking UK holiday?

I keep thinking that. The media seem to have changed the meaning recently.

A staycation - stay at home, day trip each day.

A holiday - stay away from home in a different location for a period of time, surely. You don't have to go abroad to go on holiday!

Dh and I are visiting Scotland hopefully in May. We will be visiting different locations in the highlands. It is a holiday.
Likewise in the summer we are having a drive down to Cornwall and back, via Bristol, Devon and Bath. It's a holiday.

This Easter we have had a staycation. We have stayed at home, off work, but had some day trips to local places and some further afield, always coming home each night.

Luckily @osbertthesyrianhamster and @Abraxan both meanings are correct.

Just to say, when you haven't been anywhere for a year even the most modest destination is exciting! I'd love to go to Stoke and see the pottery museums.

Blackpool? There’s a lovely DeVere hotel in Blackpool right next to the zoo which is also quite a nice zoo, the hotel is in a few acres of ground and nowhere near the seafront, we stayed one weekend and had a lovely time we did the zoo and the model village, it wasn’t a cheap tacky Blackpool weekend it was very pleasant.

A few places I have visited for work and always thought I would like to go back and explore some more: Sheffield, Coventry, Nottingham, Manchester

We're also off to many of the places listed but first Durham and the Northumberland coast. Expecting it to be busy!

What about Morecambe? Beautiful Bay, Heysham village, 45 minutes to Windermere, 15 minutes into Lancaster, half an hour to Kirkby Lonsdale.

The Morecambe Hotel is a good shout if the Midland is over budget too.

@Bumpsadaisie yes, that’s how I’m feeling 😃

Worcester/South Worcestershire (eg Upton on Severn, Pershore).
Historic enough with the Cotswolds/ Stratford/Forest of Dean/Black Mountains/Shropshire hills near enough for a half day outing. Boat trips on the Severn or Avon. Understated, lush, traditional countryside and many pretty villages.

How about the Luton Hoo?

Amazing hotel on a gorgeous estate, the lovely town of Harpenden just down the road and lots of nice walks. Plus Welwyn Garden City, St Albans, Hemel Hempstead within a 25 minute drive if you want shops or a wider choice of restaurants.

No other bugger around because it’s Luton innit

Dh has planned and booked our holiday this year, I think he has managed an undesirables tour

We've 2 nights in Hull, a night in the Scottish Borders, 2 nights in Aberdeen, 4
ights Cairngorms (is the exception to the undesirable rule), Sheffield (we love love Sheffield so not undesirable to us at all) and home!

My contribution is Gloucester. It has a fairly deprived feel to it, certainly isn't desirable for a holiday, but a few minutes in either direction you have Cheltenham, Forest of Dean. Gloucester Cathedral is beautiful, the Docks are nice, great climbing centre (the warehouse), Museums, Nature in Art, Muchachas chicken is heavenly 😋

@TheSockMonster that hotel looks fab. And I’ve never been to any of those places. Only seen them on Phil and Kirstie 😃

@PutYourBackIntoit respect to your DH!

(The Cairngorms is my actual idea of holiday hell though 😃)

Herefordshire is stunning and surprisingly empty all year round. There’s a fabulous leaflet at the TIO in Hereford that sets out a map that winds through pretty much all of the villages with churches (there are many, every one different) that will take you through the best of the County, including Golden Valley which is stunning. Nip over the border into Malvern too, which is lovely.