Best city beaks in uk?

[Lovemusic33]

We camp a lot during the summer mainly in quiet places and have booked a couple short breaks but would like to book a city break (possibly hotel stay) for me and the DD’s, dd1 has some mobility issues so not too much walking. We live down south and mainly camp around Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall so would like to go a bit further afield, somewhere with a bit of history, good shopping and good food. Was thinking possibly York or Oxford, any other suggestions?

York is excellent and it’s compact. You could easily spend a week there and not do everything.

Chester- nice and compact, lots of history, fab shopping, zoo, fab theatre/ cinema(Storyhouse), great independent restaurants

A romantic weekend in Stoke.

I guess it depends on the nature of your DD's mobility issues. We've had lovely breaks in York and Oxford but did walk a lot - you can't really take a car very far into either city. Liverpool is brilliant and more car-friendly if you need that. Durham is also pretty and very compact, but Liverpool has more going on.

Liverpool, Chester is lovely but can be quite expensive - entry fee for the zoo etc plus the zoo is huge so loads of walking. I find there are loads of cheap/free things to do in liverpool and always lots of things going on as well.

If you dc can manage stairs then I’d suggest Warwick castle, the nearest city would be Coventry

Definitely Liverpool.

York is compact and flat, but also has lots of cobbles and narrow streets, so may not be super buggy friendly. One of the main attractions is to walk the city walls, not sure how this would work with a buggy.

Liverpool. We went there recently and had a fantastic time.

We had a brilliant short break in Carlisle, taking the scenic Settle-Carlisle railway to get there. It might be a bit far for you though.

Liverpool is on my to do list.

Another vote for Liverpool- great free museums and galleries, cat cafe, lovely restaurants, ferry cross the Mersey....

If you went to Liverpool you could always get the train to Chester for a day too.

Thank you, lots of great ideas. I have booked one night in Oxford (we are only 2 hours away), dd has been there for the day with school and liked it apart from the walking, he are going to stay in travel lodge and possibly get the bus into the city centre. I have booked it for the week after Easter. DD’s walking is a issue, she doesn’t do stairs very well but can walk for a little while if it’s flat ish.

Dd would love Chester as she’s desperate to go to the zoo so we may consider going there towards the end of the summer.

Norwich is small and walkable.
Oxford is my neck of the woods, loads to do but always busy!
Bath?

Bristol has a fabulous zoo

We have done Bristol and Bath, I absolutely love Bath but it’s not far from where I live so we go a lot. We went to Exeter last half term but I was a bit disappointed (maybe because I prefer Bath).

Helena what places would you recommend to visit in Oxford? Dd2 will want to look around shops but dd1 is more into history and food 🤣

DP and I had a weekend in Liverpool recently. We went because I wanted to see the sculptures on Crosby Beach. I wasn't expecting much from the city itself but was blown away. It was fab! So much to do and see, really nice vibe, great museums and restaurants. I really recommend it.

Westgate for shopping, but there is North Parade, the Covered Market and Little Clarendon Street for smaller/fewer chains.

The Nosebag for food, it’s my absolute fave Oxford Cafe. Though the Covered Market has some nice ones too.

Ashmolean is my favourite museum in the world, beautifully curated and still looking good post the refit. Museum of the History of Science has slightly odd opening hours but worth a visit. And a tour of the Bodleian if you have time, fascinating and the guides are great.

Thank you Helena, do you think it’s worth us paying for the hop on hop off bus tour? it seems to stop at most of the sights including the castle. I’m not used to using public transport so it’s all a bit scary but we will have to use buses to get from the hotel into the centre anyway.

We’re locals not tourists so have never done it! But if you’ve got a DC with mobility issues, it’s probably a good way to see the major sites and you can note which ones you want to go back to.

If you stay on the Wirral and use Merseyrail you could do Liverpool and Chester in one?

Liverpool and Chester in the same weekend is do able but would be better with longer as Chester really needs a day of its own, Liverpool is a large city but the centre and attractions are quite compact.
www.donthibernate.co.uk/liverpool/
For the Beatles fans
www.donthibernate.co.uk/liverpool-the-beatles/
Liverpool and Chester are quite flatish too, Liverpool get a Taxi to the Catholic cathedral and its all a gradual down hill stroll to the water front