Winter city breaks can go one of two ways. They can become a blur of overcrowded markets, damp gloves, and the sort of decorative reindeer …
Festive city breaks for winter weekends with character
Cathedrals
Best things to do in Gloucester for a memorable city break
Gloucester is one of those cities that can seem oddly modest at first, as if it has no intention of showing off, and then suddenly …
Coventry, the city that refused to stay down
Coventry is one of those places that has had the sort of history that would have sent a lesser city quietly off for a lie …
Norwich and the unlikely triumph of a city doing things its own way
With a Norman cathedral, a crooked medieval street plan, a market that has been trading for centuries and a quietly rebellious streak, Norwich is one …
Chester and the agreeable confusion of being almost in another country
With Roman walls, medieval Rows, a grand cathedral and a river that softens all that old stone, Chester is one of England’s most handsome historic …
York’s not-so-secret past lives
If Britain were a stage, York would be one of the few cities to keep changing costumes mid-scene. One moment you’re strolling along a Roman …
Aberdeen, the granite city that learned to sparkle
Aberdeen has the kind of name that sounds faintly stern, like a headmaster who still believes in proper posture. It sits up in the northeast, …
Cambridgeshire is where England gets quietly clever
Tucked into the East of England, Cambridgeshire is one of those counties that manages to feel ancient, flat and faintly intellectual all at once. The …
Worcestershire: more than just a sauce
Tucked between the Cotswolds and the Malvern Hills, Worcestershire is one of those counties that does not demand attention but rewards anyone who stops to …
Herefordshire is where England slows right down
Tucked away along the Welsh border, Herefordshire is one of England’s quieter counties. The roads narrow, the fields spread out, and the rivers wind gently …