No Car Needed Archives -

Coventry, the city that refused to stay down

by kenroe61@gmail.comUpdated on April 2, 2026March 19, 2026

Coventry Cathedral in sunlight, showing the roofless stone ruins of the old Gothic cathedral with its tall spire beside the modern cathedral building, which has a broad brick facade, a large cross and steps leading to the entrance under a clear blue sky

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 …

Panoramic view of Norwich Cathedral rising above the city, with its tall stone spire, Romanesque cloisters, and surrounding green trees under a bright blue sky

Norwich and the unlikely triumph of a city doing things its own way

by kenroe61@gmail.comUpdated on April 2, 2026March 16, 2026

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 …

Panoramic view along Bournemouth’s sandy beach with scattered walkers and sunbathers, a promenade and seafront buildings in the foreground, wooden groynes stretching into the blue sea, and the coastline curving toward distant cliffs and the pier

City Breaks Coastal City Breaks

Bournemouth and the great British holiday that accidentally got stylish

by kenroe61@gmail.comUpdated on April 2, 2026March 9, 2026

There are seaside towns that feel like they were built to be looked at. All iron railings, bracing wind, and a faint scent of damp …

Brighton Palace Pier stretching out over the sea at golden hour, with white pavilion-style buildings and two Union Jack flags on the towers, a calm blue sky, and a stone promenade in the foreground with a bench overlooking the water.

City Breaks Coastal City Breaks

Seagulls, sequins and seaweed, a Brighton love story

by kenroe61@gmail.comUpdated on April 2, 2026February 20, 2026

There are plenty of places in Britain where the sea meets the land and people try their best to enjoy the bit in between, but …

Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol lit up at dusk, with its stone towers and glowing cables spanning the dark Avon Gorge beneath a deep blue evening sky.

City Breaks Coastal City Breaks

Bristol, Brunel’s playground and Banksy’s outdoor gallery

by kenroe61@gmail.comUpdated on April 2, 2026February 19, 2026

Bristol is one of those cities that cannot decide what it wants to be, so it simply becomes everything at once. Medieval port. Georgian show-off. …

Modern waterfront scene in Leeds with colourful apartment blocks and glass-fronted offices lining a calm canal, narrowboats moored along the edges, and bright reflections mirrored in the still water under a clear blue sky

City Breaks Weekend Getaways

Leeds, where Victorian confidence meets modern caffeine dependence

by kenroe61@gmail.comUpdated on April 2, 2026February 19, 2026

Leeds is one of those places that people think they understand until they actually turn up. They imagine a sensible northern city that does its …

ong-exposure night photo of Aberdeen’s Marischal College, its granite façade lit in purple and warm white, with bright bus light trails streaking across the street under a deep blue sky

City Breaks Coastal City Breaks

Aberdeen, the granite city that learned to sparkle

by kenroe61@gmail.comUpdated on April 2, 2026February 17, 2026

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, …

Panoramic rooftop view over Oxford, with the domed Radcliffe Camera on the left and the pale stone spires and towers of nearby colleges and chapels stretching across the city under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds

City Breaks Historic Cities

Oxford, the city where even the pubs have academic credentials

by kenroe61@gmail.comUpdated on April 2, 2026February 16, 2026

There are places with history, and then there is Oxford, where the buildings look as if they have been standing in judgement since the Middle …

Sunlit cobbled courtyard in Old Amersham, Buckinghamshire, lined with whitewashed cottages and timber-framed buildings with red tiled roofs, clipped green shrubs and garden borders, and a set of outdoor wooden tables beneath a bright blue sky with puffy clouds.

Countryside Escapes Weekend Getaways

Buckinghamshire is where England quietly perfects the countryside weekend

by kenroe61@gmail.comUpdated on April 2, 2026February 13, 2026

Just west of London, Buckinghamshire has long been the place where England goes to admire its own good taste. Rolling hills, picture-perfect villages, stately homes, …