On a bend in the River Orwell, Ipswich is one of the oldest towns in the United Kingdom. There was a settlement here in Roman times, but the origins of the modern town are Anglo-Saxon. Just ten miles out of Ipswich is Sutton Hoo where a rich Saxon ship burial was excavated in the 1930s. …
The cathedral city of Hereford is on the River Wye not far from the border with Wales. Hereford has a lovable old core, known as the High Town, with car-free streets and family businesses. All of Herefordshire’s rural industries converge in this city: The renowned Hereford Cattle Market was in the middle of town before …
Often named as one of the best and happiest places to live in England, Harrogate is a cultivated spa town in Yorkshire. From the 18th century Harrogate was frequented by aristocrats, industrialists and even a Tsarina, who came to take the waters, rich in sulphur, iron and salt. That posh clientele brought great wealth to …
Food from all ends of the earth, cutting-edge culture and blissful views of the river; Hammersmith is in West London above a meander in the Thames. Hammersmith Bridge is near the halfway point on the annual Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge universities, and the Upper and Lower Mall lining the river have historic rowing …
Staffordshire’s county town is essentially a small market town on the River Sow, but has much to hold your attention. There are two historic churches, one of which has very rare 900-year-old Romanesque decoration. On the Market Place, Shire Hall is a bold Palladian courthouse currently awaiting a new vocation, and the Ancient High House …
The centre of England’s Victorian woollen trade, Halifax has a weaving history that goes back to the 1400s. This industry went into overdrive in the 18th and 19th century, bestowing Halifax with some eye-catching monuments, from the princely Piece Hall to the many striking industrial relics still standing. One sight not on this list is …
Ground zero for the UK’s aviation industry, Farnborough was where the country’s very first powered flight took place in 1908. The Royal Aircraft Establishment was founded here around this time and would make dozens of innovations over the next few decades, changing the course of aviation history. This heritage is recorded at the Farnborough Air …
Nine miles from Oxford, Dorchester-on-Thames is an irresistible village with a high street of timber-framed houses and a grand coaching inn from the end of the 15th century. And while the village is small, the parish church Dorchester Abbey is a monument of real significance, brimming with Medieval history. Dorchester is close to where the …
Some people know Cirencester as the Capital of the Cotswolds, but in Roman times the town had a much loftier status. At that time Corinium Dobunnorum was the second largest settlement in the whole country after Londinium, with a large forum and basilica and an amphitheatre that could seat 8,000. This story is told at …
The city of Derby was a market town in the 18th century, but grew sharply in the Industrial Revolution through its cotton and silk spinning trade. Derby was one of the first places in England where this great upsurge in production took hold, and the impressive 18th-century mills on the banks of the River Derwent …