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The UK's top towns. The obvious and the overlooked

gintonic said:
we are driving up to York on Thursday afternoon, then lunch in Leeds on Friday (we'll go by train), then mooch around York for the remainder of Friday.

On Saturday we have something like this drive planned:

York by uh_simon, on Flickr

haven't made up our minds entirely yet.....

then drive back home on Sunday
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I'd want to stop at Thornton Dale, about 3 miles east of Pickering.It's at the foot of the forest so has a hilly country vibe to it and has enough pubs to consider stopping for lunch. Certainly a touch nicer than Pickering and Malton. Malton has traffic issues most of the time I go through it. I'd take a b-road from Thornton to Kirkham and miss Pickering and Malton out entirely.

That road from York to Harrogate could be avoided as well. It's got very bad traffic both ways starting near Sainsbury about 2 and a half miles outside Harrogate.
 
HarryB said:
That is a fantastic route but I would urge you to do it anti clockwise.

Helmsley is gorgeous but gets very busy. Expect to see hundreds of bikers in the square if you get there afternoon.

The road between Helmsley and Stokesley is one of the finest in Britain. Nice pub at Chop Gate (pronounced Yat).
Superb pork pies in Great Ayton at Petch"s.

Top pub in Whitby is The Endeavour. Get fish and chips from place a few doors away and eat them in pub. Cutlery and condiments provided.

Naburn just outside York is lovely for food but you'll need to book.

Superb river garden cafe at Sleights and Poet's Cottage Nursery nearby is a delight.

I could go on. I've ridden almost every road in that area. The Rosedale Chimney climb still makes me feel ill.

Enjoy it.
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plan was anti clockwise. We were planning early lunch in Whitby (we were there about a month ago on a different road trip to Edinburgh)
 
Clitheroe is a good place for a day out. It's got a castle, market, Booth's supermarket, the marvellous Bowland Brewery beer hall (Steam Mill) which always has at least 20 different beers on, Dawson's old-fashioned hardware shop, Byrne's wine merchant, Green Jersey bike shop / cafe, interesting charity and second-hand shops, Cowman's sausages if you're a meat-eater... and it's easy to go on to the beautiful Lancashire countryside. It lacks a decent record shop though. There's a music shop with a stock of classical CDs mostly Naxos, often cheap, and recently a "vintage / retro" shop has opened with LPs upstairs but on a quick look they were overpriced and overgraded (in the alley over the road from Cowman's).
 
gintonic said:
plan was anti clockwise. We were planning early lunch in Whitby (we were there about a month ago on a different road trip to Edinburgh)
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Further that. The Helmsley Stokesley Road is 25 miles of scenic twisty nirvana. It is the best biking road in England I have been on.
 
richgilb said:
Further that. The Helmsley Stokesley Road is 25 miles of scenic twisty nirvana. It is the best biking road in England I have been on.
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My favourite biking road in England is probably the one from Barnard Castle to Alston on the B6277, although there are a lot of nice roads in the hills around Hawes.

My favourite motorbiking roads are in the Scottish Borders and the far North West of Scotland though.
 
stephen bennett said:
Norwich is often overlooked. We have two cathedrals, a castle, and the Norfolk broads and beautiful coast are a stone's throw away.
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Gosh ! Another from Norwich? Which part, may I ask? Another dubious accolade is that it's the largest (and interesting) retail conurbation in East Anglia and probably much further.
 
HarryB said:
Norwich......... if you like pubs and beer.
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You denigrate this 'Fine City', sir ! There's also a church on virtually every corner; not sure which is more significant though. :) I believe that Norwich Castle was only the second built by the Normans. It's also the birthplace of Barclays Bank. The cathedral (no, not the Victorian catholic one) celebrated its 900th anniversary a decade or so ago, and there's a pub called the Adam and Eve round the corner which was built for those constructing the cathedral.
 
Mike is an accidental Partridge.

alan_partridge_mid_morning_matters.jpg
 
deanf said:
Being a Man City fan home and away during the bad times - which were ironically some of the best times - I can honestly tell you this beautiful country of ours is full of nuggets. Barnsley, West Bromwich, Shrewsbury, Grimsby, Stoke, Huddersfield, Rotherham and Blackpool, they're all magic!
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As someone who followed my local Rugby League team (Leigh) in the 70s and 80s I have to say you've missed out such gems as Featherstone, Castleford, Barrow and Huyton. Of those Featherstone was the worst - and their pies were crap too.
 
SteveG said:
My favourite biking road in England is probably the one from Barnard Castle to Alston on the B6277, although there are a lot of nice roads in the hills around Hawes.

My favourite motorbiking roads are in the Scottish Borders and the far North West of Scotland though.
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I agree, Scotland beats England for roads.
 
richgilb said:
Skipton > Ilkley, Thirsk > Ripon same shit different bucket innit?
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Not at all. Skipton is a town in its own right, Ilkley is a dormitory town for the extremely wealthy and/or retired of Leeds. Similarly Thirsk and Ripon feel different. Thirsk is definitely North York Moors in feel, Ripon feels like an extension of the Vale of York.
 
there are some brilliant an not obvious places in the UK. In the last 4 years we have gone from taking lots of long haul and European holidays to now taking road trips in the UK. Some of them you might consider mad, but there are some lovely towns to visit all over the UK.

Last summer we did this.

Cover by uh_simon, on Flickr

Essentially train to Inverness then car all the way back to London, then trains - and eventually 5 days on Bryher in the Isles of Scilly.

The joy of the road trip is all those little towns you can stop at and mooch around in. There is always something different to see and do.
 
gintonic said:
there are some brilliant an not obvious places in the UK. In the last 4 years we have gone from taking lots of long haul and European holidays to now taking road trips in the UK. Some of them you might consider mad, but there are some lovely towns to visit all over the UK.

Last summer we did this.

Cover by uh_simon, on Flickr

Essentially train to Inverness then car all the way back to London, then trains - and eventually 5 days on Bryher in the Isles of Scilly.

The joy of the road trip is all those little towns you can stop at and mooch around in. There is always something different to see and do.
Click to expand...
Poor old Wales.

Lol
 
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