City breaks in UK

[defblade]

Due to my and my wife's jobs, it's currently difficult to get away for a whole week's holiday together, so we grabbed a couple of short mid-week breaks last year - London and Chester. We enjoyed both, but are wondering where to go next... London obviously had loads of stuff to do; we enjoyed Chester just as much tho - the oldie world shopping, some art galleries and the zoo kept us entertained for 3 days. So somewhere with a bit of charm and culture/history.

We live in west Wales so would prefer something within a few hours' drive... Bath/Bristol are out as we went to (and met at) uni in Bath so we've done that, even tho Bath would have been a good suggestion otherwise. We also lived in Oxfordshire for 13 years, so Oxford/reading are also off the list.

So where's your favourite pretty place to wonder aimlessly around for a few days?

[CivicDuties]

Ludlow, Leominster, Shrewsbury, Stratford-upon-Avon.

[jrock78]

Lincoln is nice with the castle and gaol to wonder around. Stamford is nice too and its not far to visit Burghley House from there.

[CardinalBlue]

If you liked Chester, you'll likely enjoy York but I imagine that is closer to five hours depending where abouts in west Wales you mean - although you could break it up with a stop over somewhere en route.

Would the ferry from Holyhead to Dublin be an option?

[Truckosaurus]

Edinburgh but flying via Cardiff airport if you are capable of flying hand luggage only.

(I did a weekend trip from London recently by flying, and you can easily fly in Friday evening after work and fly back Sunday afternoon/evening)

[blue_haddock]

CivicDuties said:

Ludlow, Leominster, Shrewsbury, Stratford-upon-Avon.

I was going to suggest Shrewsbury as an option, i wouldnt say Ludlow on is own is suitable for a few days but combining the two would be great

[SydneyBridge]

Exeter, plymouth anywhere in Cornwall, jurrasic coast

[Riley Blue]

York would be my suggestion: loads of history, loads of shops, railway museum etc. etc.; may be a bit too far though.

[Regbuser]

CardinalBlue said:

Would the ferry from Holyhead to Dublin be an option?

Or Cork if you can get a flight

[smithyithy]

blue_haddock said:

CivicDuties said:

Ludlow, Leominster, Shrewsbury, Stratford-upon-Avon.

I was going to suggest Shrewsbury as an option, i wouldnt say Ludlow on is own is suitable for a few days but combining the two would be great

It's a good shout, stay in / near Shrewsbury and you can pop over to quite a few smaller towns / villages within the area, National Trust places nearby too, eg. Attingham Park

[dontlookdown]

Everyone I know is raving about Belfast as a city break at the mo. I haven't been yet but I am planning to - it sounds like there is plenty to see and some good places to eat.

You could drive (I think there is ferry from Liverpool) but flying would be quicker. I would imagine there are flights from Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester depending on where you are in Wales.

Edited by dontlookdown on Tuesday 19th March 14:44

[ARHarh]

smithyithy said:

blue_haddock said:

CivicDuties said:

Ludlow, Leominster, Shrewsbury, Stratford-upon-Avon.

I was going to suggest Shrewsbury as an option, i wouldnt say Ludlow on is own is suitable for a few days but combining the two would be great

It's a good shout, stay in / near Shrewsbury and you can pop over to quite a few smaller towns / villages within the area, National Trust places nearby too, eg. Attingham Park

If you like a bit of history, you could easily fill a long weekend in the nicer parts of Telford (Ironbridge). Wroxetor for some roman stuff, and all whilst based in the very nice town of Shrewsbury.If you like a bit hill Walking the scenery if fantastic especially over the Long Mynd a bit down the A49, and finish off with a visit to Ludlow a bit furthe down the A49.

[vixen1700]

We were in Newcastle a couple of times last year and really enjoyed the place and the people.
When the weather was good we jumped on the Metro to Whitley Bay which was lovely.

[dontlookdown]

vixen1700 said:

We were in Newcastle a couple of times last year and really enjoyed the place and the people.
When the weather was good we jumped on the Metro to Whitley Bay which was lovely.

Another vote for Newcastle. Grainger market, Ouseburn, Baltic Gallery, Lit & Phil. Sealwatching at St Mary's then fish and chips on the beach at Tymemouth.

[blue_haddock]

ARHarh said:

smithyithy said:

blue_haddock said:

CivicDuties said:

Ludlow, Leominster, Shrewsbury, Stratford-upon-Avon.

I was going to suggest Shrewsbury as an option, i wouldnt say Ludlow on is own is suitable for a few days but combining the two would be great

It's a good shout, stay in / near Shrewsbury and you can pop over to quite a few smaller towns / villages within the area, National Trust places nearby too, eg. Attingham Park

If you like a bit of history, you could easily fill a long weekend in the nicer parts of Telford (Ironbridge). Wroxetor for some roman stuff, and all whilst based in the very nice town of Shrewsbury.If you like a bit hill Walking the scenery if fantastic especially over the Long Mynd a bit down the A49, and finish off with a visit to Ludlow a bit furthe down the A49.

All great suggestions and yes Ironbridge is absolutely fantastic. If the weather is good you can have a lovely pub crawl down the ironbridge gorge!

[defblade]

We're between Swansea and Carmarthen... Shrewsbury sounds worth a look, York is a bit of a stretch, and obviously Newcastle more again. We had vaguely considered Ireland but no real idea of where would be good to go. I have an itch to go to Edinburgh - went once very briefly for the National Student Motorsport Championship, but saw one pub, some classrooms and a lot of back roads... not sure it's worth the hassle of flying up there, or maybe I'm just too unadventerous to try a local flight for a holiday

[theboss]

It’s also a very enjoyable drive from Carmarthenshire up to Shrews, or you could take a train up the heart of wales line.

I’m biased about the area generally as I live in the Shropshire Hills and love the Marches area, but one of my favourite things to do on a nice day/weekend is hit the road early and take my kids down to Pembrokeshire via a near straight light route down through Knighton, Newbridge-on-Wye, Llandovery.