Nice cities and towns to visit in the UK by rail.

highspeed990 · 22 Oct 2017

Thoughts on nice places to visit, that are worth visiting, if you know lots, then what is the best in each county?

RailUK Forums

bb21 · 22 Oct 2017

You may need to be a bit more specific. What criteria are you using for deciding "nice" and "worthy"? Sights (what kind)? Railway heritage? Culture? Beach?

highspeed990 · 22 Oct 2017

bb21 said:
You may need to be a bit more specific. What criteria are you using for deciding "nice" and "worthy"? Sights (what kind)? Railway heritage? Culture? Beach?

Any criterion really, if you think it's enjoyable for whatever reason, I'll check it out.

cactustwirly · 22 Oct 2017

Honourable mention for Leicester, as I think it is underrated (not that I'm biased for living there).
The city centre is very nice, especially by the Cathedral, although the street from the station isn't the nicest.
And of course you get plenty of freight & HSTs through the station.

highspeed990 · 22 Oct 2017

cactustwirly said:
Honourable mention for Leicester, as I think it is underrated (not that I'm biased for living there).
The city centre is very nice, especially by the Cathedral, although the street from the station isn't the nicest.
And of course you get plenty of freight & HSTs through the station.

I think there are lots of negatively viewed cities that are very nice, Birmingham for example.

eastdyke · 23 Oct 2017

I enjoyed Middlesbrough, but then I like bridges. Have to go again because I didn't try a parmo.
For general stuff I have always had a soft spot for Chester.

SpacePhoenix · 23 Oct 2017

York. You've got the railway museum, the Jorvik (probably spelt that wrong) museum, the old city wall, the cathedral. There was a model railway exhibition right outside York station, don't know if that's still there. Day trips to the Settle & Carlisle line might possibly be viable

cactustwirly · 23 Oct 2017

Hereford, Malvern, Worcester, Shrewsbury, Gloucester & Bristol are also very nice.

Gathursty · 23 Oct 2017

Saltburn-On-Sea, Newcastle, Manchester and Buxton are varied examples of the grandeur of this country.

westv · 23 Oct 2017

Hull is where it's at.

highspeed990 · 23 Oct 2017

SpacePhoenix said:
York. You've got the railway museum, the Jorvik (probably spelt that wrong) museum, the old city wall, the cathedral. There was a model railway exhibition right outside York station, don't know if that's still there. Day trips to the Settle & Carlisle line might possibly be viable

Been there! You can walk to everything too as it is quite small.

I feel Nottingham is also a bit underrated.

70014IronDuke · 23 Oct 2017

bb21 said:
You may need to be a bit more specific. What criteria are you using for deciding "nice" and "worthy"? Sights (what kind)? Railway heritage? Culture? Beach?

Exactly my thoughts on reading this. However, seeing as the OP has given carte blanche - how about Stamford? And the first stop west of Salisbury on the SW - is it Tidsbury? Sorry (looked it up) Tisbury. Not really a town, I guess, but looked a delightful place when I went that way a few years ago.
Almost every town has an attractive quarter, with an interesting history, if you are prepared to dig it out.
I haven't been there by train, but many years ago (when the Beatles were riding high in the charts) as a teenager I was driven from Yeovil to Weymouth, and the landscape really stood out as beautiful - this was at time when all I wanted to do was get to the next engine shed*. So I suspect Dorchester might be a nice place to visit too.
* I also had desires regarding my friend's sister, but that objective was less accessible

Dougal2345 · 23 Oct 2017

cactustwirly said:
Hereford, Malvern, Worcester, Shrewsbury, Gloucester & Bristol are also very nice.

I'm sure Bristol has some nice bits - the area near the cathedral, Clifton etc. - but I wouldn't recommend just getting off the train hopefully at Temple Meads expecting a lovely stroll; it's a bit of a wasteland there, surrounded by busy roads... Do some advance planning first

wipers · 23 Oct 2017

Good question.

I always think Liverpool is brilliant - really impressive stepping out at Lime Street and seeing St. George's Hall and it's a great skyline now. The city has been transformed and has plenty to do - lots of nice places to eat, sleep, see and stay etc. Great architecture across the city and you're also close to the Wirral, parts of which are lovely if you fancy a day trip on the train.

telstarbox · 23 Oct 2017

You could do some combination of Rochester, Chatham, Margate, Deal, Dover and Canterbury in one day using HS1 services.

trainophile · 23 Oct 2017

Nicest places I've been lately were Poole in Dorset and Whitehaven in Cumbria. The latter is a lovely coastal run from Carlisle, and well worth a visit.

gazthomas · 23 Oct 2017

St. Albans, Cambridge, Ely, Kings Lynn, Norwich, Rye Canterbury, Chichester, Winchester, Salisbury, Exeter, Bath, Oxford. Chester, York, Durham, to name a few.

If they weren’t massively damaged in WW2 places tend to be nice!

AndrewE · 23 Oct 2017

Another vote here for Liverpool (even though it was massively damaged during the war - and since!) Manchester, especially MOSI. Glasgow has lots to see, as has Edinburgh. Let's face it, we are spoilt for choice!

sw1ller · 23 Oct 2017

Nice to see Chester getting a few mentions. Lovely place if you don’t live there!

ooo · 23 Oct 2017

Al

Dougal2345 said:
I'm sure Bristol has some nice bits - the area near the cathedral, Clifton etc. - but I wouldn't recommend just getting off the train hopefully at Temple Meads expecting a lovely stroll; it's a bit of a wasteland there, surrounded by busy roads... Do some advance planning first

You can walk straight down to the river without going past any roads then it's a nice Riverside walk into the centre and Harbourside

30907 · 23 Oct 2017

Apologies for duplications but - lots of smaller places in Kent and Sussex including Whitstable , Canterbury, Sandwich, Rye, Hastings, Tunbridge wells, Lewes, Brighton, Bosham, Romsey, Winchester, Lymington, Wareham, Dorchester, ....and others I've not been to!

BantamMenace · 23 Oct 2017

Skipton, Ilkley, Knaresborough and Harrogate all worthy of a mention in Yorkshire.

My university city of Lancaster also worthy of an honourable mention, as are Windermere and Kendal

W-on-Sea · 23 Oct 2017

One place I went to for the first time recently that pleasantly surprised me was Petersfield. Arundel, which isn't that far away, has great character too - not least the castle and cathedral looming on the hill as you approach the town centre from the station.

leightonbd · 25 Oct 2017

Not yet mentioned:

Bath, very distinctive architecture and a great walking around city

Cardiff, full of buzz, giant castle in the city centre, striking new dock lands redevelopment

Norwich, a fine city with a pub for every day of the year and a church for every week; buildings made of flint which is quite unusual - my university town

All very accessible by train

Nice cities and towns to visit in the UK by rail.

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