Mine was Aberystwyth. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with it. It’s a great little island of a town in the middle of nowhere. Lovely community feel.
Are there any UK locations that have left you pleasantly surprised?
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Mine was Aberystwyth. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with it. It’s a great little island of a town in the middle of nowhere. Lovely community feel.
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Truro I thought was lovely
Swanage. Lovely town in Dorset
Liverpool. Prettiest city in the UK if you ask me
Me too! I immediately thought, Aberystwyth, when i saw this question. Loved the starling murmuration, walking along the cliffs, the sunset behind the war memorial, an amazing bottle shop, nice wee wine bar. Enjoyed it far more than I expected, it had a lovely distinct identity. Once the old college renovations are done I will visit again.
Leeds, was expecting a dump but the centre was actually pretty nice.
I couldn’t believe the we had somewhere like the Lake District in the uk the first time I saw it. I’m sure I’ve got a shock in store when I go to Scotland for the first time too
Liverpool has improved a lot in recent years
Halifax, such a nice town centre compared to what it used to be. I know lots of ppl from Manchester/Leeds have relocated there due to the cheaper house prices and the redevelopment of the centre especially round piece hall.
Forest of Bowland
A few places have pleasantly surprised me when I’ve visited tbf compared to what I thought they would be like. I expected Hull, Halifax, Stockport, Scarborough, Birmingham and Pontefract to be dumps when I visited them and I enjoyed my visit to all of them.
Bournemouth. Expected it to be a bit run down seaside resort but it was spectacularly clean and bustling. Also very sunny that day so that’s a help.
Lived in Aberystwyth for 5 yrs, it is the best location/orientation (faces west, you will understand..) for a town possible imho.
Leeds, went to a Slipknot concert in December last year and then went out for drinks with a few friends and it was fantastic.
Funny you should say that.
My wife booked us a holiday to Fishguard, I was expecting a grotty port town but found this wonderful place, full of friendly people, amazing scenery, architecture and history. Have been back 6 times since and just love it.
This thread is full of lies. There is nothing good in west Wales, and definitely not around mid Wales, so best stay away yeah?
Definitely not to the spectacular views and genuine expansive nature in the mid, no best stay away.
Trains are broken ATM anyway. Best bit bother to waste you time.
As someone who lives in London all the major Welsh cities to me personally have a very laid back feel. I honestly really like Cardiff and Swansea
Liverpool
Norwich and Norfolk in general. Always seems to be bloody nice weather when I was down there, the city is quite pleasant, some great pubs where you can go out for a drink rather than a drunk and the folk seemed good banter.
Probably helps that I’m from the Highlands so am willing to forgive the inbreeding and sheep buggery.
Leeds, wife and I went to see Tenacious D, I thought I was settling for going there but had an absolute blast. Met some lovely locals in a proper nice pub tucked down an alley in the city centre, good food, weather was great and the parks were nice, then the royal armory museum was a fantastic way to spend the day after. Unreal visit.
For me it was Berwick. I visited on a whim while on holiday in Northumberland, and was surprised to find that the old town walls are a star fort, which is something I associated more with the continent. I’d also associated them with a time period after England had to worry as much about invasion from Scotland. It was quite a nice walk around them, though the wind was pretty savage in an oddly pleasant sort of way.
St Ives in Cornwall was really nice. Also Bamburgh and Whitby. Some places in the Lake District/Cumbria too, like Appleby, Penrith and Cartmel.
Folkestone. Only went as far as the eurotunnel for a long time until we finally decided to visit the town after a trip. Had a lovely walk on the redeveloped harbour railway walk.
Poole in Dorset!
Pontefract. Lovely little town, really welcoming people, Haribo factory shop.
I went to Newquay a lot on family holidays as kid, then a few boozy weekends as a young adult. Heard it had been taken over that element, then banned it and not really found anything else. Went again for the first time in about 20 years, nope, still one of my favourite places..
Pleasantly surprised by Llandudno too, and Glasgow
Luskentyre beach on the Isle of Harris. Never seen anything like that in my life, mad I travelled the world. Spectacular.