7 British Cities to Visit when You Are in the UK ...

Let’s start with our most famous city: London. It is one of the best British cities to visit when you’re over here, because there is so much to do. Stick to the centre and you have Selfridges, the Harry Potter Studio Tour, and Buckingham Palace. Venture a little further out and you have Hampton Court, Windsor Palace, and Wimbledon. Londoners are known for being a tad unfriendly. While that isn’t always true, there are MUCH friendlier cities over here…

…and Manchester is THE friendliest city. I am slightly biased towards this place, being a northerner and everything. However, you genuinely can’t go far wrong here. Put images about Frank Gallagher (from OUR version of Shameless) aside and think of people who can’t do enough to help. The Trafford Centre is a great shopping experience, Manchester is home to two world-famous soccer teams, it is the birthplace of the Gallagher brothers (Oasis) and there is even a Mancunian Selfridges. Compared to London, it’s also incredibly cheap…

…but Cardiff is even cheaper! I live down the road from Cardiff in its much-less-impressive little sister Swansea (I hope nobody from around here reads that!). Cardiff is small as far as cities go, but it is great for when you are on a budget and it places you perfectly for more castles than any other destination. In fact, Wales is meant to have more castles in it than anywhere else in the world. If you haven’t seen a rugby game, I highly recommend watching one in Cardiff. We love our rugby in Wales, but I don’t think we are quite as passionate about our sports as…

…the Scottish! I am yet to visit Scotland, how sad is that? I have friends in the U.S., and to them driving a couple of hundred miles is like nothing. As I come from a teeny tiny island (okay, teeny tiny in comparison to MOST places), it is a huge deal for me. When I get over that, Edinburgh is at the top of my list. I have been assured by various members of my family that it is absolutely beautiful. Very few places in the UK have retained their architecture as well as Edinburgh, but there is one exception…

…Bath! Yes, Bath is home of the Roman Baths and they are still there in their steamy glory for everyone to see. If you go to Bath after seeing London, you will wonder if you are even in the same country. London is like a concrete jungle, and even though it has its beautiful parts, it is a little grey. Bath, on the other hand, feels as though nobody has altered it at all since the height of the Georgian era. Even if you are staying in London and not intending on traveling, you can get a train to Bath from London Paddington and be there in 90-minutes. It is incredibly historic, but if dramatic history is your thing…

…go to Belfast! Again, I am yet to go there. I had plans to go there, but then life got in the way and I got a little sad about that. Why do I want to go to Belfast? It is home of the Titanic Quarter. The Titanic was built and launched from this amazing city, and there are multiple museums and monuments there to commemorate the tragedy. That aside, Northern Ireland has an amazing landscape and plenty of opportunities for open water fishing. Flights from London to Belfast are quite cheap, so an overnight stay isn’t entirely ridiculous if you’re in Britain. Now to finish…

…Newcastle. I just had to throw the North East in this list somewhere. Why? Because I really love seeing the look on someone’s face when they haven’t experienced a raw Geordie accent (that’s a little name for people from Newcastle) and they are trying to decipher it. Once you get past the amazing accent, you begin to realise that Newcastle tops Manchester in terms of friendliness. Oh and if you have watched Geordie Shore, don’t pay attention. MTV’s representation of Newcastle is about as accurate as its reputation of Jersey. Give it a go, you will love it!

I live on a teeny island, which is why I believe it’s possible to see much more of it than just London. You don’t have to stop at our cities either; try heading to the country. Or, even to one of the islands surrounding this small island. If you are a fan of a British city, which one do you love and why?