Seen most of the UK's highlights and want to discover some incredible places? Look no further, in this article I'd like to share with you the 15 most underrated places, towns and villages in England and the UK.
If you're new to this blog, hi, we're Liza and Pepe (short for Jose), a couple of millennials with full-time jobs in London and a passion for travel. We've been living in London since 2017 and have been exploring the UK one weekend at a time. Interested in reading about our UK itineraries and weekend road trips? Check out our UK destination page!
Here's what you can expect to find in this blog post:
15+ most underrated cities in England and the UK (cities, towns and places).
Having travelled around the UK (mainly England) over the last 5 years, we've visited almost every major city, national park and landmark. We've come across places that have hardly been featured anywhere, that we've ended up loving far more than more famous towns, villages and AONBs! I think these places are very underrated and certainly deserve a bit more glory. So let's start with these 15+ underrated towns in England and the UK, as well as towns, villages and national parks!
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is one of England's most beautiful towns and probably one of the most intact medieval towns. The number of Tudor-style buildings in the town centre is enormous and the buildings are absolutely magnificent. While everyone recommends visiting Chester, I would totally recommend visiting Shrewsbury (that is, of course, if you can only visit one - I see no reason not to visit both).
Shrewsbury is also the birthplace of Charles Darwin and has a magnificent castle in the middle of the town. There are plenty of places to eat and shop and all in all, Shrewsbury is a great day trip (or even weekend destination).
Norwich
Another town that isn't on many people's radar is Norwich. Norwich is another beautiful medieval town, however, it is very different to Shrewsbury. Norwich has lots of cobbled streets, colourful buildings and unique artisan cafes. The Norwich Food Market has been voted the best in England and it's even worth travelling to Norwich for this market alone!
If you plan to stay and explore the area, a number of comfortable accommodations are accessible. Whether you prefer a cosy bed and breakfast or a luxury hotel, stay in Norwich with tophotels.com and enjoy your vacation.
Another amazing feature of Norwich is the distinctly stunning views around the city. To experience this captivating scenery firsthand and wake up to a beautiful city panorama every morning, check out these Norwich hotels with amazing views.
Norfolk Coast
Norfork Coast AONB is a beautiful area north of Norwich. It's an area that's famous for its picturesque villages and beautiful sandy beaches with dunes, where you can see seals, rare seagulls and even unique jellyfish washed up on the beach if you take a long walk. Although the area is quite busy, the Norfolk coast is not so famous among people in England, and I have a feeling that this could be one of the well kept secrets and hidden gems!
Glasgow, Scotland
Glasgow is Scotland's largest city and has a reputation for being a pretty rough town. While studying at the University of Edinburgh in 2014-2015, I was lucky enough to go to Glasgow 5 or 6 times and to be completely honest with you, I didn't see anything rough. I really loved Glasgow and thought it was beautiful. Sure, it's not as impressive as Edinburgh (after visiting over 90 counties, I still think Edinburgh is the most beautiful city in the world), however, it's definitely worth a visit!
The architecture in the city centre is wonderful and if you go further afield, towards the University of Glasgow, you'll see some beautiful, peaceful parks and of course, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery. There's lots to do in Glasgow, so consider coming for the whole weekend or at least a full day.
Oban, Scotland
Oban is a town on the west coast of Scotland, about 2.5 hours' drive from Glasgow. It's a charming fishing town that, for some reason, becomes a wild party place at night. Despite its small size, there's plenty to do in Oban - firstly, the famous Oban Whisky Distillery, which is well worth a visit. Secondly, there's a chocolate museum/café/factory that makes excellent artisan chocolate. Finally, Oban has some of the best oysters in the whole of the UK and its morning seafood stalls boast the world!
On top of all this, Oban is also very beautiful and if you're lucky, you may catch a wonderful sunset. You can find out more about Oban in this article.
Leeds
Yet another city that is often overlooked in favour of places like Manchester and Harrogate is Leeds. Not many people recommend visiting Leeds, and none of my friends and colleagues have ever wanted to go, however, once I uploaded this post about the most Instagrammable places in Leeds, a lot of people I know suddenly added it to their lists. Leeds is actually a very impressive city with some of the most beautiful shopping arcades in the whole country. There's lots to do, including visiting the Royal Armouries - the UK's national collection of arms and armour.
You can read more about Leeds and our 4-day Yorkshire road trip in this article.
City of St. Albans
St. Albans is one of England's smallest towns and is often mistaken for another London borough (due to its proximity to London). It is also a famous commuter town with incredible connections to central London. However, what makes St. Albans so impressive is its beautiful architecture in the city centre and, of course, St. Albans Cathedral. St. Albans Cathedral is the oldest continuous Christian place of worship in England.
I recommend visiting the city of St. Albans for a half-day trip if you're based near London! You can find out more about St. Albans in this article.
Hastings
Hastings is another of the most underrated towns in England, Scotland and Wales. Hastings is a charming town on the south coast of England, relatively close to Brighton. However, while Brighton attracts the majority of tourists, Hastings receives almost none, which is rather unfair. Hastings definitely has its charm and the recently rebuilt pier, now home to many colourful stalls and an open-air pub, makes it even more attractive. As well as this, Hastings has some beautiful ruins (of Hastings Castle) and a couple of museums (the Fishermen's Museum and the Shipwreck Museum).
It's a great place to visit on a day trip or weekend break from London. You can find out more about visiting Hastings, Rye and Battle Abbey in this article.
Brecon Beacons in Wales
While Snowdonia dominates most people's minds when it comes to national parks in Wales, only a few people consider visiting the Brecon Beacons, which is a shame. And why is that? Well, because the Brecon Beacons are beautiful too. While the scenery in the Brecon Beacons isn't as spectacular as in Snowdonia and it certainly doesn't have as many attractions (e.g. the world's fastest zip line, etc.), Brecon Beacons does have some beautiful waterfalls and picturesque villages. One of these is Hay on Wye, a unique village with more antiquarian book shops than grocery shops and all other shops combined, and home to the world-famous Book Festival.
You can read more about the Brecon Beacons in this blog post about a weekend road trip in South Wales!
Tenby, Wales
Tenby is charming in Wales with some of the most beautiful beaches and colourful buildings. If you need a relaxing break somewhere beautiful, Tenby is a great option. I have a separate blog post about Tenby and why it's the best place to visit in South Wales, you can find it HERE if you're interested.
Nottingham
I was lucky enough to be invited to see Nottingham by Visit Nottingham a few years ago and really enjoyed the visit! Nottingham is famous because of the tales of Robin Hood, and I wholeheartedly recommend taking one of the Robin Hood Tours led by Ezekial Bone - the award-winning tour guide!
Not only that, but Nottingham is home to some of the oldest pubs in the whole of the UK! You can find out more about Nottingham in this article.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a very popular tourist destination, mainly because of its connection with music (particularly the Beatles). However, very few people talk about Liverpool's incredible atmosphere and beauty! Liverpool was once one of the richest cities in England, with up to 40% of the world's trade taking place in Liverpool's docks. Unfortunately, during the Second World War, many historic buildings were completely destroyed by German air strikes, leaving the city almost in ruins. Many buildings were rebuilt, but many were also lost forever. Despite this, Liverpool is still a very impressive city with an incredible atmosphere, excellent restaurants and street markets and fabulous museums!
Read my article on Liverpool's most Instagrammable places here >
Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire
Another underrated spot is located in Yorkshire. Bempton Cliffs is a national reserve - a protected part of the cliffs, where many gulls, cormorants and even puffins nest from April to September. Bempton Cliffs is a city of birds - it's such a unique place that I can hardly describe it! You can only imagine how noisy it is when thousands of birds are flying through the air, trying to find the perfect spot for their nests!
You can read more about Bempton Cliffs (as well as Robin Hood's Bay, Whitby and other notable Yorkshire towns) in this article about our 4-day Yorkshire road trip.
Bristol
Bristol is hardly ever featured in guides to the best places to visit in England, and I really don't understand why. Bristol has so many great museums and famous monuments. Bristol city centre definitely looks a bit industrial; however, there are also beautiful areas like Clifton village (reminds me of Chiswick in London)! You could certainly spend a whole weekend in Bristol as there are plenty of attractions to visit! You can also join one of the street art tours which will explain the history of street art in Bristol (and there is a lot of street art, including many works by Banksy). Find out more about Bristol in my article on the Bristol weekend itinerary >
Canterbury
Finally, the last of the most underrated cities in England and the UK is Canterbury. Canterbury is charming! Despite being quite small, Canterbury has always been one of the most important places in English history. For a start, Canterbury Cathedral is the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury (the other archbishop is based in York). Canterbury is a very well-preserved medieval city with stunning architecture, an interesting history and lots to do! What's more, you can combine a visit to Canterbury with a trip to Whitstable, England's famous oyster town!
You can find out more about visiting Canterbury and Whitstable in this article > Canterbury and Whitstable.
