Welcoming about 40 million visitors in 2024, the United Kingdom (UK) comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. While some traits unite the four distinct countries, England is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, with its unique history, cultural diversity, and famous landmarks. Away from the world economic hub of London, home to some of the busiest airports anywhere, travelers often search for the road less traveled.
Get a real sense of local lifestyle through offbeat towns offering something a little different, like Shrewsbury, the birthplace of Charles Darwin. The 48-meter silver Speke’s Mill Mouth Waterfall sliver cascades off a coastal bluff near Heartland. For cheddar and tearooms, head to Cheddar and find one of the country’s most spectacular views. Whether you’re on a quest to find the oddest town or enjoy the surprises in one, these English gems offer an escape away from the ordinary.
Alston
The village center of Alston, Cumbria, England. Image credit Wozzie via Shutterstock.
Alston, England’s highest market town at 1,000 feet above sea level, is worth the drive and scenic climbs up its steeply cobbled streets. A beautiful and diverse area with rare alpine flora and moorland birds, you might not believe it was bustling as one of Britain’s richest mining areas 250 years ago if it weren’t for the reminders. Today, the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is defined by the unique and inspiring beauty of open moorlands and dales and a rich mining heritage. The close-knit, self-sufficient communities bonded by the misfortunes and interests, from the earliest settlers, who barely scratched a living by raising animals and growing hardy crops, to those who converted parts of the barren moorland into productive farmland.
Turning hardships into perseverance and inspiration, including mining and religion in the harsh landscape of upland valleys, numerous Methodist, Quaker, and Congregational chapels are dotted all over Alston Moor. From honeycombed mine workings on Alston Moor to the Dowgang Hush on the fellside, explore the valley for signs of grassed-over spoil heaps, sunken pits, rusting machinery, and countless tracks and byways. Many locals found themselves to be quite the craftspeople—their descendants still live and work in this scenic corner of Cumbria. The legacy gleaned from the underground is the historic district and lively tourism. Many love Alston for the hidden courtyards and quaint shops overlooking Alston Moor.
Cheddar
View in the village of Cheddar. Image credit DarekP via Shutterstock.
Topping Cheddar Gorge At 500 feet on the edge of the Somerset Levels, Cheddar boasts the country’s highest inland cliffs, one of Great Britain’s most impressive views, plus world-famous produce. The magnificent limestone cliffs are visible from the public road through the ravine, with trails to clifftop footpaths and spectacular 360° views of the Mendip Hills. Formed during the last ice age, explore the prehistoric Cheddar Caves, home to Britain’s oldest complete skeleton, the Cheddar Man. This Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty put Cheddar on the map, but can you get good cheddar cheese? Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company boasts a world-famous, traditional cheesemaking method, matured in Cheddar’s Gough’s Cave, for sale at the gift shop. In the summer, the nearby Cheddar Reservoir is fantastic for unwinding or biking the wildlife path.
The Lower Gorge and village offer gentle riverside walks, shops, quaint tearooms, plus a toy museum and a crazy golf course. The ancient village exudes historical charm through architecture, like a Saxon palace, the old market cross, and the Minster Church. Opened in 1869, Strawberry Line, the former railway line, transported famous Cheddar strawberries and passengers to spy on stunning Somerset landscapes and, until 1963, produce. Winding through Somerset countryside, walk or cycle the old, mostly traffic-free trackbed for 16km between Yatton and Cheddar past rural villages, apple-rich orchards, wooded valleys, and wetlands. Teeming with wildlife, like otters, owls, bats, and butterflies, there are plenty of pitstops through the cider country, until the last one, Strawberry Line Café in the old Victorian-era waiting room at Yatton station, which offers bike hire.
Hartland
Speke’s Mill Mouth waterfall near Hartland Quay in North Devon, England
This village near North Cornwall and the dramatic Bristol Channel coastline, south of the North Devon National Landscape, is central on the peninsular knob into the sea. Dotted with caves, coves, and inlets, like Eye Cove and Small Cave, the rugged seaside offers adventures and scenic relaxation, including the most intricate seaside cascade. Speke’s Mill Mouth Waterfall is 48 meters, but a silver sliver in the cliffside from far, with a footpath approach after parking that takes a leisurely 40 minutes amid cows and sheep and maybe a seal by the shore. Bringing alive your favorite childhood fairytale, Hartland offers scenic cliffs and blufftop drives overlooking the ocean, plus the never-crowded Abbey River Beach. What a wistful town to escape the hubbub of South West England’s holiday hotspots in North Devon, making you long for its quirkiness after you leave.
Nearby, Hartland Abbey, a former monastery dating to 1157, turned stately home, offers seasonal tours of the elegant mansion circa 1790s. With decor from the medieval to Victorian eras plus gardens to the sea—incredibly atmospheric—it is still home to the descendants of the family that moved in during Henry VIII’s reign and recently starred in the children’s TV show Malory Towers. From camping to glamping, cottages, cabins, and cute B&Bs, Stoke Barton Farm and Camp Site is on the doorstep of the beautiful, rustic Parish Church of St. Nectan—a good place to pitch for easy access to the South West Coast Path. Take a stroll seaward along the Abbey River to Hartland Quay, once a small harbor in the Celtic Sea with remains around the base of the buckled and folded cliffs—the powerful ocean butted right up against the breathtaking geology.
Hunstanton
Woman walking her dog in Hunstanton beach. Image credit Kev Gregory via Shutterstock.
Beneath its striped cliffs, Huntstanton is magnificent amid the surrounding acres of sand and clear, shallow water. Replete with family fun under any weather conditions, including parks, gardens, and open spaces, the Bloom Horticultural Trail, created during Hunstanton’s 2010 Britain in Bloom campaign, begins at the Hunstanton Town Hall. For the 1.5-mile trail, with 14 distinct locations, like show gardens and the popular Esplanade Gardens, download the Horticultural Trail leaflet with a map and interesting background information about the lesser-known corners along the way. The setting sun across The Wash paints the cliffs in red, white, green, and blue, appealing to romantics and landscape photographers.
Just a short walk along the beach and Sunny Hunny, a Victorian resort of Hunstanton, the magnificent banded cliffs of Old Hunstanton display layers of rusty ginger sandstone, called cornerstone, red limestone, or red chalk, topped with chalk. Framed by a foreground of chalky sand and green, seaweed-covered rocks, this is unusual to your eyes but also to East Anglia since they face west. The small town is easy to explore on a self-guided stroll from the center to the seafront, hitting up colorful and traditional seaside attractions, like beachfront amusements, a fun fair, a bowling alley, and bandstand concerts. The uniquely designed Sensory Garden allows you to touch, hear, and smell the plants and sculptures regardless of your age or ability.
Shrewsbury
Typical street in Shrewsbury with Georgian windows and doors. Image credit raymond orton via Shutterstock.
Most famous for being the birthplace of Charles Darwin, there’s no shortage of history in charming Shrewsbury, boasting 660 listed buildings. Having welcomed nuns since the eleventh century, The Abbey is a great place to start, just outside the loop of the Severn—Brother Cadfael—the setting for Ellis Peters’ books about a medieval monk. Stop by Darwin’s former school, Shrewsbury Library, with his statue outside, before embarking on a self-guided stroll around the stunning Tudor buildings of the “Original Shrewsbury.” Between shopping and sightseeing, Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings is a giant 18th-century building, a precursor to the skyscraper due to its iron-frame construction. From two distinctive churches to Shrewsbury Castle and beautiful timber-framed houses, the rural feel extends to the Quarry or Quarry Park, sweeping the riverside.
Ensconced within a perfect loop of the River Severn, Shrewsbury rises up the river with streets like Wyle Cop, Pride Hill, and Dogpole. Outwards, through the heart of Shropshire, Georgian Hall is full of stories and intrigue, while the vast Attingham Park features a deer park and a children’s adventure playground in a field. Scavenge for the captivating ruins of Wroxeter, aka Uriconium—Roman Britain’s fourth largest city. A riverside stroll transitions from sublime rurality to hilly terrain, including Nesscliffe, with top views and glimpses of a once well-known highwayman. Open for at least 1,000 years, St. Peter’s Church, the tiny timber-framed place of worship on the river bank at Melverley, is just 22 minutes back to the town’s you started sleek bars and cozy pubs. The local company at Giggling Squid boasts its excellent service and quality cuisine.
St. Ives
Elevated views over rooftops of St. Ives in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
This world-famous town has everything you need for a holiday or weekend, from St. Ives Head to the five fantastic beaches with stunning views and great surf, steps from a wide range of restaurants, and some of the UK’s finest galleries. Nestled in the shelter of two headlands, up against consistent surf, Porthmeor Beach is on the doorstep of Tate St. Ives with sea views plus a cafe. Browse exhibitions by local and international contemporary artists, from the naïve art of Alfred Wallis to the bold Terry Frost, stepping onto the crescent of golden sand and translucent waters. St. Ives, a Cornwall town, waves off its picturesque scenery with an “it’s all to do with light.” Having certainly inspired many over the years, take a class on the western edge of the town at the Bernard Leach Pottery or a quick drive to the award-winning Carbis Bay to paint the scenery.
The glorious views across St. Ives Bay to Godrevy Lighthouse inspired Virginia Woolf’s famous novel “To the Lighthouse,” while in 2022, Porthmeor was awarded the Blue Flag together with Porthminster, a family-friendly beach below the railway station. Fit the postcard of the tropics under swaying palm trees on a sunrise stroll along the east-facing Porthgwidden and reach the tiny Bamaluz by steep steps below the museum. Whether you’re in for the summer surf, sunbathing, sandcastles, or world-renowned art, restaurants, and shopping, Town Beach is worth the hype with every facility nearby. From the studio and gardens of the sculptor Barbara Hepworth to the ever-changing exhibitions at the inspirational Penwith Gallery, do an “I’m at St. Ives” runaway walk along a windswept beach stroll and soak in local vibes over a drink at a pub.
Southwold
Southwold Lighthouse, Southwold, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom, Europe
There are few others quite so quintessentially British towns as seaside Southwold. Even its famous Water Clock sniggers every half-hour, while the plentiful town greens are reclaimed spaces after a ravaging fire in 1659. George Orwell wrote Animal Farm and 1984 in 1921 while staying here for 20 years, so there is something intriguing to hunt in the local vibes that inspired the dystopian novels while enjoying the picturesque countryside. Home to the Adnams Brewery, the focal point ever since it won The Good Pub Guide 2011’s “Brewery of the Year,” find spacious brewing rooms behind the High Street, adjacent to the town’s lighthouse. The white, statuesque grade II-listed building, a working 31-meter Southwold Lighthouse, guides vessels along the country’s East Coast.
From year-round brewery tours to a recent distillery and a wine shop, other pubs and restaurants offer Adnams beers. Your whole legal-aged family can have a drink they like and meet friendly locals and Adnams’ fans worldwide. Southwold’s sandy beach strip next to a hut-lined promenade is perfect for the holidays yet not overcrowded or weekends away when many markets like to show what they got. Stretching 190 meters into the sea with a range of shops and eateries, Southwold Pier takes pride in retro-style amusements like penny pushers and an arcade with a collection of eccentric automata designed by Tim Hunkin. Whether it’s relaxation or exhilaration, this picturesque seaside town is just off the A12 between Aldeburgh and Lowestoft.
Wells
Wells Cathedral, Somerset, England, UK
Wells, a Somerset countryside town at the bottom of the Mendip Hills, is the smallest city in England. But a city nonetheless, it has boastworthy attractions plus small-town vibes. Visitor numbers are also small, allowing for cherishable moments and unobscured views, like the cathedral at the top of the busy high street. Flaunting a unique vaulted ceiling, a beautiful chapter house, and cloisters, wait for the medieval clock’s hourly chime. Adjacent, Vicar’s Close is the longest inhabited street in Europe. Across the cathedral, the fortified Bishop’s Palace is home to the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Just up the street, the Crown at Wells and Anton’s Bistrot offers a stay literally steps from all the hottest attractions, plus a restaurant on the side.
The joy of straightforward navigability and low crowds extends into the surrounding countryside, bounded by some stunning landscapes, like a moat and beautiful gardens. Being a cathedral city and civil parish, it is also the source of the eponymous springs, so there’s plenty of sightseeing to go around, like the Mosaic Monument next to the palace. Wells Market gives the quiet city a lively edge, while Quarter Jack—JD Wetherspoon serves a wide array of hearty fare in a relaxed, airy pub setting with contemporary digs and an outside area. A short drive away, Cheddar Gorge is the deepest gorge in England. It has a road that runs through the length of the gorge and beyond and wild hills with beautiful walks and landscapes.
From Alston to Wells, these English towns showcase the various sides of a beautiful, diverse country. So quintessentially British, seaside Southwold is home to the Adnams Brewery, where George Orwell wrote Animal Farm and 1984 in 1921. See what the light in St. Ives inspires you to do after a sunrise stroll along the family-friendly Porthgwidden Beach, one of its five windswept beaches.
Somerset’s impressive gorge in Cheddar offers 360 views and caves complete with Britain’s oldest complete skeleton, the Cheddar Man, plus pick up authentic Cheddar cheese. Each with a surprise and full of delights, there’s something addicting in the air in these eight that inspires you to dig for more hidden gems through the English countryside.