Pro-Test|A trip to the UK and still only to London Edinburgh? No more crowds! A list of niche attractions in the UK

Summer is here and it’s high season in the UK, the season when the days are longest and it’s the best time to buy and sell during the sale season. However, I can recite the same itinerary as the tour groups with my eyes closed: London, around London (Cambridge, Oxford, Windsor, Bath), to the middle of the country is York, Manchester, the Lake District (Windermere cruise), and further north is Edinburgh, which is not without its favourites, but is always full of tourists, especially during the tourist season.

If you prefer the big countryside to the cities, or the quiet and solitude to the hustle and bustle, then hopefully my little bit of real-world experience will give you a little more choice when it comes to making your UK travel tips.

I’ll be updating my tweets regularly with tips on transport, food and good value hotels in each location, so follow me if you’re interested!

All photos below are taken by me!

Plymouyh + Cornwall

The sea in the south-west corner of the UK is breathtakingly beautiful, with a simplicity not found on any of the major exquisite islands, more grounded and more pure. It’s relatively far from London, so it’s not usually chosen by tour groups and is rarely visited by domestic tourists, but Cornwall is actually a popular holiday destination for British residents and European tourists alike, and it’s worth spending 2-3 days of your trip ‘sucking up the sea’! While most tourists choose Penzance as a stopover, I chose Plymouth as a stopover and got a great value for money, with five floor-to-ceiling windows and a front-line sea view!

Bournemouth

I discovered Bournemouth two years ago on a work trip and never thought there would be such a romantic and relaxing seaside resort in the South West of England. Bournemouth is about 170km from London and can be reached by train in about 2 hours. Bournemouth Beach has been awarded the Blue Flag Award, the highest standard for beaches in Europe, and the city centre is right on the seafront, so you can enjoy shopping and watching the sea. Walking along the beach after work is one of the most satisfying times of the day.

Mayfield

You can have lavender fields near London too! I went there in 2014, and it was still a bit of a cold spot back then. In recent years the country has gone crazy with all sorts of flowers, cherry blossom, tulip hydrangea, sunflowers …… and even rapeseed, with relatively little lavender (some of the so-called lavender fields are often planted with verbena and spike peonies). Mayfield!

Brighton + Seven Sisters

Brighton isn’t exactly a cold spot – after all, it’s very close to London and a popular weekend getaway for Londoners – but it’s a city that I’ve always overlooked, perhaps thinking that Brighton is an overcrowded place. It wasn’t until I went this time that I realised it was nothing like what I had imagined, with the blue sea at the end of the road, which is still incredibly nice to look back on, not to mention the fact that not far from Brighton there is a treasure trove of relatively unknown attractions – the Seven Sisters National Park, with its long stretches of Jurassic coast, spectacular chalk cliffs, endless cliff meadows and I just couldn’t stop shuttering and screaming.

The Cotswolds

The Cotswolds are actually quite popular, after all, with the title of ‘Britain’s most beautiful village’ and the endorsement of Lin Yutang’s ‘The ideal life in the world is to live in the English countryside’, and it’s true, the country life is so good you want to The countryside is so beautiful that you want to retire. However, the essence of the English countryside is not really captured in a touristy, one-off visit.

Lake District

The only place in the UK I’ve visited three times, one of National Geographic’s ’50 places to visit in your lifetime’ and a popular touring destination as a link between England and Scotland. However, most tours include the classic Windermere cruise, which makes the town particularly commercial. In fact, the Lake District is so large and accessible that you’ll want to venture deeper, where the tranquillity of the lake and the mountains and the idyllic countryside are sure to keep you coming back for more.

Darcy Manor (Chatsworth house)

Pride and Prejudice” is one of my favourite Mary Sue novels of my secondary school years, no one, the movie and sketch have all watched one, I think the 05 version of the movie is the most beautiful, and the Darcy manor is in Chatsworth house scenes, so for fans of ashes, this spot must go! Chatsworth house is located in the rolling green hills of the Peak District Park in central England, and as well as the impeccable dreaminess of the estate itself, the natural beauty of the Peak District is breathtaking.

Scottish seaside towns

The UK is a coastal country and there are many seaside towns. I chose two of my favourite Scottish towns, Northberwick and Aberdour, which are not far from Edinburgh and can be reached directly by train. The towns are quiet, with occasional pedestrians and cars, making them perfect for feeling the warm sea breeze and getting lost in your own world.

Stonehaven

In 2014, I visited this Scottish town called Stonehaven, with its legendary fish and chips, endless golden waves of wheat, turquoise bays, the UK version of Win7 on the desktop and the “They don’t eat people” joke that my friends still use to amuse me. They don’t eat people”. I went there just for the best fish and chips, but I entered a realm of unimaginable beauty, a sense that the sky is the limit.

Auburn (Oban)

A coastal town in the western part of the Scottish Highlands, Oban is the seafood capital of Scotland and a stopover on the way to the islands. The seaside benches and distant outlying islands are the perfect place to relax, and the seafood is great, fresh and cheap, and the portions are superb – I still remember having the best lobster ever in Oban!

There really are so many places in the UK that you just want to retire to, so get out there sometime and do it!