Where tourists seldom tread, part 12: five more UK towns with hidden histories

Daftar Isi

Major towns grew up around these often-overlooked, exciting features: harbours, waterways, canals, railways and pilgrims' routes. These towns tended to develop local networks as they grew. We generally think of leisure travel in terms of long-distance trains, cars on open roads, coaches from one place to another, and country walks. However, suburban bus journeys, urban strolls and commuter trains also offer plenty of opportunities.

Wolverhampton, West Midlands

This, too, is perfectly at home; what it views is possibilities and the likelihood of a favourable outcome.

A densely populated urban area will evoke a range of emotions in various individuals at different moments. I reside in a rural farmhouse; I've not ventured out in nearly two weeks. I'm explicitly aware of a twitching sensation in my shins. Edgelands can be exhilarating.

A proper city pub. I've been told the Black Country still drinks mild, but the bloke serving me says he bought a keg for some CAMRA chaps, but they had two halves and never came back, and he was left with a drink no one wanted. Perhaps I'm not in the real Black Country yet?

I'm taken back to the entrance by a staff member, who mentions that I must notice the building and the obelisk, and that both TE Lawrence and Jim Lea from Slade are familiar faces here. "Lawrence of Arabia?" I ask, looking him up. I find that he was in charge of assembling RAF boat engines at Henry Meadows Ltd, describing Wolverhampton as a "dismal" and "filthy" place, with "the worst press in my time" – claiming that his living accommodation was infested and that the local people were very unpleasant.

This artistic piece, a tender portrait of Marilyn Monroe, is called "Colour Her Gone" and dates back to 1962. Local LGBTQ+ individuals have contributed captions that have given it a queer perspective. A similar work, Patrick Caulfield's "Tandoori Restaurant" from 1971, with its warm tones of turmeric and saffron, also belongs in this region of the West Midlands.

" The Wolverhampton art gallery has the United Kingdom's biggest collection of pop art outside of London. I spent an hour on my own with world-class artwork.

It was a significant trade. A cabinet on the first floor is filled with exquisite brooches, belt buckles, rosaries, buttons and pendants made in Bilston, formerly a major centre for the production of "decorative enamel goods". It was also home to Beldray, a well-known household brand.

A former local government official in Wolverhampton has turned his passion into a new career as an urban sketcher. He is best known for his detailed drawings of modern city landscapes, which feature supermarket chains like Lidl, as well as everyday objects such as street furniture and discarded industry components. He refers to his work as "compulsive mark-making". A new style of impressionism is emerging in the West Midlands, which he is part of; artists like Ed Isaacs, Tom Hicks, David Rayson, and George Shaw inspire people to see the actual locations they depict, just as fans of Monet visit Rouen and those who appreciate Van Gogh go to Arles. This new style also reminds one of pop art, particularly in its unique way of making familiar things seem new again.

tour

Harwich, Essex

Mockba. The Hook. Warsaw. Berlin. Minsk. My one recollection of Harwich is of the boat train from Liverpool Street station in the mid-80s. Parkeston Quay wasn't reminiscent of a tune from Bowie's Low album, but it was a gateway to them. I arrived on the Hook-Harwich ferry after visits to Poland and Czechoslovakia, but I never used it to leave London and head east. However, I wanted to do so. I was enthralled by the writers Hasek, Kundera, Kafka, and Milosz – and the Cold War border. I was at university in London, and, passing through Liverpool Street in the early evening on my way home, I would glance longingly at the destinations before grumbling my way down to the tube.

routes.

every Saturday from May to September, Sue Daish, the town council's first female high steward and a trustee of the society, opens the doors to allow visitors in. We visit the High Lighthouse, Low Lighthouse (which houses a Maritime Museum), the Treadwheel Crane and circular Redoubt Fort – constructed in 1808 on a small hill to the south of the town centre, initially built to counter Napoleon.

I've never seen such a high concentration of period buildings in such a compact area

We spend time upstairs in the outpost of Captain Christopher Jones, the Mayflower captain, in a house which is jettied and in a room in the town hall that was previously used to hold prisoners waiting for their trial, with ornate carvings of ships, gallows and symbols to ward off evil spirits, dating from the late 18th century. There is a drawing of a ship with the stars and stripes when the country was fighting for independence, which is possibly the earliest depiction of the American flag. I am reminiscing about the Electric Palace cinema, built in 1911 and the oldest cinema in Britain that has remained unchanged since it was built.

Hertfordshire's pubs are considered some of the best in England. Fourty-four pubs have been listed at 48 separate locations. Our ancestors were friendly and thirsty people, eager workers; homes were not the high-walled castles they have become. Only about 10 still remain, and they are beautiful and appear old but well-worn.

I've never come across such a concentration of period architecture in such a compact area. Heritage in cities often exists in isolated pockets, offering a respite from the present day. In the countryside, you might find stately homes or ruined abbeys, complemented by traditional refreshments such as ice cream and tea. However, Harwich Town is filled with its old, attractive, and somewhat enigmatic buildings. Do these old structures hold the town back, or do they provide an anchor for its identity?

As night falls, I stand and observe the ships docking and departing from Felixstowe, and I feel elated whenever a horn sounds and one sets off for destinations including Shanghai, Santos, Panama, Singapore, and Hoek.

Maritime walking trail

Gateshead, Tyne and Wear

I'll be able to say I've visited every single place on my map in less than an hour and a half. The locations are Felling and Deckham, Wrekenton, Low Fell, High Fell, Sheriff Hill, Leam Lane, and Windy Nook. There will be some people who haven't been able to visit Sheriff Hill for one reason or another, so I can give them a rundown of what it's like.

On the top deck at the front, I get a panoramic view of social hierarchy and building styles – rows of semi-detached houses, Tyneside flats (houses with two front doors, one for each flat), red-brick semi-detached houses, older stone houses, pre-fabricated homes. Front gardens reveal their usual secrets, curiously poignant when viewed from above. It's been a warm day in an otherwise disappointing summer, and the early evening is humid. Neighbours lean on fences chatting. Two children thoroughly enjoy a kiddie pool. A man tidies up his privet hedges. Someone relaxes with a hookah in a driveway filled with family members. We stop frequently. Teens drift off one by one to catch the bus home, leaving me the only one continuing the journey, the lost tourist, carefree and curious, studying the houses, searching for what – clues?

This is estate land, created where run-down areas were bulldozed. From the bus, it's surprisingly, charmingly like any other residential area. But look at a map and Gateshead reveals its comprehensive history of street planning, from the straight rows near Saltwell Park to meandering crescents and cul-de-sacs designed in the style of a idealised suburban community (with street names like Gorsehill, Harebell Road and Celandine Way) to council estate -style Lego-land – featuring sharp corners and straight lines, with zigzags, abrupt turns and semi-public areas.

It's as if the entire town was deliberately designed by someone with a vendetta against humanity.

Correspondents claim Priestley was in a foul temper due to excessive travel, a nasty cold, and medication that left him feeling unwell. However, voicing criticism has long been the norm for metropolitan travel writers – and insults tend to stick.

Gateshead looks out across the Tyne at Newcastle, shares its bridge crossings, musical accent, and a strong sense of local pride. On the High Level Bridge, there are messages scribbled in a flash-like book. One says, "North East or Nowhere". Newcastle appears well-maintained and congested, with churches, offices, a castle, and a massive stadium at its summit. Gateshead is residential, suburban, and has a town centre that's identical to many others, boasting a large Tesco, betting shops, pubs, and a transport hub.

Paul Stone, Vane Gallery

Roads and railways are the dominant features, pushing everything else out of the way: trains going in and out of Newcastle use different lines. Fast, four-lane A-roads, including the A167 – stretching over the medieval Great North Road, with its historic name still "High Street" – have carved out deep chasms that are now polluted. But off the motorways and beneath the railway bridges, there's some cause for optimism.

In 1997“"I've gone through several periods of funding and rejuvenation. I'm feeling hopeful. For the first time ever, our voices are being heard. Gateshead has its difficulties, but grassroots arts projects are the key to ensuring its resurgence is sustainable. Gateshead can become a place like Brooklyn.” But art is a rather odd world; “Probably more people are familiar with us outside of Gateshead than within it,” he says.

"A large steel sculpture" "The Angel of the North" is a large steel sculpture designed by Antony Gormley and located in Gateshead along the A167 near the Grainger Town part of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Armagh, County Armagh

Widow's friend's apples are lying forgotten in flowerbeds outside a smart redbrick house at the top of Abbey Street. Bramleys are stacked high outside a door for passersby to collect. Apple trees soften the views of the large Roman Catholic cathedral and the grand City hotel. I nearly missed Armagh's food festival by a day but I hadn't missed the harvest. I had no idea this was the hub of "orchard county". Then again, I didn't know the city was the administrative centre of Irish Catholicism and the Church of Ireland - Canterbury, Westminster and Liverpool all combined. Or that it's a whirlpool of Celtic mythology. And that it hosts a festival showcasing Georgian architecture every November.

Everyone who grew up between the 60s and 90s will be familiar with the name from television news and notorious headlines. Northern Ireland's South Armagh region, in particular, was often presented as a stronghold of the Provisional IRA.

Although it was primarily a ceremonial site rather than a fortress.

A lesser-known yet invaluable illuminated manuscript is housed at Trinity College in Dublin. However, Armagh serves as the main base for the two churches. It is believed that Patrick himself chose the site on which the Cathedral of the Church of Ireland now stands. Despite being ravaged by the Vikings and hit by lightning on numerous occasions, the building has been reconstructed around 17 times over the centuries. Today, the main structure is largely a beautiful Gothic-style building from the 19th century.

Armagh cathedral is a rich reddish-brown colour, reminiscent of a ripe apple. Like an apple. Its nave has a slight tilt, reminiscent of Christ's bowed head during the Crucifixion. The stained glass is a beautiful sight.

The cathedral has a reddish-brown colour, reminiscent of an apple. Its nave is crooked, evoking the shape of Christ's bowed head on the cross. The stained glass is stunning. There’s a stone figure from the Iron Age known as the Tandragee Idol and a worn Celtic cross that originally stood outside. I find myself most drawn to the list of abbots, bishops, and archbishops, which spans continuously from 444 (Patrick) to the present day. The names start off as Old Irish (Ailill, Carlaen, Nuadha), then turn Norse (de Jorse, Fitzralph), become mainly English (Kite, Lancaster) during the Reformation and the plantation of Ulster, visit Rome (Spinelli de Palatio), dip into Scottish connections (Stuart, Gregg, Armstrong), and then return to Irish-born clerics, including (McCann, McDowell). Among them stands out the name of James Ussher – a accomplished Dublin-born scholar who suggested a creation date of 22 October 4004BC.

Northern Ireland towns abound with history, saturated with tales of myth and remembrance. Outside its cathedral, Armagh presents a succession of stunning green zones: a monastic herb garden adorned with miniature box hedging; an orchard garden featuring bush fruit trees and espalier trees fixed to the walls; a more formal parterre garden, and a contemplative garden, divided into “rooms” for contemplation and meditation.

In Ireland, the High King Brian Boru was laid to rest in the year 1014 and a significant bronze portrait of his face, created by Mayo sculptor Rory Breslin, is situated at the heart of the herb garden. His face is depicted in a fragmented manner, which might suggest that even after violent death, light can still pass through.

St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Market Place theatre and arts centre

Wokingham, Berkshire

According to online house-seller Yopa, the average price for properties located within a half-mile walk of a Waitrose store stood at £599,000, in contrast to £243,000 for houses situated within a 10- to 20-mile radius of a Waitrose.

The town doesn't hold back on aspirational provisions. I was wondering if the Spanish owner had looked up "place in the UK where people can afford authentic Spanish delicatessen products".

Wokingham's roots lie in ancient Saxon times. The name is believed to signify "Wocca's settlement", referring to a tribal village. Prior to the Norman Conquest, a small chapel was erected in a clearing within Windsor Forest. The clearing went on to become Wokingham's oldest street, Le Rothe Strete, now known as Rose Street. The town received its charter from Elizabeth I and developed a reputation for its bell foundry, brick-making, and silk stocking manufacturing. Nine Mile Ride, a path running between Bracknell and Finchampstead, was constructed in approximately 1702 so that Queen Anne could observe the hunt from her carriage. This road, which originally followed a Roman route, was lengthened by George III, who would often ride with hounds in the royal forest. Today, Nine Mile Ride is the B3430, stretching for 6.7 miles and featuring heavy traffic, interspersed with woodland. The most affluent homes are situated on unpaved streets. Thrushes and blackbirds must contend with the constant din of SUVs and the whirring of electric vehicles.

Wokingham consistently emerges at the top of rather anecdotal polls rating the happiest places to live, as well as rankings of the wealthiest streets and top town in Berkshire.

The transformation of a commuter town was not straightforward. An initial line from Reading to Redhill in the vicinity of Redhill, via Wokingham on the Brighton line, is a scenic route across the North Downs. Later, a direct connection from Wokingham to London Waterloo became available, followed by the opening of the Elizabeth line in 2022, significantly reducing journey times to Tottenham Court Road to around an hour. The atmosphere and nature of a suburb are greatly influenced by the time it takes to commute to work. Commutes of over an hour foster a certain country-like ambience.

It bears a resemblance to a new, spider-like addition to the Zodiac symbols. In close proximity are Ascot, Sandhurst, Wellington College, Farnborough airport, Broadmoor – and the head office of Waitrose.

, Dinton Pastures country park

NewcastleGateshead Initiative Ireland.com

• This article has been revised on 2 October 2024. An earlier version mistakenly mentioned Patrick Leigh Fermor having departed from Harwich for his European walk, and this reference has been removed.