Belfast Northern Ireland

Approximate Population: 276,459

Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education and business, is a legal centre of the United Kingdom, and is an economic engine of Ulster.   The city suffered greatly during the period of disruption, conflict, and destruction called the Troubles, but latterly has undergone a sustained period of calmness and substantial economic and commercial growth.   Belfast city centre has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, with the newly developed Victoria Square area attracting international attention.

Belfast is partially composed of seven “quarters”, each dedicated to reflect the history of the city.   It was first said at the Ireland-US Council that Belfast was once a city of two halves, but is now a city of seven quarters. The historic heart of Belfast, the Cathedral Quarter, has also seen substantial regeneration in recent years, and is seen as a sign of the resurgence of the City’s cultural heritage.

Belfast is served by two airports: Belfast International Airport to the north-west of the city, and George Best Belfast City Airport in the east of the city.  Belfast is also a major seaport, with commercial and industrial docks dominating the Belfast Lough shoreline, including the famous Harland and Wolff shipyard.  Belfast is a constituent city of the Dublin-Belfast corridor with a population of 3million, comprising of half the total population of the island of Ireland.

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Approximate Population: 104,390

Colchester claims to be the oldest town in Britain. It was for a time the capital of Roman Britain and also claims to have the United Kingdom’s oldest recorded market. Colchester is 56 miles (90 km) northeast of London. It is connected to the capital by the A12 road and the Great Eastern Main Line.

Colchester is claimed to be the oldest recorded town in Britain on the grounds that it was mentioned by Pliny the Elder in AD 77. Its Celtic name was Camulodunon, meaning ‘the fortress of (the war god) Camulos’. Following the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, a Roman legionary fortress was established and the name Camulodunon was modified to the Roman spelling of ‘Camulodunum’. Camulodunum served as the first Roman capital of Britain, but was attacked and destroyed during Boudica’s rebellion in AD 61.

Sometime after the destruction, London became the capital of the province of Britannia but it would seem that the council of the provincial natives still met at Colchester, where the Temple to the Divine Claudius served as the seat of this council. Later, when the Roman frontier moved north (c. AD 49), Camulodunum became a colonia known as Colonia Claudia Victricensis. In 2004 Colchester Archaeological Trust discovered the remains of a Roman Circus (chariot race track) underneath the Garrison in Colchester, a unique find in Britain.

The £22.7m eight-mile A120 Colchester Eastern Bypass opened in June 1982. Colchester and the surrounding area is currently undergoing significant regeneration. Colchester Town Watch was founded in 2001 to provide a ceremonial guard for the Mayor of Colchester and for civic events such as the Oyster Feast. The historic re-enactors wear a livery based on late Elizabethan dress. Colchester Town Watch is accompanied by the musicians of the Colchester Town Waits - a musical tradition dating back to the 14th century.

Bed and Breakfast Colchester Essex

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Cambridge Cambridgeshire

Approximate Population:  280,305

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England.   It lies about 50 miles (80 km) north of London.   It is also at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen.

Cambridge is best known as the home of the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s premier universities.   The university includes the renowned Cavendish Laboratory, King’s College Chapel, and the Cambridge University Library.   The Cambridge skyline is dominated by the last two buildings, along with the chimney of Addenbrooke’s Hospital in the far south of the city and St John’s College Chapel tower in the north.   The pronunciation of the city’s name is distinct from that of Cambridge in Gloucestershire, England, which is /ˈkæmbrɪdʒ/.

According to the 2001 United Kingdom census, the City’s population was 108,863 (including 22,153 students), and the population of the urban area (which includes parts of South Cambridgeshire district) is estimated to be 130,000. Cambridge is surrounded by many smaller towns and villages.

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Reading Berkshire

Approximate Population: 143,096

Reading  is a town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between London and Swindon off the M4 motorway.   It is one of the contenders for the title of the largest town in England, and is the largest settlement in the Home Counties in terms of population.   For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Berkshire and has served as the county town since 1867.   It is also home to one of England’s biggest music festivals.

Reading was an important national centre in the medieval period, as the site of an important monastery with strong royal connections, but suffered economic damage during the 17th century from which it took a long time to recover.

Today it is again an important commercial centre, with strong links to information technology and insurance.   It is also a university town, with two universities and a large student population.   Citizens of Reading are known as Redingensians.

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Approximate Population: 75,600

Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located 14 miles (22 km) north-east of Birmingham city centre and 103 miles (165 km) north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker. At the 2001 census the town had a population of 74,531.

Tamworth is the home of the historic Tamworth Castle and Moat House, and has a non-league football team, Tamworth FC. The Snowdome, the UK’s first full-sized real-snow indoor ski slope is located in Tamworth. There is also tenpin bowling at Strykers bowl, and only a short distance away is Drayton Manor Theme Park.

The town’s main industries include logistics, engineering, clothing, brick, tile and paper manufacture. It was also home to the Reliant car company, which produced the famous three-wheeled Robin model and the Scimitar sportscar for several decades.

Tamworth has existed since Saxon times, and once was the capital of Mercia, the largest of all English kingdoms of its time (see Heptarchy). It was by far the largest town in the Midlands when today’s much larger city of Birmingham was still in its infancy. This is largely because of its strategic position at the meeting point of two rivers (the Tame and the Anker), which meant the town was perfectly placed as a centre of trade and industry.

Bed and Breakfast Tamworth Staffordshire

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Halifax West Yorkshire

Approximate Population: 82,056

Halifax was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1848 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and with the passing of the Local Government Act 1888 became a County Borough in 1889.   Since 1974, Halifax has been the administrative centre of the Metropolitan District of Calderdale, part of the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire.

North Halifax is noted for its local support of the far-right British National Party; the suburb of Mixenden became the first area in West Yorkshire to popularly vote in a BNP councillor, with Illingworth soon to follow.

Topographically, Halifax is located in the south-eastern corner of the moorland region called the South Pennines. Halifax is situated about 4 miles (6.4 km) from the M62 motorway close to Bradford, Huddersfield and Rochdale.   The Tees-Exe line passes through the A641 road, which links nearby Brighouse with Bradford and Huddersfield, The town lies 65 miles (105 km) from Kingston upon Hull and Liverpool, and about 200 miles (320 km) from the cities of London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin and Cardiff as the crow flies. The major waterway is the River Calder.

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Approximate Population: 86,200

Hastings is a town and Borough on the coast of East Sussex in England. It includes originally separate settlements, as well as the inevitable growth of the town through the building of new estates.

In historical terms, Hastings can claim fame through its connection with the Norman conquest of England; and also because it became one of the medieval Cinque Ports. Hastings was, for centuries, an important fishing port; although much reduced, it has the largest beach-based fishing fleet in England. As with many other such places, the town became a watering place in the 1760s, and then, with the coming of the railway, a seaside resort. The Town is sometimes referred to as “the birthplace of television” since the pioneer of television, John Logie Baird, lived at 21 Linton Crescent from 1922 to 1924.

The attraction of Hastings as a tourist destination continues; although the numbers of hotels has decreased, it caters for wider tastes, being home to internationally-based cultural and sporting events, such as chess and running. It has set out to become “a modern European town” and seeks to attract commercial business in the many industrial sites round the borough.

The earliest mention of Hastings is found in the late 8th century in the form Hastingas. This is derived from the Old English tribal name Hæstingas, meaning “Hæsta’s people”, “the family/followers of Hæsta”. Symeon of Durham records the victory of Offa in 771 over the Hestingorum gens, that is, “the people of the Hastings tribe”, and the same tribe gave their name to Hastingleigh in Kent. An alternative form of the name, Hæstingaceaster, is found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for 1050.

Bed and Breakfast Hastings East Sussex

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Approximate Population: 66,773

Guildford is the county town of Surrey, England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region.   It is situated some 43 km (27 miles) southwest of London on the A3 trunk road linking the capital to Portsmouth.

The town has Saxon roots, and likely owes its location to the existence of a gap in the North Downs where the River Wey is forded by the Harrow Way. The town grew enough in importance by 978 to be the Royal Mint.   With the building of the Wey Navigation and Basingstoke Canal Guildford was in the centre of a network of waterways that aided its prosperity.

The Guildford pub bombing in 1974 killed five people including four off-duty soldiers from the local barracks.  The subsequently arrested suspects became known as the Guildford Four.

The stretch of the A3 extending from beneath the A31 (Hog’s Back) to Potter’s Lane is known as the Guildford Bypass and is busy at peak times since the A3 trunk road links Guildford to Portsmouth, London and the M25. The M3 and M4 motorways are within short distance. The A31 (known locally as the ‘Hog’s Back’ as it looks like the ridge of a hog’s back from aerial view) extends from Guildford to Farnham and is built on the old site of a Roman Road and made up part of the Pilgrim’s Way which extended from Winchester to Canterbury. Today, there is no direct route from Winchester to Canterbury and the A31 links Guildford to mid-Dorset (east of Dorchester). Guildford has a notorious one-way system in the town centre. There are other numerous minor A-Roads linking Guildford to various other places including Horsham, Woking, Godalming, Reading, Aldershot, Bracknell and Dorking.

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Brighton East Sussex

Approximate Population: 263,464

The Royal Pavilion is a former royal palace built as a home for the Prince Regent during the early 1800s and is notable for Indian architecture and Oriental interior design. The building and grounds were purchased by the town in 1849 for £53,000.

Brighton Pier (originally and in full “The Brighton Marine Palace and Pier”, and for long known as the Palace Pier) opened in 1899.   It features a funfair, restaurants and arcade halls.   The funfair has been criticised for its prices, with rides costing up to £8. Brightonians refer to it as Palace Pier in protest at the commercialisation.

The West Pier was built in 1866 and has been closed since 1975 awaiting renovation, which faces continual setbacks, in part because the owners of the Palace Pier, the Noble Organisation, have opposed plans.[12] The West Pier is one of only two Grade I listed piers in the United Kingdom, but suffered two fires in 2003.   Plans for a new landmark in its place – the i360, a 183m (600 ft) observation tower designed by London Eye architects Marks Barfield – were announced in June 2006. Plans were approved by the council on 11 October 2006.  As of early 2009, construction had yet to begin.

Created in 1883, Volk’s Electric Railway runs along the inland edge of the beach from Brighton Pier to Black Rock.   It is the world’s oldest operating electric railway.

Bed Breakfast Brighton East Sussex

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Approximate Population: 70,689

Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council. Consequently, it is the second largest town in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, after Telford.

Shrewsbury is a historic market town with the town centre having a largely unaltered medieval street plan. The town features over 660 historic listed buildings, including several examples of timber framing from the 15th century and 16th century. Shrewsbury Castle, a red sandstone castle fortification, and Shrewsbury Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery, were founded in 1074 and 1083 respectively, by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery. The town hosts one of the oldest and largest horticultural events in the country, Shrewsbury Flower Show, and is known for its floral displays, having won various awards since the turn of the 21st century, including Britain in Bloom in 2006.

Today, lying 9 miles (14 km) east of the Welsh border, Shrewsbury serves as a cultural and commercial centre for the ceremonial county and a large area of mid-Wales, with retail output alone worth over £299 million per year. There are some light industry and distribution centres, such as Battlefield Enterprise Park, located mainly on the outskirts. The A5 and A49 trunk roads cross here, as do five railway lines at Shrewsbury railway station.

The town was known to the ancient Britons as Pengwern, signifying “the alder hill”; and to the Anglo-Saxons as Scrobbesburh (dative Scrobbesbyrig), which has several meanings; “fort in the scrub-land region”, “Scrobb’s fort”, “shrubstown” or “the town of the bushes”. This name was gradually corrupted in three directions, into ‘Sciropscire’ which became Shropshire, into ‘Sloppesberie’, which became Salop/Salopia (the historical name for the county), and into ‘Schrosberie’ which eventually became the name of the county town, Shrewsbury. Its Welsh name Amwythig means “fortified place”.

Bed and Breakfast Shrewsbury Shropshire

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