Your top 6 recommendations for sightseeing in your hometown

[ebikeerwidnes]

If I change to having my current home as my home town then it would be Widnes

Not that old a place as apparently a lot of it was a flood risk and boggy in the old days

but there is SPike Island that was the centre of the Chemical Industry in the area
and later on was famous for a rock concert
and the start of the Sankey Canal - AKA the ST Helens Canal - the first proper canal in the country (I think)
built to service the Chemical industry

And the "poisoned Gold Course" at the back of our house
at one point the stream on the edge of it had signs saying do not pick up balls (GOLF balls!!) that go in the stream
apparently is was full of arsnic!!!!

The whole place was closed down for decontamination before I moved here

and there is the Catalyst Museum - a museum dedicated to the Chemical industry - which is quite good - I volunteered there pre-Covid helping out with the computery things

there is also an old church in the North of the town where it is higher up

and teh Silver Jubilee bridge - previously just known as the Wides-Runcorn bridge which is a great steel structure over the Mersey
now there are two bridges and the roads have been changed to make fidning the old one pretty difficult unless you know the roads - means the new one gets all the traffic
and next to it the old Victorian railway bridge which is pretty impressive

Also there is teh place where the previous transporter bridge used to start (or end depending)

To the North is Farnworth which is an old village dating back to Angle Saxon time and has it's own history - including being attacked by a Griffin!!

 

[Tenkaykev]

Are you familiar with the Wyndham Arms ?

Not to my knowledge, but it is now on my list. We regularly visit the Dolphin Hotel in Weymouth which is a Hopback pub. In the distant mists of time Mrs Tkk and myself were in Salisbury and we stumbled across a " no smoking " pub which was rare back then.

 

[Profpointy]

Rochester

The Castle
The Cathedral
The Russian Submarine
Fort Amhurst (Napoleonic Fort)
Historic Dockyard
The High Street (15 pubs and bars)

We're haphazardly visiting the cathedral cities, particularly those we've never had cause to visit previously. The list above does promote Rochester up the list a bit

 

[YMFB]

Not to my knowledge, but it is now on my list. We regularly visit the Dolphin Hotel in Weymouth which is a Hopback pub. In the distant mists of time Mrs Tkk and myself were in Salisbury and we stumbled across a " no smoking " pub which was rare back then.

We were thrown out of the New Inn when my brother lit up a large cigar. He passed away in August 1999 so it was before then.

the Wyndham was the first Hopback pub, Summer Lightning or Citra are my preferred pints.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Strictly speaking, my hometown, as in that of my birth and upbringing, was Birmingham. My selection from my memories of the 70’s/early 80’s would be
Bournville Village
Sarehole Mill (Tolkein’s Shire)
Lickey Hills
the vertiginous top deck bus ride over the Camp Hill flyover (yes I know that’s no longer there)
the fabulous Gas Street Basin, I don’t know whether this has survived gentrification

 

[Andy in Germany]

I technically live in Rottenburg am Neckar, which is a bit overshadowed by its famous neighbour of Tübingen about 10km/8miles away. However, Rottenburg is just as attractive and a lot quieter and if I put a full list of attractions we'd be here all week. Here's the main ones:

1. Old City centre,
2. Cathedral, (and a whole stack of museums and exhibitions related to the monastery and seminary)
3. Roman remains all over the place, including in a school basement, with the Sumelocenna-Museum of Roman life.
4. The Weggental Baroque pilgrimage church,
5. The river and water front, with Punts and canoe tours.
6. Swabian Jura, a range of limestone hills to the south and a UNESCO Biosphere. A similar landscape to the Peak District in the UK, with all manner of possibilities, and lots and lots of cycling, (Including Mountain bike tours)
7. And of course the 360km / 223mile (mostly) car free and surfaced Neckar Valley Cycleway. This diverges from the Rhine cycleway in Mannheim. Having cycled a fair bit of the route, Rottenburg is on one of the most attractive sections.

 

[Tenkaykev]

Strictly speaking, my hometown, as in that of my birth and upbringing, was Birmingham. My selection from my memories of the 70’s/early 80’s would be
Bournville Village
Sarehole Mill (Tolkein’s Shire)
Lickey Hills
the vertiginous top deck bus ride over the Camp Hill flyover (yes I know that’s no longer there)
the fabulous Gas Street Basin, I don’t know whether this has survived gentrification

I used to work at Dowding &Mills right next to the flyover. One of the other apprentices got a Vespa scooter and gave me a ride on the back over the flyover, but as you say, from the top deck of a double decker it was quite impressive.

 

[Chromatic]

Harrogate

The Stray (just don't say you are a cyclist. The grass did recover from the 2019 UCIs. The doom mongers failed to recognise it was once used as an airfield which probably caused more disturbance)

Bettys, if you must (cheaper quicker and possibly better in the M&S cafe)

The Cenotaph (could be ticked off while getting bored queuing for Bettys, if you must)

Valley Gardens

Mercer Arts Gallery

Queen Victoria's statue (cunningly hidden from most vehicular views as it faces south on a southbound one way road)

The mention of the statue of Queen Victoria reminded me of one more for my list to bring it up to six.
We have a statue of Charles II tucked away down a little dead end a stones throw from Bishop Hooper’s monument. It was carved in 1662 by Stephen Baldwyn apparently.

 

[Donger]

The sights of Gloucester:
The docks and the cathedral.
The others are activities/events rather than places:
Watch the Severn bore from the bridge at Over; watch the cheese rolling on Cooper's Hill; take in a rugby match at Kingsholm.
Yes, I know that's only five, so I'll throw in watching the Hitchcock-esque swarms of seagulls above the landfill site at Hempsted.

 

[lazybloke]

Here's the list of worthy attractions in Leatherhead:

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I've lived in York for 20 years. In that time Ive never visited the Minster, the Art Gallery, the City Walls, the Yorvic Centre or the River Cruises. But I'm led to believe that they're good. I did go to the National Railway Museum. Which is nice, if you like trains.

York would be my ideal place to live if it wasn't for all the tourists.

 

[presta]

Braintree
Braintree Museum. In the old Manor Street primary school.
Cressing Temple. A pair of 800 year old barley & wheat barns, the oldest Templar buildings in the country.
Bocking Windmill. A 300 year old post mill.
I suppose I ought to see them myself before recommending them too heartily.

And there is Raby Mere. It used to have an electric shock machine. You put an (old) penny in, held the handles and see how much you could take. I recall our family of 4 linking hands and all getting equally shocked..... that would have been 1957ish.

Was it built by Stanley Milgram?

At the other end of town is Felixstowe Ferry overlooking the mouth of the River Deben - an old fishing hamlet, now more a sailing area and some nice walks up the river by the salt marshes

I paddled the canoe from Felixstowe Ferry to Waldringfield & back once. Nice trip.

Comes highly recommended by two Russian tourists apparently.

Just don't touch any doorknobs.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Catford:

The Catford Cat. Britain's premier enormous fibreglass cat sculpture, guarding the rather miserable shopping centre for over 50 years.

Eros House. Brutalism at its most brutal.

Catford Bridge Station. Gave the area its name. The station is named after the bridge. Before the station the area was called Rushey Green and "Catford" referred only to the bridge.

The Catford Gyratory. A feature of the South Circular. Ride round it on a bus for the full experience and ponder how much worse things would be if they'd built the ringways.

The linear park along the rivers Ravensbourne and Pool and their confluence. A nice walk with surprisingly varied birds and wildlife. If you're lucky you might find a hidden cache of firearms.

The annual Catford Arts Trail. Visit local artists. This is actually really good.

That's just for starters. You can also visit the sites of the Victorian velodrome and the dog racing track that no longer exist, but there's not much to see. You could go to Wickes and buy some white spirit or sandpaper or something.

When you are tired of Catford, you are tired of life.

 

[PeteXXX]

Northampton:

Theres a Grade II listed sofa on a verge in Kingsley. In fact there is (or maybe was) a Facebook page devoted to the roadside sofas of Northampton.

A dog turd of outstanding natural beauty on a footway in the Mounts.

A dead swan of outstanding natural beauty floating in the Nene.

A Grade I listed supermarket trolley in the duck pond at Thorplands.

A local mime artist pretending to be an unconscious wino in the town centre.

A fantastic mystery zone in Semilong where no one speaks English, not even the English people.

You've mentioned all the important ones..🤷‍♂️

All I can add is the Bike Park twixt Brackmills & Drago Acres & possibly the unfixed potholes on Redhouse Road.

 

[Dadam]

Leeds:
Royal Armouries Museum
City Museum
Industrial Museum
Temple Newsam house and gardens
Roundhay Park and Tropical World
Thackray Museum of Medicine