Late Reservations and last minute rooms - Hotels with last minute and late room booking discounts
English city breaks: the perfect last-minute pick-me-up
Whether you're strapped for cash, you've used up all your time off or you just need a little something to keep you going until your next "proper" holiday, you needn't go far - or spend much cash - for your fix. England's best cities are enjoyable whatever the weather, although a pair of thermal leggings might extend the time you can spend on that midwinter shopping extravaganza before retreating to the nearest coffee shop. They're affordable, too, especially if you find a lastminute bargain, or you're a fan of group-purchase discount sites like Groupon & KGB Deals. And with train travel times between English cities averaging around two hours, they're really convenient, too.
Top tip:
Train tickets needn't be expensive. The best trick is to use a rail ticket booking site like The Trainline to find out which rail company runs to your chosen city. Then go to the rail company's website to buy your tickets. Most rail company sites use a price matrix to display all your ticket options, so you can see when's cheapest. Buying from the company site also means you won't have to pay a booking fee.
Hardcore money-savers say that buying separate tickets for different sections of your journey can save even more money, but this approach can be tedious & doesn't guarantee results. Booking three months in advance, however, does usually equal cheaper tickets, but requires forward planning. Don't worry if you miss it - there are usually still cheap tickets available somewhere.
Leeds
Having undergone something of a revival over the last decade, Leeds retains many of the beautiful (or sometimes just interesting) old brick buildings of its industrial past, alongside stylish modern architecture & aristocratic Victorian estates.
With the Yorkshire Dales to its north, the city is perfect for a few days spent mixing up chic shopping, contemporary arts & excellent museums with a few hours strolling through some of England's most dramatic & beautiful landscape.
Once the fresh air has given you a proper appetite, seek out one of the city's many top-notch gastro-pubs for a plate of fish & chips, or perhaps one of the lovely cafes, where friendly staff take every care to make perfect cakes & unusual sandwiches. There's a real buzz of "up & coming" here, with business owners making a really positive effort to produce quality & a genuinely welcoming atmosphere.
Brighton & Hove
If you prefer seashore to hills, Brighton - only an hour outside London - is arguably England's coolest seaside city. Its maze of pedestrianised alleys full of bohemian, chic & vintage shops, scores of delicious cafes, & cool pubs, is perfectly balanced by the beachfront boardwalk & cheerful pier, with its fairground rides & that unmistakable smell of candy floss & doughnuts.
Brighton's only downside is that hotels here can be a bit pricey, but the train from London isn't - you could feasibly stay in a cheap hotel near London Victoria & get two cool cities for the price of one.
