Visit England’s great cities

The UK’s only island city, Portsmouth is always about the water. It has been England’s main naval base for centuries, and a magnet for the chic and wealthy attracted by the naval prestige and glamour. Henry VIII saw his warship the Mary Rose sunk in battle in the Solent – raised from the sea 450 years later, it can now be seen on the quayside, along with Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory, at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Get a sense of history and see the spot onboard where Nelson died, explore the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and D-Day museums, then fast-forward to the present with a trip to the top of the stunning Spinnaker Tower, a harbourside icon of today’s city.

Athens has its Parthenon and Lincoln has its cathedral. One of the finest Gothic buildings in Europe, its three towers dominate the skyline from its hilltop perch above the city. Lincoln is a place to lose yourself in – climb the cathedral’s tallest tower for thrilling city views, explore the Cathedral Quarter’s medieval cobbled streets lined with boutiques and places to eat, and follow Steep Hill down to the heart of the modern city. The bars and restaurants at Brayford Waterfront on the River Witham make a fine end to your tour through the ages – a buzzing modern spot built on the city’s original Iron Age settlement. A trip through time with plenty of great food, art and entertainment along the way.

Hollywood and West Yorkshire may seem like unlikely cultural bedfellows, but Bradford was named the first Unesco City of Film for good reason. Bradford has played a role in the UK film industry since its inception, when Richard Appleton filmed Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and showed it in the city the next day on his patented Cieroscope projector. Later, Bradford was a recurring location for the dramas of the 1950s and ’60s. But you don’t have to be a devoted cinephile to enjoy the National Media Museum, whose eight 
floors take in not just 
feature films but video
 games and animation and contain three cinemas, including a massive IMAX screen.