A comprehensive list of the best and worst nights out in the UK has just been revealed – and, tbh, the results are kind of surprising.
Consultancy firm Public First trawled through tonnes of data to come up with its Night Out Index, a map that shows cities’ density of night-life options compared to their population sizes. The index looked at dozens of major cities across the UK and gave each one a numerical score, considering not just clubs and late-night bars but all venues that stay open into the early hours.
The UK’s best city for a night out was named as, perhaps not-that-surprisingly, Brighton and Hove. B&H was followed by Bath and York, which, when you think about their size compared to their number of nightlife options, also makes sense. London doesn’t even make the top ten.
Down the other end of the table, Slough was named the worst city in the UK for nightlife, followed by Basildon and Bracknell. None of which, admittedly, are exactly known for being amongst the country’s hottest late-night spots.
But the study didn’t just rank cities for nightlife: it also analysed a trends across the country. In the decade between 2012 and 2022, towns and cities in the north of England have seen the biggest improvements in nightlife: Halifax, Liverpool and Leeds experienced a 20 percent increase in night-time establishments per capita.
Over the last ten years, 7,000 pubs, clubs, and bars have closed throughout the UK. The cost-of-living crisis is apparently partly to blame, as is the decline in drinking, especially among 16-24-year-olds.
With all that in mind, here are the top ten best nights out in the UK, according to Public First.
- Brighton and Hove
- Bath
- York
- Chester
- Shrewsbury
- Cambridge
- Harrogate
- Newcastle
- Cheltenham
- Manchester
And these were named the UK’s ten worst cities for nightlife.
- Slough
- Basildon
- Bracknell
- Salford
- Chatham
- Harlow
- Luton
- Bradford
- Redditch
- Gillingham
If you’d like to read the full study for yourself, you can do so here.
Did you see that 22 Wetherspoons pubs across the UK are being sold?
Plus: this awesome new walking route links Cornwall’s north and south coasts.