Small City/Town/Large Village in East or West Midlands

Few small towns/large villages would offer sufficient to occupy you for a few days, so the better places would be York or Durham. Both are small enough to walk round and have plenty to visit, much of it historic. They are alo both on the main road and railway line running north/south with frequent trains. York probably offer more to see using public transport to get there - Scarborough and Harrogate are examples\

I could come up with an East Midlands - West Midlands list with dozens of names of lovely small villages or large villages or even small towns, but few would have train service, and even fewer a diverse train service to keep you occupied for 3 or 4 days. Trains serve large towns and when they serve a commuting village there often isn't much else there.

Stratford-upon-Avon has plenty going on but perhaps too big for you. How big is too big? It is at the end of a secondary train line.

Warwick, if not too large, has plenty. Shops, an area of original streets, a river (the Avon), an active restored castle and a non-restored one (Kenilworth) not far away, a canal, boat hire, a fabulous garden below the castle and riverside gardens and seriously old buildings, a horse racecourse, a lovely church (St Mary's), easy access to Royal Leamington Spa which adjoins, Stratford-upon-Avon nearby, a train station, and easy car access for your friends just off the A46 and the M40. But is that too big/busy?

Voting for Durham. Lovely place.

Easy bus service to Seaham Beach on the coast or take a quick train to city of Newcastle on the Thames.

Best bit is in Stanley where you’ll find the Beamish Museum of the North.

As last years Covid lockdowns have affected staffing one needs to double check to see if routes are still being maintained.

For the East Midlands try Stamford; for the West Midlands try Ludlow.

For somewhere further north try Alnmouth and Alnwick. The downside is once you've experienced Northumberland you won't want to go anywhere else.

Claudia
Durham is hardly midlands, its way up North. The Far north!
Ramblin'on
The same applies to Northumberland
A nice small city would be Lichfield

well for some Yorkshire is the deep south - all a matter of perspective 😀

London upon Tyne????

Stamford is home to the the stately home Burghley House (open to the public) and is where the period drama Middlemarch was filmed. It is within easy reach by train from the pretty town of Oakham, where there is a good local museum and Oakham Castle, with a great collection of horseshoes (more interesting than it sounds). The butchers here has just won the best pork pie national competition - buy a Stilton cheese topped pork pie.

Also nearby is a large reservoir - Rutland Water. There are boat trips on the Rutland Belle in the summer or you can walk part or hire a bike to cycle round - about 17 miles and level. Near the eastern side is Barnsdale Gardens, the well known former home of the tv gardener Geoff Hamilton. Gardener’s World was broadcast on the BBC for years from here. There is also a cafe.

Roger, The blue widget in Trivial Pursuit has always been my worst category ….

Figured as the OP and friends would coming from Edinburgh that Durham would be a pleasant stay.

First, let me thank all of you that responded, it was good of you to take the time to enlighten fellow travelers.

We've looked into your suggestions, and our first thought was, why didn't we begin traveling earlier in life? Indeed, there was nary a place mentioned that did not pique our interest in one way or another. In consideration of our friends, we have to keep our locale in a spot that will be convenient to their drive from Denbigh to London, so unfortunately that eliminated a number of recommendations. At this point we are studying both Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon, and the latter currently holds an edge in that it would provide an opportunity to do something neither of us has done for ages--attend a Shakespeare play, and in the most appropriate of all venues!

As our trip takes form, I may impose on you folks again for suggestions regarding activities and sights at the locales we will be visiting. We have found Rick Steve's books to be a treasured resource in previous travels, so I guess it is no surprise that the travel forum associated with him has quality participants.

Kindest Regards,

Curt Adams
Pennsylvania, USA

Lincoln, which has all York has to offer without the Harry Potterisation. If nothing else it has the only high bridge in existance and the cathedral blows the socks off York Minster, by some margin - without the RAF history.