Hi All, I just posted this answer to a specific question and I thought that other people may be interested as the topic of meeting locals (in this case brits like me :-) comes up often. I am not associated with the website by the way other than being a member here in Brighton.
If you are visiting the UK for a longer time and are in one of the larger cities and do want to meet some locals then there is now the new option of social networking sites. These are used by UK people who want to meet new people to socialise together because they are either new in a city or their friends now have children and don't go out as much. For example I joined the following:
and I have met lots of new friends including non-Brits from Spain, Germany etc. You can pay to go to a single event of your choice (walking, restaurant meal) without having to pay a regular fee.
Once again I'm not affiliated with the site in any way and there are other ones that I am a member of such as:
whaich stands for "Brighton Locals Arranging Socials Together". Nobody will mind if you want to come along to any events on these sites as in some cases you will pay a one off fee (about 7-8 pounds).
Cheers
Steve.