Birmingham city skyline.Credit:Visit Britain
For many Australian travellers,visiting the UK usually means flying to London – and landing at Heathrow. A frequent-flyer colleague of mine was being polite when he described Heathrow – the world's busiest airport after Dubai – as"a hassle,unfriendly and sterile". But don't fret,there are plenty of alternative entry points outside the British capital and its labyrinthine (and occasionally hellish) hub. All reachable on one-stop flights from Australia,this vibrant quintet are just the ticket:richly-rewarding places in which to set up camp for several days (or more),combining urban thrills with rural escapes on the doorstep. If London calls,all cities are linked by rail and most with domestic flights.
EDINBURGH
Famed for its split personality – its Old Town is rife with dark,cobbled nooks and crannies,while its New Town boasts graceful Georgian squares and crescents – Edinburgh is arguably Britain's most delectable city. Savour it on the Eat Walk Edinburgh tour (eatwalkedinburgh.co.uk),a guided,anecdote-packed stroll,with refuelling stops in characterful establishments. Think:smoked salmon at Hotel du Vin (which occupies the city's old lunatic asylum),whisky-tinged haggis at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and cranachan – a dessert of oats,cream,whisky and raspberries – in Ghillie Dhu (a cavernous watering hole by the funky new Edinburgh Gin Distillery). Recent additions to the culinaryscape include the Tower Restaurant (above the superb National Museum of Scotland);Contini Cannonball,a fine dining eatery/cafe/gelateria a stone's throw from Edinburgh Castle;the lovably rustic Gardener's Cottage;and neo-bistro Aizle,whose tasting menu changes monthly,and harnesses a diverse"harvest"of ingredients,such as Loch Awe sea trout,Inverurie hogget and Braeburn apple.
The Riverside Museum displays vintage Glaswegian trams,trains and horse-drawn wagons.Credit:Visit Britain
WHO FLIES THERE Etihad from Sydney and Melbourne via Abu Dhabi. Qatar from Melbourne via Doha.
DAY-TRIPSRosslyn Chapel (which starred inThe Da Vinci Code) and Linlithgow Palace (birthplace of Mary,Queen of Scots) are a half-hour's drive from Edinburgh.
GLASGOW
Manchester's Whitworth Art Gallery.
Viewed as Edinburgh's edgier,less attractive cousin,Glasgow comes as a pleasant surprise to first-time visitors. Its old Gaelic name,Glaschu,translates to Dear Green Place,and over 90 parks and public gardens bless this,Scotland's largest metropolis. Proud of its buzzing live music and comedy scenes,Glasgow also oozes architectural flair. Swanky bars and restaurants have mushroomed inside jazzed-up Georgian tobacco warehouses and grand neo-classical mansions (one acclaimed recent opening is The Anchor Line Bar&Grill,an American-Scottish joint with a Prohibition-era interior theme in an old cruise line booking office). Glasgow has scores of quirky Art Nouveau buildings designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (notably The Willow Tea Rooms on Sauchiehall Street),while flashy modern structures overlook the River Clyde,site of Glasgow's once-mighty shipbuilding industry. Masterminded by Zaha Hadid,the Riverside Museum – which displays vintage Glaswegian trams,trains and horse-drawn wagons – is among the city's free-to-enter cultural attractions.