Beautiful under-the-radar market towns near Coventry, Birmingham and Leicester perfect for day out this Christmas
There are some beautiful under-the-radar market towns near Coventry, Birmingham and Leicester that are perfect for a Christmassy day out.
They are all within about 45 to 60 minutes’ drive of Coventry, Birmingham or Leicester. These are places locals love but that rarely make the “top 10” tourist lists.
If you find yourself at the weekend wondering what to do, why not take a drive to one of the market towns below? It will be a perfect festive day out and you will be pleasantly surprised at how stunning these areas are!
Alcester (Warwickshire)
Alcester is one of those classic English market towns that feels like it’s been lifted straight out of a postcard - beautiful, historic, and mercifully free of the tourist hordes that swamp nearby Stratford-upon-Avon. Walk down the main street and you’re surrounded by crooked Tudor half-timbered houses, elegant Georgian brick townhouses, and barely a chain store in sight.
Alcester sits on the Roman road Ryknild Street and is one of the best-excavated small Roman towns in Britain (over 100 digs!). The free Roman Alcester Heritage Centre packs an impressive collection of everyday Roman artefacts in a tiny space.
There are great independent cafés (try Huffkins or the Alcester Bakery for proper cakes and sausage rolls), traditional pubs (The Turks Head, The Roebuck, Royal Oak), and nearby farm shops.
Shipston-on-Stour
This market town has rolling hills and independent shops, and is a hidden gem compared to its more famous neighbours Chipping Campden, Moreton-in-Marsh, Broadway. It has fewer crowds and inflated prices.
It has a long, wide high street lined with gorgeous Georgian and earlier buildings in that golden limestone, packed with over 50 independent shops, delis, butchers, bakeries, antiques and galleries. Almost zero chains - it feels authentically English rather than a theme park.
Shipston gives you the full Cotswolds experience - stunning architecture, great food - but feels real rather than staged. Locals call it “the Cotswolds’ best-kept secret” for a reason.
Market Bosworth
Market Bosworth is the quintessential tiny English market town with perfectly preserved Georgian buildings around a cobbled square, rolling Leicestershire countryside, and a massive slice of history. The Battle of Bosworth (1485) happened just a couple of miles away - Richard III’s defeat ended the Wars of the Roses and put Henry Tudor (Henry VII) on the throne.
The award-winning Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre & Country Park brings it to life with guided walks, exhibitions, archery demos and re-enactments. You can literally stand where the crown rolled into the mud.
It has a classic cobbled market square surrounded by independent shops, tearooms, pubs and gorgeous red-brick Georgian houses. Sunday markets still happen, there’s a proper old-school butcher, an award-winning chippy, and barely a chain in sight.