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Lake in Milton Keynes
Photograph: Shutterstock

This surprising city has been named the UK’s most underrated holiday destination

A grand total of zero guidebooks have been written about it

Ed Cunningham
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Ed Cunningham
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The UK is full of underrated destinations. From quaint, picturesque towns and pristine beaches to unsung cultural hotspots, this country is jam-packed with places that deserve far, far more attention than they currently get.

But which destinations are the most underrated? Researchers from holiday-home site Independent Cottages have decided that you can measure how overlooked a place is from how few guidebooks have been written about it. The study apparently looked at a whopping three million guidebooks, before contrasting the results with the number of attractions in under-covered cities.

The most underrated city in the UK, according to the study, was Milton Keynes. Apparently MK has zero guidebooks written about it, which, considering it’s very near attractions like legendary codebreaking spot Bletchley House and stately country pile Woburn Abbey, seems a little harsh. We certainly wouldn’t be caught underrating Milton Keynes – here’s our ultimate guide to the best stuff to see and do in the city.

Here are the top five most underrated cities in the UK, according to Independent Cottages study:

  1. Milton Keynes
  2. Southend-on-Sea
  3. Sunderland
  4. Swansea
  5. Wolverhampton

Now, are the number of guidebooks a good measure of how good a place is? To be honest, probably not. But it’s still kinda interesting to find out which areas of the UK are still under-represented on our bookshelves, right? In the meantime, here’s our own list of the best places to visit in the UK in 2023.

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