From the granting of borough status in 1614 through to its development as an industrial port and then as a fashionable seaside resort, the west Cornwall town of Penzance has a proud and distinctive history.
Despite the attention of bombs and planners, Coventry still contains many fascinating buildings whose history in stone, brick and concrete has shaped the last thousand years.
From its days as a booming coal-mining and shipbuilding port in the mid-nineteenth century through post-industrial decline and late twentieth-century regeneration, to its current status as a growing commercial centre and popular tourist destination, South Shields has a proud and distinctive identity.
From humble beginnings Woking grew with the opening of the Wey Navigation Canal in the mid-seventeenth century, carrying traffic from Guildford to the River Thames, then more significantly with the arrival of the railway in 1838 and subsequent development of 'New Woking' in the mid-nineteenth century.
High Wycombe, or simply Wycombe, has had a long and remarkable past: the Royal military academy was founded in the town in the late eighteenth century before moving to Sandhurst; Charles I passed through on his way to the scaffold in 1649; and Benjamin Disraeli, MP for the town between 1874 and 1880, made his first political speech from a portico in the high street.
'The Gateway to the Broads', Beccles is a thriving market town in Suffolk that has been central to local communications for two millennia, prospering as a hub of trade and industry, while still retaining its cohesiveness and welcoming atmosphere.
Newcastle upon Tyne is one of England's great cities and one of the most historically significant, with a proud heritage dating all the way back to Roman times.
The city of Leicester can boast a long and distinguished history and has been at the very heart of the country's political and economic development for over two millennia.
The town of Dumfries, in the south-west of Scotland and known as 'the Queen of the South', became a royal burgh in 1186 and grew into an important market town and port in the medieval period.
A new town established in the 1800s, Colwyn Bay thrived with the coming of the railway, growing over the last century into one of the largest communities in North Wales.
Salt has been a valuable commodity for thousands of years, and it is because of this that Droitwich - under which lies vast quantities of salt - has prospered, particularly since Roman times.
The Area of Outstanding National Beauty known as the Cotswolds is famous for its range of rolling green hills and quaint English towns and villages, filled with honey-coloured stone cottages and hosting bustling weekend markets.
The origins of Chichester, Winchester and nearby Portchester are from the Roman era, while Southampton (Hamwic) and Fareham date back to the Anglo-Saxon period, but it was not until the twelfth century that Portsmouth was founded, and, even then, it was not until the time of the Tudor monarchs - notably Henry VIII and Elizabeth I - that it acquired its true role as the home of the Royal Navy.
From its days as the largest city in England after London and, until the Industrial Revolution, capital of the most populous county in the country, to its current status as a major regional centre and one of the most prosperous and attractive cities in England, Norwich has a proud and distinctive identity.
Basingstoke and Salisbury are important rail centres on what was originally the London & South Western Railway, and later the Southern Railway and finally the South Western Section of the Southern Region.
Manchester Airport (EGCC) is a Category 10 international passenger airport located in Lancashire, UK, comprising three passenger terminals and a world freight terminal.
From its heyday as a Victorian seaside resort to its role as a major departure and arrival point for cross-channel travel, Folkestone has a proud and distinctive identity.
The quiet city of Lancaster may no longer be as well known as it was in the past, but delve a little deeper and you will come across an exciting story, two millennia in the making.
The Midland & South Western Junction Railway was formed in 1884 by amalgamation of the Swindon, Marlborough & Andover and the Swindon & Cheltenham Extension railways.
From the time when it was a major producer of high-quality steel and internationally renowned for its cutlery, through decline and recession in the twentieth century, to its twenty-first-century reinvention and revival as a vibrant developing centre of retail and commerce, Sheffield has a proud and distinctive identity.
Clerkenwell and Islington are two of London's most historic districts; areas where radicalism once thrived and heavy industry flourished, and where poverty and lawlessness were commonplace.
The South Wales town of Newport, on the River Usk, was a powerhouse of Britain's Industrial Revolution; social change, characterised by the Chartist movement and new technologies built from steel and powered by coal, combined to create a new way of life.
The Brady Street and Alderney Road cemeteries are among the oldest Jewish burial grounds in the UK, dating back to the arrival of the Jewish immigrants in the time of Oliver Cromwell.
Whitby is an ancient coastal town in North Yorkshire built around the mouth of the River Esk, and today it is a popular holiday resort attracting visitors wanting to sample the beach, fish and chips, the steam railway, festivals, coastal and moorland walks, and the town's regattas.
