As a proud ‘Hullensian’, I take great pride in hijacking Secret Manchester today, simply to gloat. Not because Hull is necessarily better than Manchester (it isn’t just yet), but because Hull is finally getting just a tiny bit of the recognition it so truly deserves.
Named England’s most budget-friendly city break by financial technology company SumUp, Hull beat out all the other English cities to take the crown, sitting behind only Derry, which stole the title for the whole of the UK.
Now, you’re probably thinking “of course Hull is the cheapest”, and yes, some of your assumptions about the city would be correct – I won’t deny that – but there’s actually a bigger list of reasons to visit Hull these days than not. Factors considered for SumUp’s research weighed up cost metrics, amenities, and safety – including important costings such as coffee price, cinema ticket cost, average taxi fare and clothing prices to determine which cities were the best value.
Factors such as culture, museums, theatres, and green spaces were also considered when selecting the cities that made for the best budget-friendly staycations.
What SumUp’s research didn’t include, however, is how reminiscent Hull is right now of a 2015 Manchester. While the city is ‘coming up’ at a much slower rate than Manchester did (mostly due to a significant difference in the funding both cities receive), Hull is becoming a breeding ground for incredible independent eateries – which are popping up not only in the city centre, but the up-and-coming neighbourhoods that make up The Avenues, too, which, as a result, is unintentionally creating mini Ancoats-esque parcels around the city.
If that wasn’t all, the city is home to quite an array of cute little vintage shops, art galleries and more – many of which are dotted down the city’s main hubs of Paragon Arcade and Humber Street – which uniquely overlooks the stunning heritage Marina. As someone who lived in the Northern Quarter for almost a decade, a 2024 Hull reminds me very much of the ‘cool corner’ of Manchester’s humble beginnings.
Here’s the list in order of the most budget-friendly staycations in the UK:
- Derry
- Kingston upon Hull
- Newport
- Preston
- Edinburgh
- Cardiff
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Belfast
- Liverpool
- Sunderland
While Manchester itself didn’t make the cut, which is pretty understandable, Liverpool did (just a 38-minute train ride away) alongside Stoke-on Trent (35 minutes) and Preston (38 minutes).