Hastings crowned the UK's most underrated town to visit this summer in new study
Renowned for its stunning sandy beaches and picturesque historic old town featuring landmarks like the Norman Castle and All Saints Church, Hastings has been named the UK’s most underrated town in a new study. To uncover which other hidden gems made the list, Betway [https://blog.betway.com/casino/the-uks-most-underrated-towns/] analysed data from over 50 UK towns, ranking them based on factors such as independent shops, cultural landmarks, top-rated restaurants, local music events, TikTok popularity, and average summer temperatures.
| Rank | Town | No. of indie shops | % of cultural landmarks over 4* | % of restaurants over 4* | No. of music events | No. of TikTok posts | Avg. summer temperatures (℃) |
| 1 | Hastings | 18 | 74% | 74% | 115 | 62,300 | 16.3 |
| 2 | Royal Leamington Spa | 27 | 96% | 79% | 33 | 12,000 | 16.3 |
| 3 | Shrewsbury | 18 | 84% | 70% | 46 | 31,000 | 15.3 |
| 4 | Tynemouth | 17 | 100% | 67% | 84 | 8,573 | 14.3 |
| 5 | Bury St. Edmunds | 11 | 91% | 63% | 48 | 9,601 | 16.3 |
| 6 | Folkestone | 13 | 67% | 72% | 51 | 12,200 | 16.3 |
| 7 | Faversham | 5 | 85% | 86% | 34 | 3,579 | 17.0 |
| 8 | Weymouth | 12 | 72% | 70% | 19 | 23,400 | 16.3 |
| 9 | Paisley | 8 | 71% | 39% | 62 | 63,600 | 14.0 |
| 10 | Cleethorpes | 29 | 54% | 54% | 12 | 15,300 | 15.3 |
Key findings:
- Hastings takes the top spot as the UK’s most underrated town, with an impressive 115 upcoming music events, including the popular Hastings Beer and Music Festival, plus a host of top-rated cultural landmarks and well-known restaurants such as Yaaze Cafe Bistro & Meze Bar.
- Royal Leamington Spa ranks second, boasting the highest number of independent shops (27), including favourites like Life of Mou, and near-perfect ratings for cultural landmarks such as The British Motor Museum and Chesterton
- Shrewsbury ranks third with its combination history and vibrancy, with highly rated attractions, 46 music events, and a growing online presence through 31,000 TikTok mentions.
Further findings from outside of England:
- Paisley in Scotland ranks as the most underrated town outside of England with 8 independent shops, 62 upcoming music events and 71% of cultural landmarks rated over four stars.
- Dumfries, also in Scotland, comes in second with a respectable 65% of restaurants rated over four stars. It also plans to host an upcoming 34 music events, and has nearly 30,000 TikTok mentions, suggesting a growing presence online.
- A Welsh town also features in the top five best underrated towns outside of England. The historic town of Ruthin places fifth with the highest number (89%) of cultural landmarks reviews being over four stars.