Like so many other countries, England is unfairly defined by its capital city London. But like so many other countries, there are many other cities and places to see.

That’s why I spent the last three years visiting thirty-five different English cities. In those three years, I’ve had some nice moments, not so nice moments and some unexpectedly wholesome moments. Let’s count down my top five.

5. Feeding geese in Salford

If you’re going to Salford, I have one piece of advice. Don’t go via Salford Central station. Instead go to Manchester Piccadilly/Victoria and walk from there. It’s far less hassle. Manchester and Salford are adjacent and you can easily walk from one to the other without realising. In fact if you go to Salford Central station and turn right you’re in Manchester. Turn left you’re in Salford.

Guess which way I turned? After getting thoroughly confused and disoriented in Manchester, I had burned a lot of time in Salford. However, I used my remaining time wisely. I wandered down to the River Irwell that runs through Salford University campus.

By the river, there was a flock of hungry geese looking for food. I was only too happy to oblige with my bag of duck food that I had bought in Ripon. The geese were eating out of my hand. Literally. Some were waddling up to me mouths agape. Very funny. Very cute.

4. St Peter’s Church in Sunderland

I went to university in Newcastle twelve miles north of Sunderland. The two cities have a – not always so friendly – rivalry. I think many Geordies would be horrified that I was betraying them by doing across the Tyne to Maccum-land. The general consensus is that Consensus is a dark, shadowy land full of poverty, dirt and grime. Like Newcastle, Sunderland once had a big shipbuilding industry, but unlike Newcastle, it didn’t recover as well from deindustrialisation.

I had to see Sunderland for myself and make up my own mind. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. Sure once you got out of the city centre, there were areas of poverty, but you also had the parish church of St Peter’s.

This church has over a 1000 years of history, as the friendly volunteers were all too happy to explain to me. It was cute and quaint and it also boasted a little cafe. As you can imagine it only offered the most basic and not the tastiest of food, but it was perfectly edible.

It was also a local community hub which hosted an amateur music group. This served as my lunchtime entertainment. True, they weren’t very good – neither am I – but that all added to the charm of the church.

3. Friendly locals in Stoke

Stoke DOES not have a good reputation. It’s regarded as one of England’s more impoverished cities. And I’m being very polite when I say that. I didn’t like it and you can read why here.

Maybe you are confused as to why it is featuring on a list like this. True it is decaying, ugly and lifeless, but none of that is the fault of the locals who are some of the friendliest I’ve met in my travels.

I had lunch in a greasy spoon cafe where the waiter complimented my beard. When the toilet in the nearby Potteries shopping centre was closed, a kindly stranger lent me her key for the disabled toilet. And when I went to the Central Forest Park, there was a faux rock formation which you could climb. When I reached its apex, a local lad started chatting to me. On a sidenote, trekking to the top of the nearby hill offered some terrific views of the city. Stoke also had some stunning natural scenery.

2. Pakistani culture in Bradford

Like Stoke, Bradford has a bad reputation. It also features on my worse moment list. If you are confused as to why you are seeing it here, I don’t blame you. But first, let’s do a history lesson.

Bradford used to be an industrial powerhouse, once boasting a thriving textile industry. However, that all came crashing down with deindustrialisation. This put whole generations of men out of work. Some say the city has never truly recovered. Since then, the city has seen a growing number of Pakistani immigrants, who, as a whole, are being scapegoated for the city’s many social issues. Personally, I would blame the loss of the city’s vital industry. You may disagree with me. That’s fine. It’s 2026. We can disagree with each other.

I had lunch in a Pakistani restaurant. I had a Lahori Channa (a spicy Chickpea curry) a paratha flatbread and an always amazing mango lassi.

The food was perfectly fine, but the restaurant was adorned with pictures of Pakistani historical figures. These included its founder Muhammed Jinnah, famed poet Allama Iqbal and famed ex-prime minister Imman Khan. I asked the waiter about them and he was only too happy to explain. His passion and enthusiasm was plain to see. And it was a heart-warming exchange of cultures – probably no different if I was an immigrant asking about pictures of Churchill, Shakespeare and Dickens.

1. Petting cows in Worcester

You’re not going crazy. Worcester occupies BOTH the number one spot for worse and best moments. Rest your neck before you get whiplash, because before I had my nightmare journey home, I was having a perfectly pleasant day in Worcester.

After I had gone charity shopping, looked around the cathedral, I walked along the River Severn. On the way back, I stumbled upon a herd of cows. Unlike Winchester, they weren’t completely timid. Unlike Wells, they weren’t covered with flies and slobbering all over me. The Worcester cows were very friendly and only too happy to be petted. I was only too happy to oblige. I absolutely loved stroking and petting them. It was the ultimate dopamine hit.

This mission I’ve completed has to be one of the better things I’ve done in life. It’s allowed me to learn so much about the history, culture and people of the country I call home. I would never have experienced this if I had stayed in my London bubble.