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With the announcement that we’ll soon have 8 new UK cities to add to the list as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, it got us thinking about just what that means for residents and tourists alike.
With many of us opting for staycations in recent times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, city tourism has never been more popular. And with so many different cities offering a unique glimpse into local life, it’s easy to see why people choose to visit them. From heritage and culture, to shopping and nightlife, there’s so many reasons to visit UK cities.
Whilst enjoying the fun and festivities of a city is all well and good, it’s also important to get a decent night’s rest so you can fully enjoy the experience, right? So, being the conscientious blackout blinds supplier that we are, we wanted to take a detailed look at which UK city is best for a good night’s sleep… and the results might surprise you!
Looking at the available data for 28 UK cities, we broke it down into the four biggest factors that can affect your comfort and quality of sleep. These factors were:
- Comfort and safety
- Crowdedness
- Green space and air pollution
- Noise levels
The UK’s Most Comfortable & Safest City
Feeling comfortable in your surroundings is a big deal, and maybe even more so when you’re away from home. The bed you sleep in and the creature comforts you’d normally expect play a big part in this, so using Tripadvisor data, we collated all 4 and 5 star rated hotels for each of the cities. We then looked at the number of crimes per 1000 people, because feeling safe in your surroundings is paramount when it comes to settling down to sleep.
Based on averages, we were able to determine that Birmingham was the UK’s most comfortable city overall. No mean feat for the UK’s second largest city. Despite York scoring very well for comfort and safety, the same couldn’t be said for its neighbours Leeds and Hull, who were both at the bottom of the pile.
Most Crowded UK City
If you’re an introvert or if you just get a bit stressed out with large crowds, then there are certain UK cities that you might want to avoid. Using data from various sources, we looked at four key areas that contribute to crowdedness: population density, the number of flights coming into the city each year, the number of day trippers visiting each year and the student population of a city.
It’s no surprise that London fared worst in all four areas, but where Hull and Leeds don’t do so well for comfort and safety, they make up for it by being less crowded. Ultimately, Swansea is the place to be if you’re looking for a crowd-free getaway.
The Greenest UK City
The quality of the air you breathe can have a massive impact on how well you sleep, and feel as a whole. Looking at the number of Green Flag awarded spaces and the Air Pollution Index, we were able to determine which of our 28 cities could be considered the greenest.
It may come as no surprise that Edinburgh fared best, with its unique position atop an extinct volcano with 112 parks and surrounded by lush Scottish countryside. At the other end of the scale, unfortunately we see Hull holding up the rear again. Sort it out Hull.
Of all the cities we researched, the most surprising and worst for air quality was Swansea. With the rolling Welsh valleys only a stone’s throw away, it’s hard to believe this coastal city has a worse score than Birmingham and London. This is largely attributed to the fact that traffic levels and the amount of congestion is very high comparatively, despite being the least crowded city.
The Noisiest UK City
If you’re a light sleeper, there’s nothing worse than being kept awake by low flying planes or the roar of traffic whizzing by. With that, we looked at three key areas that can have an impact on noise levels within a city, these include: traffic noise, the number of flights overhead and the student population (there’s no denying they love a party or two).
Despite Birmingham being a comfortable and safe place to stay according to the data, with over 80,000 students at five universities, a major international airport and one of the highest congestion rates (despite clean air zone charges) in the country, you probably don’t want to visit if noise affects your sleep.
On the flip side, York was quietest, with the lowest amount of nighttime traffic noise and overhead flights, and a small student population – making it the perfect choice if you’re looking for something a little more mellow.
The Overall Best UK City for a Good Night’s Sleep
Taking into consideration all of these factors, there’s one city that’s quietly been climbing the ranks and it’s a city you probably least expect. So which city is it?
Why it’s Stoke on Trent! What? Yep.
Drawing together the data for each city from each of these 4 areas, we were able to create a grading system, from that grading system we were able to generate an overall score. Here’s what the top 5 UK cities are for a good night’s sleep… they’re probably not what you were expecting:
Despite the small Staffordshire city having pretty average hotels and a less than perfect crime rate, Stoke-on-Trent has a fair few green spaces, decent air quality and virtually no crowding. And with a small student population, no major airports particularly close by and a pretty decent transport system, there’s a good chance you’ll be getting a quality night’s sleep. Assuming Stoke is somewhere you actually want to visit, of course.
Stoke really is the city of dreams… literally.
Location, Location, Location
Taking things a little further, when we looked at the overall top 10 and the bottom 10 cities, we noticed something interesting… There seemed to be a distinct north/south divide with many of the top 10 cities we researched situated north of the Midlands, whilst many of the bottom ten were in the south. Some of these cities are probably considered less desirable than others, hence the difference, but don’t write them off for your next city trip just yet!
If you value a decent night’s sleep whilst still (hopefully) enjoying the unique sights of the place you’re in, then it seems the northern cities are where it’s at.
We were also keen to find out if our “discovery” in any way aligned with where people like to visit – were there any cities that were both a popular destination that also offered a quiet, comfortable night’s rest?
So, we also surveyed over 600 people to find out which UK cities they like visiting the most and there was one city that scored well on both sides of the research we did… York! This glorious walled city in the northeast of England is pretty fabulous, it has to be said. Here’s a run down of the top 10 cities you chose as your favourites to visit:
So there you have it, fancy a city break but also value your beauty sleep? Stoke-on-Trent is the place to be! Who’d have thought?
Unless York is more your bag, then go there instead.
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Data sources: European Environment Agency, Civil Aviation Authority, Visit Britain, TripAdvisor, CrimeRate, IQAir, Green Flag Award
You’re more than welcome to use our findings and graphics for your own content, all we ask is that you cite Unbeatable Blinds as the original source with a link back to this post.
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Keen to get the best night’s sleep you can at home? Aside from our extensive range of blackout blinds, we also stock a huge variety of wooden Venetian blinds, perfect fit blinds and day and night blinds in an array of colours, styles and made to measure sizes. All with fast UK delivery!
