Harrow

Most first-time visitors to Harrow start on the hill itself, wandering the streets around Harrow School with their old red-brick buildings and views back across London. It sets the tone for a place that feels distinct from the rest of the capital, more market town than suburb, before you head down into the busier streets of Harrow town centre for the day's main business.

Families tend to gravitate towards Headstone Manor and Museum, a genuinely old moated manor house that gives a proper sense of the area's history without needing a full day set aside for it. From there it is easy to fill an afternoon with something more active: HarroWall Indoor Climbing Centre for those who want to burn off energy, BigShots Golf UK or Jurassic Island Adventure Golf for a slightly sillier session, and Putt & Play Harrow or Jungle Monkeyz if you are looking to keep children entertained for a few hours. On a wet day, Vue Harrow covers the cinema option.

Where to stay depends on what you are in Harrow for. Business travellers and those passing through tend to book into the more straightforward options like the Travelodge London Harrow, Euro Hotel Harrow or the Eurotraveller Hotel-Premier at Harrow, all useful bases for exploring the town without paying central London prices. Others prefer something smaller and quieter, such as the Lindal Hotel, the Rising Sun Hotel, the Crescent Hotel or a room described simply as quiet and cosy, all handy for the local restaurants and shops rather than a specific sight.

It is this combination that makes Harrow work well as a first trip: a genuine historic core around the school and Headstone Manor, a solid cluster of family activities within easy reach of each other, and an evening food scene that easily matches anywhere else in outer London. Base yourself centrally and you can cover most of it without much travelling at all.