Southampton

Southampton's biggest moments have all been departures. The Mayflower left from here, the Titanic left from here, and the cruise liners still queue up daily to carry people somewhere they would rather be. The Luftwaffe flattened the place, and it rebuilt itself around a container port and a shopping centre, which tells you roughly everything you need to know about its priorities. It is a working city that has never once pretended to be Winchester, and there is a grudging sort of dignity in that.