If you read about Wales during medieval times, Carmarthen was the most important town. The major cities on the south coast are rarely heard of, except as the sites of Norman castles.
The Industrial Revolution brought the steam engine, which made possible much larger ships, and also a voracious demand for coal. South Wales had an abundance of coal and this brought the development of the major cities on the south coast, Cardiff, Newport and, Swansea.
If you read about England during medieval times there won't be much about the major cities of the Midlands, Liverpool, Manchester and, Birmingham. There are not the royal palaces or the majestic cathedrals of the south.
The Industrial Revolution changed that and was centered on this area. This was the major site of the factories that the Industrial Revolution brought. Bristol, to the south, had been England's major port in the days of sailing ships. But the larger ships made possible by the invention of steam engines couldn't safely navigate the waters around Bristol and Liverpool became the primary port, exporting the products of the many factories.
If you read about Scotland during medieval times the country, which was separate from England until 1707, revolves around Edinburgh. Glasgow, which has long since been Scotland's largest city, will likely be barely mentioned. Glasgow is the country's major city of the Industrial Revolution and the port for the much-larger ships that it brought.
Another product of the Industrial Revolution was railroads. Trains carried passengers, as well as goods. The development of passenger trains, before the development of air travel, brought the seaside resorts. There was Scarborough on the northeast coast, Blackpool on the northwest coast, Southend-on-Sea nearer London, and several resorts on the south coast.
The postwar period brought several waves of "new towns" being established. This is what Britain does instead of allowing cities to sprawl. The best-known of these new towns is Milton Keynes.
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