Well Shropshire is where I went to boarding school...no ties there and Tyneside, actually Wearside (Sunderland) is where I was born, but noone I know of still lives there, so apart from the nostalgia side of it, there wouldn't be much point in going back.
I lived and worked in London for several years before coming to Canada and know quite a lot of people there. Fortunately for me, people with spare rooms...LOL.
Otherwise I could never afford the trip.
You have a good one too.