The Midlands & the Marches
Derby's historic potteries still turn out some of the finest bone china in England, from edgy Asian-inspired designs to the kind of stuff your grandma…
Must-see attractions in The United Kingdom
Snowdonia National Park (Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri)
You're unlikely to miss Barmouth's foremost landmark: in fact, you'll probably arrive on it, by train, on foot or on two wheels. Curving scenically into…
Yorkshire Dales National Park
About 1.5 miles north of Hawes is 30m-high Hardraw Force, the highest unbroken waterfall in England, but by international standards not that impressive …
Kent
Margate’s unique attraction is a mysterious subterranean grotto, discovered in 1835. It’s a claustrophobic collection of rooms and passageways embedded…
Snowdonia National Park (Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri)
This mine dates from Roman times, although extraction was stepped up in the 19th century. Abandoned in 1903, it has since been converted into a museum,…
Orkney
The Italian Chapel is all that remains of a POW camp that housed the Italian soldiers who worked on the Churchill Barriers. They built the chapel in their…
Southern Highlands & Islands
There were once no fewer than 32 distilleries around Campbeltown, but most closed in the 1920s. Today this is one of only three still in operation. It is…
London
London's largest roof garden, The Garden at 120 is a blossoming 15th-floor pocket park paradise. Its mid-rise vantage point gives a unique perspective on…
Dumfries & Galloway
If your kids are complaining about historic sights and Robert Burns, pack up the clan and get down to this spot, between Dumfries and New Abbey off the…
Orkney
A mile northwest of Stenness is this wide circle of standing stones, some over 5m tall. The last of the three Stenness monuments to be built (2500–2000 BC…
Southern Highlands & Islands
Subtropical plants thrive in Gigha's Achamore Gardens, the island's principal sight. Rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas take advantage of the…
Derry (Londonderry)
Just off Rossville St, this excellent museum chronicles the history of the Bogside, the Civil Rights Movement and the events of Bloody Sunday through…
Southern Highlands & Islands
The splendid, ruined 13th-century Rothesay Castle, with seagulls and jackdaws nesting in the walls, was once a favourite residence of the Stuart kings. It…
Snowdonia & the Llŷn
This is an excellent gallery and arts hub. Aside from the three galleries – which do great work bringing the best of local photography, painting and…
Dumfries & Galloway
The 18th-century Broughton House displays paintings by EA Hornel, one of the Glasgow Boys (he lived and worked here). The library, with its wood panelling…
Southern Scotland
A well-loved local institution that runs matinée shows every couple of days throughout the summer using miniature Victorian puppets and bizarre glow-in…
Dumfries & Galloway
The mild climate in this southwestern part of Scotland is demonstrated at Logan Botanic Garden, a mile north of Port Logan, where an array of subtropical…
Shetland
This enthusiastic modern museum by Scalloway Castle has an excellent display on Scalloway life and history, with prehistoric finds, witch-burnings and…
Orkney
There are several archaeological sites on Sanday, the most impressive being this chambered tomb, similar to Maeshowe and dating from the 3rd millennium BC…
The Channel Islands
A serious contender for the island's best beach, crescent-shaped Belvoir has calm, clear waters and a great view of Sark island. It's a 20-minute walk…
Notting Hill & West London
Within glorious stumbling distance of the Thames, this summer home of the bishops of London from 704 to 1975 is a lovely blend of architectural styles…
North London
Looking at the jaw-dropping Gothic splendour of St Pancras (1868), it's hard to believe that the Midland Grand Hotel languished empty for decades and even…
London
The City of London has had centuries to acquire an impressive art collection, which it's shown off since 1885. The original gallery was destroyed in the…
Oxford
Founded in 1264, peaceful and elegant Merton is one of Oxford’s three original colleges. Like the other two, Balliol and University, it considers itself…
The Cairngorms
Built for Queen Victoria in 1855 as a private residence for the Royal Family, Balmoral kicked off the revival of the Scottish Baronial style of…
The West End
With its distinctive candy-striped red-brick and white-stone tower features, John Francis Bentley’s 19th-century Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, the…
London
Guildhall has been the City’s seat of government for more than 800 years. The Great Hall dates from the early 15th century and is positively Hogwartsian…
London
Fans of Victoriana and the Arts and Crafts Movement should make time for this sensational little gallery. The beautiful Georgian mansion, located in…
Exeter
On fine sunny days the people of Exeter head to the quay. Cobbled paths lead between former warehouses that have been converted into antique shops, quirky…
The West End
London’s wholesale fruit-and-vegetable market until 1974 is now mostly the preserve of visitors, who flock here to shop among the quaint Italian-style…
The West End
Banqueting House is the sole surviving section of the Tudor Whitehall Palace (1532) that once stretched most of the way down Whitehall before burning to…
The West End
The striking Tudor gatehouse of St James’s Palace is the only surviving part of a building initiated by the palace-mad Henry VIII in 1531 on the grounds…
London
The architectural value of this sprawling post-WWII brutalist housing estate divides Londoners, but the Barbican remains a sought-after living space as…
Oxford
New College isn’t really that new. Established in 1379 as Oxford’s first undergraduate college, it’s a glorious Perpendicular Gothic ensemble. Treasures…
The West End
Designed by John Nash in 1828, this huge white arch was moved here next to Speaker's Corner from its original spot in front of Buckingham Palace in 1851…
Kensington & Hyde Park
A delightful collection of manicured lawns, tree-shaded avenues and basins immediately west of Hyde Park, the picturesque expanse of Kensington Gardens is…
Notting Hill & West London
The UK's sole cemetery owned by the Crown, this atmospheric 19th-century, 16-hectare boneyard's most famous denizen may be suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst,…
The West End
Architect John Nash had originally designed Regent St and Piccadilly in the 1820s to be the two most elegant streets in London but, restrained by city…
Cambridge
Tales of hostile environments, dogged determination and, sometimes, life-claiming mistakes are evoked powerfully at this compelling museum. Its focus on…
Cardiff
This venerable cathedral is set in a hollow near the River Taff, on the site of a 6th-century monastery founded by St Teilo. The present building was…
