With its battlements, turrets, and arrow-slit windows, the neo-gothic Wray Castle is straight from a storybook. Originally built in 1840 for a Liverpudlian doctor and his heiress wife, the estate once served as a vacation home for the family of children’s author Beatrix Potter and is currently owned by the National Trust.
This Beatles-centric museum is stuffed full of Fab Four memorabilia, from George Harrison’s first guitar to John Lennon’s orange-tinted glasses. Exhibits trace the journey of Liverpool’s hometown heroes and the rise of Beatlemania, and include a full-scale replica of the famous Cavern Club and a walk-in yellow submarine.
Among the loveliest and most historical enclaves in the Cotswolds—an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty located west of London—Lacock is also one of England’s oldest villages. Renowned for the 13th-century Lacock Abbey and 14th-century St. Cyriac’s Church, Lacock is celebrated for its classically English beauty.
The Sherlock Holmes Museum pays homage to arguably one of London’s most loved and well-known fictional detectives. Located at 221B Baker Street—the detective’s address in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels—visitors can step into the world of Holmes and Dr. Watson while browsing the museum’s Victorian-style rooms with period furnishings, objects, interactive exhibits, and gift shop.
Once exclusively for England’s royal family, Regent’s Park is loved for its landscaped gardens, vast green spaces, and as the home of ZSL London Zoo. Visitors come here for peaceful walks, to participate in sports, or to explore the lush grounds, which include a rose garden and a boating lake. In the warmer months, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is a big draw.
One of London’s most popular museums, the Science Museum is a go-to attraction for curious adults and kids alike. Spread over several floors, this huge collection piques your interest in the world of science through a mix of free and paid-for exhibits. Look out for the flight simulator, IMAX screen, Exploring Space gallery, and Wonderlab interactive area, which are among the museum’s many highlights.
Dating back to 1897, Old High Church (or Old High St. Stephen’s) is the oldest church and congregation in the Scottish Highlands capital of Inverness. The church is noteworthy for its Arts and Crafts/Gothic-style architecture, Ballantine stained glass, 1902 organ, and adjacent cemetery overlooking the Ness river.
Originally built as a Norman defense in the 11th century, imposing Alnwick Castle has been expanded bit by bit over the years, and today encompasses medieval, Gothic, and neoclassical elements. The castle—about 85 miles (137 kilometers) from Edinburgh, in the north of England—has also caught the eye of location scouts, who picked it to serve as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films and Brancaster Castle in Downton Abbey.
Set at the foot of Loughrigg Fell, Rydal Water is one of the Lake District’s more modest-sized bodies of water, though its strong literary connections, multitude of walking opportunities, and scenic beauty means it rides high on travelers’ wishlists. William Wordsworth’s former residence, Rydal Mount, sits at the eastern end of the lake.
With its slate-roofed heritage buildings, cozy old pubs, and cobbled lanes, Hawkshead Village is the picture of English country idyll. Home to William Wordsworth’s old school and Beatrix Potter’s home, the village has got some impressive literary links. Green forests and fells on its doorstep, plus a car-free center, add to its appeal.
Right amid London’s riverside South Bank is the National Theatre, Britain’s flagship venue for international theater, which is known for its stark brutalist architecture. While most visitors come to catch a play, revue, or concert, the site is also a popular hangout thanks to its The Understudy bar, summer festival, and restaurants where artists, audiences, and curious souls meet to socialize.
Set among the wooded countryside of Aberdeenshire, the 16th-century Crathes Castle is known for its ties to Robert the Bruce. The tower house’s interior features original painted ceilings, portraits, and antique furniture, while the 593-acre (240-hectare) estate encompasses walled gardens and parkland threaded by marked trails.
The chilling Edinburgh Dungeon takes visitors below street level and into the darkened bowels of the city. Here, among 360-degree sets, costumed actors recount gruesome tales from Scotland’s past, from the Burke and Hare murders to hangings at the Grassmarket. Special effects, two thrilling rides, and a disorientating mirror maze add to the fun.
Perched on the banks of the Windrush River, Burford is a small English town that’s often referred to as the gateway to the Cotswolds. Highlights of the town include a medieval bridge and an abundance of Tudor and Georgian buildings that have remained unchanged over centuries.
Also known as the University of Manchester Library, the John Rylands Library is widely considered one of the world’s most beautiful libraries. Built in 1900 and celebrated for its Victorian, neo-Gothic architecture—which includes a soaring, vaulted entryway and ornamental carvings—the landmark houses a vast collection of rare books.
Established in 1670, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is one of Europe’s oldest botanic garden. Covering an area of more than 70 acres (28 hectares), the garden—which encompasses everything from Victorian glasshouses to a giant water lily pond and a rock garden—is a haven of tranquility in Scotland’s bustling capital city.
Standing on the Cotswolds escarpment, Broadway Tower was conceived by 18th-century landscape artist Capability Brown and completed in 1798. Notable for its stone turrets and rounded-arch windows, this Gothic folly boasts historical exhibitions and a rooftop with views across 16 counties.
One of London’s few living museums, the Household Cavalry Museum offers insight into one of the oldest regiments within the British Army. This immersive, behind-the-scenes museum is located within Horse Guards, a historical building on Whitehall. Experience the Household Cavalry up close as you're invited to dress like a cavalryman, watch guard changes, and peek into the original 18th-century horse stables.
Named for Scotland’s great Romantic novelist, Sir Walter Scott, Scott’s View offers an epic panorama of southern Scotland’s green landscape. Travelers come here to see the Eildon Hills' three peaks, the River Tweed's sparkling waters, and the rolling Tweed Valley. This spot is often included on local cycling and walking routes and is popular on a day trip from Edinburgh into the Borders area.
Surrounded by the natural beauty of Highland Perthshire, Blair Castle is one of Scotland’s most popular attractions. For seven centuries, it has been the home of the Atholl family, and it also remains home to Europe's last remaining private army, the Atholl Highlanders. More than 30 rooms are open to the public, providing a glimpse into aristocratic Highland life.
London had the world’s first underground railway, so it’s only right that it has a museum focused on all things transport, too. Covering the capital’s public transportation from the early 19th century to the current day, the London Transport Museum showcases red double-decker buses, steam trains, a 19th-century omnibus, and an early tube train that traveled more than a million miles. While most exhibits are at Covent Garden, there’s also the Museum Depot in Acton that opens for guided visits.
There are few places more fitting to watch one of Shakespeare’s plays than in Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of the iconic playwright. The town’s most prestigious venue is undoubtedly the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the official home of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Built in 1932, the theatre was designed by Elisabeth Scott, one of Britain’s first female architects.
Built without bricks or mortar—just stone placed next to stone—on an exposed Lewis hilltop nearly 2,000 years ago, Dun Carloway (Dùn Chàrlabhaigh) roundhouse has stood tall against the Isle of Lewis’s raging Atlantic storms since the Iron Age. It is one of the best-preserved brochs in Scotland.
Standing steady against the fearsome storms that ravage the northern tip of the Isle of Lewis is the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse. Made from red brick, which is highly unusual for Scottish lighthouses, it was designed by Scottish engineer David Stevenson in 1862. It was one of the last Scottish lighthouses to be automated in 1998.
Maeshowe Chambered Cairn is a chambered tomb in northern Scotland that is more than 5,000 years old. It’s considered the finest Neolithic building in northwest Europe due to its design, stonework construction, and use of massive individual stones. At least 3,000 years after it was closed up, Norsemen broke into the chamber, leaving behind runic inscriptions on the walls—it’s one of the largest collections outside Scandinavia.
If you're interested in history, Scone Palace, on the outskirts of Perth, is unlikely to disappoint. Situated where an early-Christian church once stood, this stately palace has housed the Earls of Mansfield for some four centuries. It also served as the crowning palace of Scottish kings for nearly 1,000 years.
Created by glacial meltwater, the tree-lined Corrieshalloch Gorge is punctuated by a series of waterfalls. From an observation deck and swaying suspension bridge, you can look down upon the rushing River Droma, which courses through the ravine and drops over the 150-foot (46-meter) Falls of Measach.
Famously described by Wordsworth as ‘the loveliest spot that man hath ever found,” Grasmere is one of the highlights of the Lake District National Park. The lake—which shares its name with the neighboring village—is circled by lush woodland and can be circumvented on foot or explored by kayak or rowing boat.
The home of London’s working class during Victorian times, the birthplace of Cockney Rhyming Slang, and the stomping ground of Jack the Ripper—the East End, bounded by the River Lea and the River Thames, has long represented the grittier side of England’s capital city. Today, it’s shed its rough image to become one of the city’s coolest, most diverse, street-art-rich areas, which is well worth checking out.
The Aysgarth Falls lie on the River Ure, in the heart of Yorkshire Dales National Park. The falls—made up of three tiers that cascade down limestone steps, surrounded by lush trees—have been popular with tourists for more than 200 years. To visit, hike through the surrounding woods and farms and enjoy the area’s natural beauty.
