England’s Top 20
Stonehenge
Mysterious and compelling, Stonehenge is England’s most iconic ancient site. People have been drawn to this myth-laden ring of boulders for more than 5000 years, and we still don’t know quite why it was built. Most visitors gaze at the 50-tonne stones from behind the perimeter fence, but with enough planning you can arrange an early-morning or evening tour and gain access to the inner ring itself. In the slanting sunlight, away from the crowds, it’s an ethereal place. This is an experience that stays with you.
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Oxford
A visit to Oxford is as close as most of us will get to the brilliant minds and august institutions that have made this city famous across the globe. But you’ll catch a glimpse of this rarefied world in the cobbled lanes and ancient quads where cycling students and dusty academics roam. The beautiful college buildings, archaic traditions and stunning architecture have changed little over the centuries, coexisting with a lively, modern, working city.
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The Lake District
William Wordsworth and his Romantic friends were the first to champion the charms of the Lake District and it’s not hard to see what stirred them. Already the UK’s most popular national park, the Lake District also became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2017, recognising its long history of hill farming – but for most people it’s the chance to hike the humpbacked fells and drink in the gorgeous scenery that keep them returning year after year.
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York
With its Roman and Viking heritage, ancient city walls and maze of cobbled streets, York is a living showcase for the highlights of English history. Join one of the city’s many walking tours and plunge into the network of snickelways (narrow alleys), each one the focus of a ghost story or historical character. Explore the intricacies of York Minster, the biggest medieval cathedral in all of northern Europe, or admire the exhibits from more recent times at the National Railway Museum, the world’s largest collection of historic locomotives.
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Bath
In a nation packed with pretty cities, Bath still stands out as the belle of the ball. Founded by the Romans, who established the spa resort of Aquae Sulis to take advantage of the area’s hot springs, Bath hit its stride in the 18th century when the rich industrialist Ralph Allen and architects John Wood the Elder and John Wood the Younger oversaw the city’s reinvention as a model of Georgian architecture. Awash with golden stone townhouses, sweeping crescents and Palladian mansions, Bath demands your undivided attention.
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The Cotswolds
The most wonderful thing about the Cotswolds is that no matter where you go or how lost you get, you’ll still end up in an impossibly quaint village of rose-clad cottages and honey-coloured stone. There’ll be a charming village green, a pub with sloping floors and fine ales, and a view of the lush green hills. It’s easy to leave the crowds behind and find your very own slice of medieval England here – and some of the best boutique hotels in the country.
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Hadrian’s Wall
Hadrian’s Wall is one of the country’s most dramatic Roman ruins, its 2000-year-old procession of abandoned forts, garrisons, towers and milecastles marching across the wild and lonely landscape of northern England. This wall was about defence and control, but this edge-of-empire barrier also symbolised the boundary of civilised order – to the north lay the unruly land of the marauding Celts, while to the south was the Roman world of orderly tax-paying, underfloor heating and bathrooms.
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Cambridge
One of England’s two great historic university cities, Cambridge highlights include a tour of at least one of the ancient colleges, and time spent marvelling at the intricate vaulting of King’s College Chapel. But no trip to Cambridge is complete without an attempt to take a punt (flat-bottomed boat) along the river by the picturesque ‘Backs’ – the leafy, green lawns behind the city’s finest colleges. Polish off the day with a pint in one of the many historic pubs. You’ll soon wonder how you could have studied anywhere else.
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Peak District
Curiously, you won’t find many peaks in the Peak District. But you will find blissful miles of tumbling moorland, plunging valleys, eroded gritstone crags, lush farmland and ancient pocket-sized villages. This beautiful landscape attracts a veritable army of outdoor enthusiasts – cyclists, hikers, cavers and rock climbers – on summer weekends, while those seeking more relaxing enjoyment can admire the rural market and famous puddings of Bakewell, the Victorian pavilions of spa-town Buxton, and the architectural drama of Chatsworth House – the ‘Palace of the Peak’.
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Stratford-upon-Avon
The pretty town of Stratford-upon-Avon is where William Shakespeare was born and later shuffled off this mortal coil. Today its tight knot of Tudor streets form a living map of Shakespeare’s life. Huge crowds of thespians and theatre lovers come to take in a play at the famous theatre. Visit the five historic houses owned by Shakespeare and his relatives, and the schoolroom where he was educated, then take a respectful detour to the old stone church where the Bard was laid to rest.
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Liverpool Museums
After a decade of development, the reborn waterfront is once again the heart of Liverpool. The focal point is Albert Dock, a World Heritage Site of iconic and protected buildings, including a batch of top museums: the Merseyside Maritime Museum and the International Slavery Museum ensure the good and bad sides of Liverpool’s history are not forgotten, while the Tate Liverpool and the Beatles Story museum celebrate popular culture and the city’s most famous musical sons (still).
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England’s Pubs
Despite the growth of stylish clubs and designer bars, the traditional neighbourhood or village pub – Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem is the country’s oldest – is still the centre of social life in England, and a visit can be one of the best ways to get under the skin of the nation. A drink may be necessary as well, and ideally that means traditional beer. To outsiders it may be ‘warm and flat’, but try it and you’ll soon learn to savour the complex flavours of the country’s many regional varieties.
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Canterbury Cathedral
Few English cathedrals come close to Canterbury Cathedral, the very fulcrum of the Anglican Church and a place of worship for more than 15 centuries. Its intricate tower dominates the Canterbury city skyline, while at its heart lies a 12th-century crime scene, where Archbishop Thomas Becket was put to the sword after disagreements with the king – an event that launched a million pilgrimages and still pulls in the crowds today. A lone candle mourns the gruesome deed, the pink sandstone before it smoothed by 800 years’ worth of devout kneeling.
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Afternoon Tea
Among England’s many and varied traditions, afternoon tea is one of the most enticing, and certainly one of the tastiest. Centre of the ritual is the iconic beverage itself – brewed in a pot, ideally silver-plated, and poured carefully into fine bone-china cups and saucers. Depending where you are in the country, this hot drink is served with scones and cream, fruit cake or feather-light cucumber sandwiches. Fancy city hotels and traditional tearooms, such as Bettys in Harrogate, are among the best places to sample this epicurean delight.
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Brighton
It’s barely an hour’s train ride from the capital, but the seaside city of Brighton has a quirky character that’s completely its own. Overlooking the English Channel on England’s pebbly south coast, it’s a city that’s long been known for its oddball, alternative character. The warren of streets known as The Lanes is a good place to soak up the vibe; sprinkled with vegan cafes, espresso bars, hugger-mugger pubs, record stores and bric-a-brac shops, it’s a browser’s dream come true.
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Seven Sisters Chalk Cliffs
Dover’s iconic white cliffs grab the most attention, but the colossal chalky walls of the Seven Sisters are a much more spectacular affair. This 4-mile roller coaster of sheer white rock rollicks along the Sussex shore overlooking the waters of the English Channel, an impressive southern border to the South Downs National Park and most dramatic at the towering headland of Beachy Head. Hikes through the grassy clifftop fields provide wide sea views, breathtaking in every sense.
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London’s Theatre Scene
However you budget your time and money in London, make sure you take in a show. For big names, head for the West End (London’s equivalent of Broadway), where famous spots include the National Theatre, the Old Vic, the Shaftesbury and the Theatre Royal at Drury Lane. For new and experimental works, try the Donmar Warehouse and Royal Court. Either way, you’ll see that London’s theatre scene easily lives up to its reputation as one of the finest in the world – whatever New Yorkers say.
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Tower of London
Begun in the 11th century by William the Conqueror, the Tower of London is Europe’s best-preserved medieval fortress and one of Britain’s best-known attractions. At almost 1000 years old (more if you count the Roman foundations) it’s an enduring landmark of the capital, and over the centuries this sturdy fortress has served the nation as a palace, a prison, an arsenal and a mint. Today it’s home to the spectacular crown jewels, the legendary ‘Beefeaters’ with their distinctive red uniforms, and ravens that are attributed with mythical powers.
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Walking in England
Call it hiking or rambling – but most often simply walking – England is the perfect place to explore on two feet, thanks to its compact nature and protected network of ‘rights of way’. You can stroll the narrow streets and hidden alleyways of the nation’s famous historic towns, then head for a patch of open countryside or one of England’s network of national parks: the wild tors and heaths of Dartmoor make a fine introduction.
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The Eden Project
Looking like a cross between a lunar landing station and a James Bond villain’s lair, the gigantic hemispherical greenhouses of the Eden Project have become a symbol of Cornwall’s renaissance. Dreamt up by Tim Smit, and built in an abandoned clay pit near St Austell, Eden’s glass-domed ‘biomes’ recreate major world climate systems in microcosm, from the lush jungles of the Amazon rainforest to the olive trees, citrus groves and colourful flowers of the Mediterranean, South Africa and California.
