Lonely Planet Great Britain

By Kerry Walker, Isabel Albiston, Oliver Berry and 13 more

Lonely Planet's Great Britain is our most comprehensive guide that extensively covers all the region has to offer, with recommendations for both popular and lesser-known experiences. Puzzle the mysteries of Stonehenge, sip whisky in Scotland, and hike the mountains of Wales; all with your trusted travel companion.

Inside Lonely Planet's Great Britain Travel Guide:

Lonely Planet's Top Picks - a visually inspiring collection of the destination's best experiences and where to have them

Itineraries help you build the ultimate trip based on your personal needs and interests
Local insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - whether it's history, people, music, landscapes, wildlife, politics

Eating and drinking - get the most out of your gastronomic experience as we reveal the regional dishes and drinks you have to try

Toolkit - all of the planning tools for solo travellers, LGBTQIA+ travellers, family travellers and accessible travel

Colour maps and images throughout
Language - essential phrases and language tips

Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots

Covers

England

London, Canterbury, Southeast England, Oxford and the Cotswolds, Bath, Bristol, Somerset, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Isles of Scilly, Cambridge, East Anglia, Birmingham, the Midlands, Yorkshire, Manchester, Liverpool, Northwest England, The Lake District, Newcastle, Northeast England

Wales

Cardiff (Caerdydd), Pembrokeshire, South Wales, Brecon Beacons, Mid-Wales, Snowdonia and North Wales

Scotland

Edinburgh, Glasgow, Southern Scotland, Stirling, Central Scotland, Inverness, Northern Highlands and Islands

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Inbuilt dictionary for quick referencing

About Lonely Planet:

Lonely Planet, a Red Ventures Company, is the world's number one travel guidebook brand. Providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973, Lonely Planet reaches hundreds of millions of travellers each year online and in print and helps them unlock amazing experiences. Visit us at lonelyplanet.com and join our community of followers on Facebook (facebook.com/lonelyplanet), Twitter (@lonelyplanet), Instagram (instagram.com/lonelyplanet), and TikTok (@lonelyplanet).

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Lonely Planet
• Release date: Nov 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781837582198

Book preview

Front CoverLonely Planet Logo

GREAT BRITAIN

MapHow To Use This eBook

Contents

Plan Your Trip

The Journey Begins Here

Great Britain Map

Our Picks

Regions & Cities

Trip Builders

When to Go

Get Prepared

The Food Scene

The Outdoors

The Guide

London

The West End

The City

The South Bank

Shoreditch & East London

Camden & North London

Greenwich

Peckham & South London

Notting Hill & West London

Richmond & Southwest London

Canterbury & the Southeast

Canterbury

Brighton

Winchester

Isle of Wight

Oxford, the Cotswolds & the Thames Valley

Oxford

Burford & the Cotswolds

Cirencester & Around

Cheltenham

Windsor & Eton

The Chiltern Hills

Bristol, Bath & Southwest England

Bristol

Bath

Wells

The Mendips

Glastonbury

Exmoor

Salisbury

Bournemouth

Dorchester

Jurassic Coast

Devon & Cornwall

Exeter

Plymouth

North Devon

Padstow

St Ives

Falmouth

Fowey

Cambridge & East Anglia

Cambridge

Norwich

The Suffolk Coast

The Wool Towns

Birmingham & the Midlands

Birmingham

Stratford-upon-Avon

The Shropshire Hills

Hereford

The Peak District

Nottingham

Lincoln

Yorkshire

York

Yorkshire Dales National Park

Whitby

Haworth & Brontë Country

East Riding

Manchester, Liverpool & Northwest England

Manchester

Chester

Liverpool & the Wirral

Isle of Man

The Lakes, Cumbria & the Northeast

Keswick

Windermere & Bowness

The Cumbrian Coast

The Lakes to the Borderlands

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Northumberland Coast

Cardiff & South Wales

Cardiff

Swansea & the Gower

Brecon Beacons National Park

St Davids

Tenby & Saundersfoot

North Wales & Mid-Wales

Llanberis

Llŷn Peninsula

Llandudno & Northeast Wales

Isle of Anglesey (Ynys Môn)

Aberystwyth

Southern Snowdonia

Edinburgh

Old Town

Holyrood & Arthur’s Seat

New Town

West End & Beyond

Stockbridge & Leith

South Edinburgh

Glasgow & Southern Scotland

Glasgow

Upper Tweed Valley

Troon

Dumfries & Galloway

Central Scotland

Oban & the Southern Islands

Loch Lomand & The Trossachs National Park

Stirling

St Andrews

Aberdeen & Royal Deeside

The Highlands & Islands

Inverness

Cairngorms National Park

Nevis Range

Skye

Ullapool

Lewis & Harris

Caithness

Orkney

Shetland

Toolkit

Arriving

Getting Around

Money

Accommodation

Family Travel

Health & Safe Travel

Food, Drink & Nightlife

Responsible Travel

LGBTIQ+ Travellers

Accessible Travel

Languages

Nuts & Bolts

Storybook

A History of Great Britain in 15 Places

Meet the British

A Divided Kingdom?

Sporting Britain

The Markings of the Land

The Perfect Pint

Britain’s Post-Industrial Revolution

Rewilding Britain

This Book

GREAT BRITAIN

THE JOURNEY BEGINS HERE

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Neist Point Lighthouse, Isle of Skye | Westend61/GETTY IMAGES ©

I remember sobbing my heart out as a child as our plane touched the runway at Gatwick. Gone were the holidays, the heat, and the mystery and magic of the world beyond. We were back in grey, boring Britain – or so I thought. I travelled for years to escape these shores, but they tugged me back. Ten years ago, I returned home – to friends and family. And I saw my own country with fresh, enlightened eyes. I revisited London as a tourist, spent a spell living in the northwest Highlands of Scotland (beautiful beyond belief) and now call Mid-Wales (the wild unknown) home.

Britain is unlike anywhere else on earth. Nowhere else bombards you with such history, royal heritage, art, culture, food, natural beauty, humour and eccentricity in quite the same way. The country is but a tiny speck on the world map, but it’s all here right in Britain. And it’s great.

Kerry Walker

@kerryawalker

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My favourite experience is gazing up at some of the country’s darkest, starriest skies in the Brecon Beacons, as the valleys are rocked to sleep by the bleat of a thousand sheep.

WHO GOES WHERE

Our writers and experts choose the places that, for them, define Great Britain.

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Ana Iacob Photography/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

It could be a Neolithic burial chamber in a farmer’s field. Or an ancient holy well. A medieval castle, even. But whatever intrigues you on the Isle of Anglesey, pull at its thread. Yank it from the ground as the wet sod crumbles away. Drag it out further and suddenly you’ve got the whole of Wales’ history – its culture, myths and language – spilling out of your hands like spaghetti.

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Daniel Fahey

@FaheyDaniel

Daniel is a travel and culture journalist.

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For me, no trip to Britain is complete without a drive along Scotland’s spectacular Drumbeg Loop. Which is a problem, as it’s located right at the northwestern tip of mainland Britain, so it’s not a ‘pop in’ kind of place. However, the heart-stopping Highland scenery along the loop – all sharp-toothed mountains, mist-wrapped lochs and Aruba-esque white-sand beaches – guarantees that the destination is always worth the journey.

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Joseph Reaney

@JoeMReaney, josephreaney.com

Joseph is a travel journalist and comedy writer who divides his time between the UK and the Czech Republic.

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Pierre Longnus/GETTY IMAGES ©

The Inner Hebrides is the best playground any island-hopper could ask for. I have found my ‘happy place’ many times across these idyllic isles: sipping smoky drams by the sea at sunset, feasting on freshly caught seafood, watching puffins potter at my feet, and soaking up the serenity on windswept white-sand beaches. The adventure begins on the ferry and these moments stay with you long after you leave.

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Kay Gillespie

@thechaoticscot

Kay explores Scotland for a living and shares her experiences online.

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James Warwick/Getty Images ©

Shetland is my blood and will always be my one true love. The best place to feel the pure elemental energy of the islands is at Hermaness in Unst, Britain’s most northerly point. It’s a land where nature and landscape collide in a chattering blur of seabirds and soaring cliffs, and where puffins dance on clifftops as gannets glide overhead. There truly is no greater place on Earth.

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Laurie Goodlad

@shetlandwithlaurie

Laurie is a Shetlander, travel writer, historian and tour guide who is passionate about preserving the cultural heritage of Scotland’s rural and island communities.

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Alisha Bube/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

The Isle of Skye has the charcoal-black and rust-red Cuillin Hills, the cloudy blue sea around the Elgol Peninsula, and the evergreen of the Fairy Glen landslip. But my favourite spot glows with another colour entirely — silver-white. This is the half-secret Coral Beach, and to walk along its shore from Claigan is to see Scotland’s most popular island as few travellers do.

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Mike MacEacheran

@MikeMacEacheran

Mike MacEacheran is an award-winning freelance travel journalist.

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tony mills/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Even the name grabs your attention and makes you want to go there: the Rocks of Solitude. One of my favourite walks begins by passing through a blue door in a stone wall to enter a magical woodland. The path leads along the River North Esk as it crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, passing through narrow waterfall-filled gorges to reach a secluded, swirling pool – the perfect escape.

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Neil Wilson

@neil3965

Neil is a travel writer who lives in Perthshire and has covered Scotland for Lonely Planet for more than 20 years.

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cktravels.com/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Brighton is a city where people are not afraid to be themselves, and this allows creativity to thrive. The hopeful optimism underlying the city’s positive actions towards embracing diversity and combating climate change represents the best of England to me. Perhaps it’s all the fresh sea air and wholesome vegetarian food, but this is a place that feels alive. When there’s a gale blowing, grab your kit and go kitesurfing.

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Isabel Albiston

@isabel_albiston

Isabel is a writer who spends as much time as she can in St Leonard’s on the East Sussex coast.

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Kathleenjean/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

For me, nowhere sums up the wildness – and the weirdness – of Cornwall quite like the far west, specifically the Penwith Peninsula. It’s stark, strange, windswept and littered with mysterious ancient monuments, and it has some of the most jaw-dropping stretches of coastline anywhere in Britain. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve walked along the coast around Zennor, Pendeen and Botallack, but I never get tired of it. It’s magic.

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Oliver Berry

@olivertomberry, oliverberry.com

Oliver Berry is a travel and nature writer based in Cornwall, and the co-author of all Lonely Planet’s previous Devon & Cornwall guides.

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Nicola Pulham/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

My favourite experience is paddleboarding from Dedham to Flatford Mill – this stretch of the River Stour has hardly changed since I used to kayak here aged seven.

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Joe Bindloss

bindloss.co.uk

Joe has been writing for Lonely Planet and other publishers, magazines and newspapers for 25 years, covering everywhere from Britain to Bhutan.

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Loop Images/GETTY IMAGES ©

Exmoor is one of my favourite places to walk in England. There’s so much natural diversity in such a relatively small area. There are some lovely trails across the top of the moor, but nothing beats a salt-stung hike along England’s highest cliffs. Every rise reveals a view more frameable than the last. I’ve walked Exmoor’s entire coastline, but the memory that always jumps out is swooping down Countisbury Hill to Lynmouth, the harbour twinkling far below in the afternoon sun.

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Keith Drew

@keithdrewtravel

Keith is a travel writer who grew up in Somerset and is currently walking the South West Coast Path.

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vichie81/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

There’s no mistaking that water plays a significant role in the makeup of the northwest of England. From the Irish Sea hugging the Isle of Man, the Mersey kissing the Wirral and the canal 36 miles to the inland port at Manchester, the waterways tell the story of the region’s wealth, development, dark past and decline. Walk along the promenade in New Brighton to see Liverpool’s changing skyline, from the dockland cranes to the Three Graces.

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Sarah Irving

theurbanwanderer.co.uk

Sarah writes about travel, culture and the outdoors. She’s especially interested in a destination’s overlooked and unusual features.

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Tomas Marek/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Those big moments of a trip to London – the highlights such as the tower of Big Ben and St Paul’s Cathedral – leave an impression. After a decade here, I still pinch myself every time I walk across Waterloo Bridge. But the stories you take home come from the quiet places, unexpected connections and Londoners’ up-for-it-all attitude. Perhaps it’s a cliché, but Samuel Johnson was right: ‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.’

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Lauren Keith

@noplacelike_it

Lauren is a travel writer and adopted Londoner who loves shining the spotlight on obscure and offbeat places.

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Delpixel/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

At first glance, there’s a harshness to Dartmoor’s landscapes that some might think hard to love. But there’s something about these wide, windswept moors, with their scrub grass shorn to stubble by free-roaming sheep. There’s wild beauty, and a whispered promise of adventure: you feel it amid the tangles of shivering purple heather and in the soft silence of the moss-carpeted woodlands. I’ve travelled the globe, but that untamed land still thrills me like nowhere else.

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Emily Luxton

@em_luxton, emilyluxton.co.uk

Emily is a writer and travel blogger focusing on solo female travel and adventure.

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right: Serge Freeman/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

The ‘city of 1000 trades’ was Birmingham’s evocative nickname during the Industrial Revolution, though most of its howling foundries have long since disappeared. However, the city’s handsome Jewellery Quarter neighbourhood – my own neighbourhood – still retains many of its old Georgian houses and Victorian factories, but now is dotted with low-lit bars and friendly cafes. I love walking from languid St Paul’s Sq up past the cast-iron Chamberlain Clock, where the ghosts of Birmingham’s mighty past mingle with a dynamic youthful city.

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James March

@jmarchtravel

James is a travel writer based in Birmingham.

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iLongLoveKing/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Bamburgh Castle is an icon of the northeast. Sitting atop Great Whin Sill, a shelf of volcanic dolerite running through Northumbria, Cumbria and Durham like a connecting artery, it’s been central to thousands of years of its history. Overlooking a dramatic coast and the austere Farne Islands, this site has been occupied by the Normans, Anglo-Saxons, Britons and prehistoric ‘Northumbrians’. It’s usually been crowned with an emphatic fortress like the Norman one that stands there to this day.

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Hugh McNaughtan

Hugh is a former English lecturer who managed to massage his love of writing, travel and history into his day job.

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valeriiaarnaud/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

There is something magical about the descent into Robin Hood’s Bay – a stroll so steep that it requires serious concentration. Spindly cobbled lanes lead to cosy pubs and hidden fisher cottages that once stashed smugglers’ contraband along the wild, contrary Yorkshire Coast. As the North Sea rears into view at the very bottom of the village, it’s hard to avoid the temptation of a pint in the Bay Hotel before clambering over the beach poking in the rock to find salt-encrusted crabs.

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Lorna Parkes

@Lorna_Explorer

Lorna is a travel journalist, food lover and adopted Yorkshire lass.

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Mistervlad/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

In the Thames Valley, at the base of the Chiltern Hills, the awe-inspiring Windsor Castle overlooks a passing parade of river boats. Historic villages brim with world-class dining and friendly pubs. You can kayak, SUP or swim in the river near Hurley Lock, and walk its meandering riverside path. But best of all, the Thames Valley is so accessible, with trains zipping into London, and Heathrow just a few miles down the road.

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Tasmin Waby

clippings.me/tasminwaby

Tasmin is a writer and editor who pens articles and guidebooks for Lonely Planet, while bringing up two future explorers of the world, in her chosen home city: London.

Country Map

VILLAGE DREAMS

Regions to Explore

You’ll find ridiculously pretty villages all over the country, but Suffolk, the Cotswolds, the Yorkshire Moors and Dales, Snowdonia and the Lake District are real honeypots.

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Lavenham | Randy Runtsch/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

The Perfect Pub

Not every village has a shop, post office or church, but most have a pub. In rural communities, the pub is often the best place to get local news.

BEST VILLAGE EXPERIENCES

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Marvel at the medieval beauty of Lavenham 1 in Suffolk, a feast of wonky, pastel-painted, timber-framed houses topped off by a cathedral-like church.

Watch the River Colwyn flow through pretty Beddgelert 2, with its scattering of grey-stone cottages, ivy-draped bridge and enchanting location at the foot of Snowdon.

Step into a period drama as you roam the honey-hued lanes and bridges over the River Windrush in the Cotswolds’ Bourton-on-the-Water 3.

Gasp as you clap eyes on the whitewashed conservation village of Plockton 4 on the Munro-rimmed shores of Loch Carron in the northwest Highlands.

Get a real flavour of the Yorkshire Dales in Hawes 5, home to the Wensleydale Creamery – the heartland of Yorkshire’s most famous cheese.

FABULOUS FESTIVALS

Party-mad Britain loves to let its hair down. Whether they are rocking in their wellies to emerging bands in a wet field, feeling the samba beats of carnival, embracing edgy arts, gorging on food, or gazing up to star-spangled dark skies and fireworks, the Brits seize upon any excuse for a good festival.

Festival Season

Festivals step up in summer, when you’ll find them all over the country, from village fairs to coastal food festivals and some of the world’s biggest concerts.

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Stokkete/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Advance Tickets

For big-name events, it’s wise to book tickets well ahead. Some sell out as much as six months in advance. Websites keep you updated.

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marietta peros/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Offbeat Festivals

Cast your net wider than the towns and cities to tune into obscure, wonderful, culturally enlightening little festivals held in Britain’s remotest reaches.

BEST FESTIVAL EXPERIENCES

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Dive into the world’s largest arts festival, the Edinburgh Fringe 1, which wows with acrobats, comedians, dancers, bagpipers, buskers and fire-breathers in August.

See the rainbow flag fly high at Brighton & Hove Pride 2 in August, the UK’s biggest LGBTQ+ bash with a parade and concerts in Preston Park.

Get your groove on at June’s world-famous Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts 3, with legendary music sets, carnival sideshows and the maddest of vibes.

Feel the nautical spirit of Cornwall in drunken sailors’ song at the quayside Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival 4 in June.

Taste the bounty of the Brecon Beacons at the Abergavenny Food Festival 5 in September, one of the UK’s biggest, with stalls, street food, cookery demos and celeb chefs all doing their thing.

HOW OUR GARDENS GROW

Want to know the Brits? Take a peek into their gardens. This nation is garden-obsessed. In summer you’ll hear the happy hum of bees and lawnmowers. In spring you’ll see locals knee-deep in the dirt, nurturing tiny seedlings, pruning roses, tending vegetable patches. And if they’re not busy growing, you might find them strolling and picnicking in grand gardens that were once the pleasure grounds of palaces, castles and stately manor houses.

Great Minds

Many British artists, poets, writers and great thinkers sought refuge in their gardens, among them Winston Churchill (Chartwell in Kent) and Beatrix Potter (Hill Top in the Lake District; pictured).

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Hulton Archive/GETTY IMAGES

Cottage Gardens

The English cottage garden is a mix of ornamental and edible, with flower beds, vegetables, orchards and medicinal herbs. Favourite blooms include foxgloves, lavender, honeysuckle, delphiniums and roses.

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andersphoto/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Landscaped Gardens

The French thought they’d nailed it with their formal gardens, but English landscape gardener Capability Brown (1716-1783) rewrote the rulebook, returning to nature with rolling lawns, groves of trees and follies.

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National Botanic Garden of Wales | Billy Stock/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

BEST GARDEN EXPERIENCES

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Immerse yourself in London’s Kew Gardens 1, exploring its arboretum, Victorian Palm House, Great Pagoda, treetop walkway and LED beehive.

Be enchanted by hill views, Regency-style water features and Norman Foster’s Great Glasshouse at the National Botanic Garden of Wales 2.

Admire renowned pieces – including works by local heroes Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore – at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park 3 in 18th-century Bretton Park estate.

Breathe in North Devon’s sweet-scented 65-acre heaven, RHS Rosemoor 4, with spring cherry blossom and autumn leaf peeping.

Wonder at the Duke’s Italian garden, secret garden, water terraces and rose gardens of Blenheim Palace 5 in Oxfordshire.

ECCENTRIC NATION

Driving on the left. Drinking warm beer, and tea with milk. Eating Marmite (and enjoying it). Walking in the rain. Patiently queueing. Wearing crazy hats to horse races. Blame it on the dreary weather or their self-deprecating sense of humour, but Britain is a nation of eccentrics who delight in being, well, that bit different.

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Edinburgh’s Loony Dook | Alpix1/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Little Rituals

Observe eccentric old-fashioned rituals such as afternoon tea at a country manor, where you can eat your own weight in sandwiches and cake.

Bonkers Events

What other nation makes a competitive sport out of (plastic) duck racing, cheese rolling, gravy wresting, bog snorkelling, gurning (pulling silly faces) and conker fighting?

BEST ECCENTRIC EXPERIENCES

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Wear fancy dress in the freezing waters of the Firth of Firth at Edinburgh’s Loony Dook 1 on New Year’s Day, a surefire way to banish the Hogmanay hangover.

Take a trip through colour-popping Portmeirion Village 2 in North Wales. It’s Tuscany on acid.

Watch folk carry flaming tar barrels through the streets of Ottery St Mary 3 in November.

Stick on a novelty hat, pop on a snorkel and jump into a turbid peat bog at August’s World Bog Snorkelling Championships 4 in Llanwrtyd Wells.

Discover the Forbidden Corner 5 at the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, a scare-fest folly garden with subterranean installations.

THE GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME

Aiming high to reach its 2050 net-zero target, Britain has never been greener. Offshore wind farms are getting the green light, e-vehicles are increasingly common, and many cities, towns and villages are rewilding parks, fields and coastal areas, restoring wildlife habitats and keeping the focus on community as they head towards a cleaner, greener future.

Eco Travel

Ferries and Eurostar trains link Britain to the rest of Europe. Consult local tourism and national-park websites for details on exploring without a car.

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TungCheung/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Green Escapes

Camping, glamping, a night in a treehouse or eco-friendly B&B – there are so many options. The Green Key label indicates businesses with eco credentials.

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Dmitry Naumov/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Go Local

Many high streets now have restaurants emphasising sustainably sourced produce and zero-waste shops. Farm shops and farmers’ markets ensure your money goes into community pockets.

BEST GREEN EXPERIENCES

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Discover striking glass-domed biomes that recreate major world climate systems from the Amazon rainforest to Mediterranean olive groves at Devon’s Eden Project 1.

Be in awe of the wonderfully wild Isle of Eigg 2, a Scottish island that’s a pioneer in sustainable living, producing all of its own energy from renewable sources.

Tune into the eco groove of Totnes 3 in Devon, the world’s first transition town, with a community forging a green, sustainable future.

Explore organic gardens and sustainably managed woodland and see renewable energy in action at Machynlleth’s Centre for Alternative Technology 4.

Try edible insects, seashore foraging and low-impact sports such as kayaking and coasteering in the eco-minded Pembrokeshire town of St Davids 5

THE GRAPE & GRAIN

The British drinks scene has gone through the roof. Suddenly everyone is busy growing hops to pep up craft beer, tending vines to make fizz that can give Champagne a run for its money, and foraging for one-of-a-kind botanicals that go into small-batch gins. Microbreweries, wineries and distilleries are popping up faster than you can say ‘Cheers!’. Seen through the regional lens of a glass or bottle, Britain’s becoming an increasingly exciting and imaginative place.

Tours & Tastings

Deepen your appreciation of British wine, beer, gin or whisky with a tour or tasting at a winery, brewery or distillery. Some even have accommodation.

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barmalini/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Wine Regions

As the climate warms, British wine is dramatically improving. Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Cornwall are great places to pop a cork.

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Barbara Wheeler/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Whisky Galore

There are distilleries all over Scotland, but Speyside and the islands of Islay and Jura are hotspots. Some of the biggest names in whisky-making are found here.

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Talisker Distillery | Lukassek/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

BEST DRINKS EXPERIENCES

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Pick botanicals in the gardens and craft your own gin at Ripley Castle 1 in a gorgeous village in North Yorkshire.

Raise a toast to Welsh wine and stay the night among the vines at Llanerch Vineyard2 in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Tour the high-tech kit and enjoy a tutored tasting at Victorian Adnams Brewery3 in the lovely coastal town of Southwold in Suffolk.

Enjoy a dram at Talisker 4, Skye’s oldest distillery (established 1830), which produces a smoky single malt.

Tour family-run Camel Valley Vineyard 5 in Bodmin, Cornwall, and sip award-winning whites and rosés, and a bubbly that’s Champagne in all but name.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

For such a tiny, densely populated region, Britain is truly wild. Stray from the cities and in no time you’ll find yourself atop hills, up craggy mountains and on lonely, wind-beaten moors, at coastal headlands facing the fury of the Atlantic and in ancient woodlands where it’s quiet enough to hear your own heartbeat.

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Dartmoor National Park | paula french/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Seasonal Highs

In spring, bluebells mist woods and migratory birds arrive. Summer is prime time for coastal wildlife (dolphins, puffins). Come in autumn for seal pups and rutting stags.

National Parks

From Dartmoor to Snowdonia, the Peak District to the Trossachs, Britain’s parks are springboards into the outdoors, with trails, dark skies and wildlife-spotting galore.

BEST WILDLIFE EXPERIENCES

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Get close to puffins and Manx shearwaters on the cliff-rimmed island of Skomer 1 in Pembrokeshire.

Spot wild ponies among the mossy boulders and mist-enshrouded tors of Dartmoor National Park 2.

Search for Scotland’s ‘big five’ – deer, otter, red squirrel, seal and golden eagle – and Britain’s only free-ranging herd of reindeer in the Cairngorms National Park 3.

Glimpse rare wildlife such as wild boars, pine martens and goshawks in the ancient broadleaf woods of the Forest of Dean 4 in Gloucestershire.

Bring binoculars to spy grey seals, dolphins, whales, porpoises, puffins and a feast of migratory birds on ‘Britain’s Galapagos’, Lundy Island 5.

IN HIGH SPIRITS

Millennia of Celtic saints and blister-footed pilgrims, bishops, monks, nuns, pious royals and nobles have left their indelible mark on Britain in the form of magnificent abbeys, cathedrals, churches and pilgrimage trails. Some of the country’s most astonishing buildings were wrought for divine glory and still send souls spiralling to heaven today.

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makasana photo/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Evensong

One of the most atmospheric and uplifting ways to experience Britain’s cathedrals is to hear them reverberate with music at choral evensong, usually held around 5pm.

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Tom Lindsey/Alamy Stock Photo ©

Pilgrim’s Progress

Pilgrimage in Britain is booming as people seek space and solace post-Covid. Journeys include the Pilgrims’ Way (Winchester to Canterbury) and northeastern Britain’s six Northern Saints Trails.

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G_D Photography/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

BEST SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES

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Feel the weight of 1400 years of history gazing up at the vast dome of St Paul’s Cathedral 1, Christopher Wren’s 300-year-old masterpiece.

Make the pilgrimage over storm-tossed seas to wild Bardsey Island 2 in North Wales, where 20,000 saints are said to lie buried.

Experience a hair-standing-on-end moment attending evensong at Canterbury Cathedral 3, the mother ship of the Anglican Church, attracting pilgrims in their thousands.

Ramble around the beautifully preserved ruins and landscaped water gardens of Fountains Abbey 4 in Yorkshire, the Cistercian monks’ most successful mission in England.

Explore the mythical ruins of Glastonbury Abbey 5, believed to be the final resting place of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere.

ON THE TRAIL

Only in Britain do you see muffled-up hikers stomping through bog, hail, wind, fog and driving rain and apparently loving it. Brits believe that chucking on boots and braving the wicked weather is good for the soul. Thousands of miles of footpaths, rights of way and long-distance hiking trails web the country, clambering up ragged peaks, over misty, heather-flecked moors and through meadows, river valleys and ancient woodlands. To see Britain’s most beautiful corners, hit the trail.

National Trails

Sixteen national trails weave through glorious countryside, from the Norfolk Coast Path’s wide-open skies to the mighty earthworks of Offa’s Dyke on the Anglo-Welsh border.

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Jason Wells/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Peak Performance

Many of Britain’s mountains shoot dramatically from sea to summit. The Scottish Highlands, Snowdonia in North Wales (pictured) and the fell-dotted Lake District are prime peak-bagging country.

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Kath Watson/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Hiking Season

The British weather is notoriously fickle, and that goes double on high ground. Summer is best, with warmer, longer days. Bring waterproofs for spontaneous downpours year-round.

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Lake District | fotoVoyager/GETTY IMAGES ©

BEST WALKING EXPERIENCES

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Ramble through Britain’s lonely wilds on the Pennine Way 1, stretching 268 miles from the Peak District to the Scottish Lowlands.

Walk in the Romans’ footsteps on the 84-mile, coast-to-coast Hadrian’s Wall Path 2 from Newcastle upon Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway.

Survey the Lake District’s tapestry of fells, valleys and lakes from Scafell Pike 3(978m), England’s highest mountain.

Embrace Skye’s thrillingly wild coast as you hike to the Old Man of Storr pinnacle 4 on the Trotternish peninsula.

Follow the Thames for 185 miles from its source in the Cotswolds to the heart of London on the Thames Path 5.

POST-INDUSTRIAL BRITAIN

Britain has been forged by the iron, coal, slate, tin and steel from its mines, quarries and factories. Now post-industrial cities, towns and valleys are fizzing with newfound confidence and creativity. Mines are becoming visitor attractions, quarries adventure centres, and abandoned factories, warehouses, railway depots and shipping containers cool cafes, restaurants, bars, microbreweries and boutique hotels.

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Battersea Power Station | Claudio Divizia/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Adventure Central

Wales has (sometimes literally) turned industry on its head, with pulse-racing adventures such as Zip World’s zip lines over abandoned quarries and giant trampolines in disused mines.

Northern Vibes

Nowhere has the post-industrial transformation been more total than in cities such as Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool and Newcastle, now some of the country’s hottest cultural hubs.

BEST POST-INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCES

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Be blown away by Unesco-listed Salts Mill 1 in Saltaire, Yorkshire, with a David Hockney gallery inside what was once the world’s largest factory.

Take a romp through London’s Battersea Power Station 2, whose turbine halls now house shops, bars and restaurants, 40 years after the lights went off.

Tune into transport at Zaha Hadid’s striking Riverside Museum 3 on Glasgow’s revamped Clyde Waterfront.

Find thumping nightlife, hip restaurants, crafts, street food and architecture by the Tyne at Newcastle’s reenergised Quayside 4.

Go deep underground with former miners and hear their humorous, heart-breaking stories at Big Pit 5 in Blaenavon, Wales.

URBAN DREAMS

London is its ace, but Britain has a winning hand of culture-loaded cities that enthral with phenomenal museums and on-the-pulse art, music, literature and food scenes. Each has its own unique flavour: from street-art-splashed Bristol to fantastically medieval York and post-industrial-cool Manchester. Leap into the urban to feel the energy that fuels Britain’s creative fire.

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Alastair Wallace/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Museum Visits

You can spend the entire day absorbing art and history in galleries around the country. Many permanent collections are free, but book ahead for big-hitter temporary exhibitions.

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Anna LevAan/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Hallowed Halls

Thames-boat-race rivals Oxford and Cambridge chart centuries of academic excellence with their sublime Gothic colleges, dreaming spires, libraries and bookshop-lined streets.

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AllMarkOne Ltd/shutterstock ©

BEST URBAN EXPERIENCES

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Roam cloisters, hear chapel choirs sing and marvel at the Gothic grandeur of King’s College in Cambridge 1, a seat of learning since 1441.

Track down The Mild Mild West Banksy mural in the backstreets of Stokes Croft on a street-art tour of Bristol 2.

Museum hop around London 3, from Tate Modern’s powerhouse to the epic British Museum winging you back to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Dive into Liverpool 4, the dynamic maritime city with Beatles exhibitions at the Museum of Liverpool and photo ops on the waterfront.

Feel Scotland’s historic heartbeat with a romp along medieval streets, up to the crag-top castle and beyond to Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh 5.

THE SEA, THE SEA

Britain’s epic, seemingly endless coastline is one of its greatest draws. The sun doesn’t always shine, but who cares? Its flour-white beaches, wind and wave-battered cliffs, dunes, lonely lighthouses and craggy headlands are ravishing. And they are accessible too. Trails already exist around the coastlines of Wales, Scotland and the South West, and now they are joined by the new England Coast Path, which, at 2795 miles long, is set to be the world’s longest when fully completed.

Beach Heaven

There are stunning beaches all over Britain, but you’ll certainly rave about the ones in Cornwall, Devon, Wales and Scotland (especially the islands).

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Anthony Clausen/Getty Images ©

Trip Planning

Summer is best for weather and water sports, but spring and autumn are ideal for crowd-dodging on coastal trails. Winters are often quiet, stormy and magical.

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10c_Photoclub/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Island Escapes

Britain is made up of more than 6000 islands. From the Isle of Wight to Shetland and Orkney, you could spend a lifetime island-hopping and never see them all.

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Stack Rocks, Pembrokeshire Coast Path | Billy Stock/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

BEST COASTAL EXPERIENCES

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Hunt for fossilised ammonites among the rocks of Dorset’s 185-million-year-old Jurassic Coast 1.

See the cream of the coast in Cornwall and Devon as you hop from one bay to the next on the 630-mile South West Coast Path 2.

Crash on the wave-lashed sands of Sandwood Bay 3, south of Cape Wrath, one of Scotland’s best and most isolated beaches.

Take a boat over to the blissfully crowd-free Isles of Scilly 4, where sublime beaches and a subtropical climate await.

Hike over gorse-clad cliff to castaway cove and quaint fishing village on the 186-mile, upliftingly lovely Pembrokeshire Coast Path 5.

REGIONS & CITIES

Find the places that tick all your boxes.

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ITINERARIES

Centrepieces of Southeast England

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Allow: 5 Days    Distance: 232 miles

This Sonic-like sweep of southeast England collects all the golden rings that make this historic, bucolic and, in plenty of places, iconic region so delightful. From stirring cathedrals to near-endless coastline, you’ll spend much of your time in awe of what humankind and nature can both achieve.

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Canterbury Cathedral | makasana photo/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

1 LONDON 2 DAYS

You could spend a month in the English capital and still not feel as though you’d seen enough. Stuffed to the ceiling with museums, bursting at the belt with restaurants to rave about, and with enough nocturnal naughtiness to keep half the world partying – you certainly won’t be bored. For starters, visit the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and Shakespeare’s Globe.

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Claudio Divizia/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

2 CANTERBURY 1 DAY

Home to one of Europe’s finest cathedrals, this venerated city has attracted pilgrims for centuries. Now they come for the cobbled shopping streets and a food-and-drink scene that Thomas Becket would’ve died for.

Detour: Visit Dover’s White Cliffs, the protruding chalk veneers invaders first saw when crossing the Channel, and the town’s 12th-century castle. 3½ hours.

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Christine Bird/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

3 BRIGHTON 1 DAY

This hedonistic seaside party city is England’s unofficial LGBTQ+ capital. From fish and chips along the pier to an astonishing Indian-style pleasure palace – there’s nowhere quite like Brighton. Soak up the atmosphere during the day in the labyrinthine lanes and relax on the pebbled beach before hitting the bars and clubs at night.

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Delia_Suvari/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

4 WINCHESTER 1 DAY

Once the capital of England, Winchester has a wonderful Gothic cathedral, plus a fantastic 11th-century Great Hall that formed part of a castle. The South Downs Way trailhead starts here too.

Detour: Cathedral completists should pop into charming Chichester en route to Winchester from Brighton. West Sussex’s only city also boasts Fishbourne Roman Palace, England’s most intact Roman villa.

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Sterling Images/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

ITINERARIES

England’s Northern Soul

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Allow: 8 days    Distance: 352 miles

It doesn’t get more rock and roll(ing hills) than this: three of Northern England’s finest cities; two musical powerhouses; and enough fresh national-park air to help you recover from whatever night-time naughtiness you get up to in Manchester and Liverpool. Hit it! A one-two, a one-two-three-four…

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1 MANCHESTER 2 DAYS

Twenty-four-hour party people could just about squeeze Manchester’s must-dos into a day, but give it two. A hotbed of cultural, historical and political progression, it will get your brain synapses sparking at one of its excellent museums (try the Manchester Art Gallery or the Science & Industry Museum). There’s endless good food and great gig venues too. Have we mentioned its football teams?

2 LIVERPOOL 1 DAY

Liverpool won’t let you down. It’s home to the Beatles, so pay homage with a Magical Mystery Tour of the Fab Four’s top sights. Then duck into the Albert Docks or the International Slavery Museum. With its wicked bars, innovative restaurants and two of the North’s best museums (Walker Art Gallery and World Museum), you could spend longer here.

3 WINDERMERE & Bowness 1 DAY

It’s hiking time! These charming twin towns are the gateway to the Lake District. Don’t miss Windermere, England’s largest lake. This beacon of tranquility with Michelin-starred restaurants nearby feels like a real treat.

Detour: The Yorkshire Dales are equally appealing. For a hike and a pint, trek from Keld to the Tan Hill Inn, England’s highest pub. 6 hours.

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Lake Windermere | Garry Basnett/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

4 YORK 2 DAYS

Visiting York is like opening a time capsule. Inside its 13th-century defensive walls are layers and layers of history. Crooked medieval streets, thin ginnels and snickets (small back alleys), the hulking York Minster, hidden banqueting halls, half-timbered houses…you name it – if it belongs in a history book, it’s probably here in York. The city is stuffed with first-rate museums too.

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vichie81/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

5 WHITBY 1 DAY

Providing a safe harbour for horror fans, Goths and sea-daring British families, alternative Whitby was the inspiration behind Bram Stoker’s Dracula. One glance at its giant abbey – now a skeleton – tells you why.

Detour: Take a scholarly sidestep to Durham for its vast cathedral – the first in Europe to be roofed with stone-ribbed vaulting – and its castle-turned-university. 4 hours.

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Neal Rylatt/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

6 HADRIAN’S WALL 1 DAY

It’s possible to walk the entire 73-mile length of this ancient engineering marvel marking the edge of the Roman Empire. Head for Wallsend, near Newcastle, which is, erm, the end of the wall. The Segedunum Roman Fort here is a great primer.

Detour: Reached via a tidal causeway, Lindisfarne as a holy island predates England itself. 2 hours.

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Dave Head/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

ITINERARIES

A Slalom Through Southwest & Central England

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Allow: 8 days    Distance: 750 miles

You’ll need the hips of a downhill skier to zigzag this slalom course between Bristol and Birmingham. Cutting tracks through rolling green rumps, past wonderful Regency architecture, through one of the world’s best university cities and past Shakespeare’s Stratford, this route has you racing through a thousand years in a week.

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1 BRISTOL 2 DAYS

Start in Bristol, the cool capital of the West Country, where thought-provoking museums and Brunel’s engineering brilliance (Clifton Suspension Bridge, SS Great Britain) collide with Britain’s best street art by Banksy.

Detour: Stop at Glastonbury – even if you haven’t got tickets for the music festival. The ancient pilgrimage site turned New Age town may be the final resting place of King Arthur. 3 hours.

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Clifton Suspension Bridge | Sion Hannuna/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

2 BATH 1 DAY

Move on to Bath, England’s most striking Georgian city, which is home to impeccably preserved Roman Baths and some remarkable Regency-era architecture in soft honeycomb sandstone. The Jane Austen walking tour passes most of the highlights. Trot along and then soothe your soles with a soak in Bath’s natural thermal waters.

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Christian Mueller/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

3 OXFORD 1 DAY

Scholarly Oxford is as beautiful as it is brainy. Dripping in golden Gothic and baroque architecture like a grand old dame, its cobbled streets are filled with literary cubbyholes, olde-worlde pubs and some of England’s most engaging museums..

Detour: Zip between the thatched cottages, tiny churches and rolling rosemary-coloured rump of the Cotswolds, England’s idyll. 3½ hours.

4 HEREFORD 1 DAY

Nuzzled into the luscious Wye Valley, Hereford houses the Mappa Mundi, the world’s largest medieval map, inside its cathedral. Can’t get to grips with it? Try a cider from the surrounding orchards. That might help in deciphering it. Maybe.

Detour: Bath’s spa-ing partner Cheltenham is a refined 18th-century spa resort. Make time to swim in its outdoor, Grade-II-listed lido. 3 hours.

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travellight/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

5 STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 1 DAY

No prizes for guessing who was born here. Stratford is still very much Shakespeare’s stomping ground. You can see the Bard’s birthplace, school and final resting place. The world-class theatre and gin distillery that bear his name weren’t here when he was, but both are excellent.

Detour: Scored by the River Teme, lovely Ludlow is home to one of England’s first stone castles. 2 hours.

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gary718/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

6 BIRMINGHAM 2 DAYS

The Midlands’ biggest city has some world-class shopping, numerous Michelin-star restaurants, and craft-beer bars, plus canals that unfurl across the city and spill out into the countryside. Chuck in art galleries, graffiti by Banksy, ornate Victorian shopping arcades and the fabled Jewellery Quarter, and England’s industrial engine room gets visitors revved up.

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trabantos/Shutterstock ©

ITINERARIES

The Wonders of Wales

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Allow: 8 days    Distance: 310 miles

You could spend forever navigating the great green expanses of Wales, winding along its single-track lanes, hiking across its mountains, taking in its wild stretches of sand and exploring its mythical islands. This joyous week-long jaunt, however, takes in the best cities, countryside, castles and coastline without pausing for breath.

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1 CARDIFF 2 DAYS

Kick off your Welsh odyssey at the capital. Cardiff’s castle and Bute Park are must-dos – as is its the world-beating National Museum. The rest is dealer’s choice, but you won’t go wanting for good grub or excellent pubs. Spend half a day at Cardiff Bay, which fizzes with excellent museums, cool public art, hip cafes and some eye-popping architecture.

2 BRECON BEACONS NATIONAL PARK 2 DAYS

Spend a couple of days exploring the remote moors and brooding mountains of this splendid national park. Summit Pen-Y-Fan (886m) and consider a star-gazing stay-over. This part of South Wales is among Britain’s best spots for clear, dark skies.

Detour: Swansea lures in visitors with its tide of maritime heritage and the Dylan Thomas trail. 4 hours.

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Brecon Beacons | Murrissey72/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

3 ST DAVIDS 1 DAY

Birthplace of Wales’ patron saint, Britain’s smallest city – and it is tiny – somehow manages to hide a whopping cathedral inside a valley. Whether it can keep its exciting food scene, coastal hikes, beaches and wildlife-filled islands to itself is another matter.

Detour: Grab your knife and fork, loosen your belt and strike towards harbourside gourmand hotspot Aberaeron. 3 hours.

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BBA Photography/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

4 ABERYSTWYTH 1 DAY

Sprinkled with Michelin stars, inventive cocktails, three beaches and the country’s national library, this Victorian seaside student town ties together the traditional and the tomorrow. It’s Mid-Wales at its most metropolitan.

Detour: Riding roughshod over any notion of sensible town planning, the gorgeous rough-stone village of Dolgellau is a springboard for hiking Cader Idris and biking Coed y Brenin. 4 hours.

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Wirestock Creators/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

5 LLANBERIS 1 DAY

You’re here for one thing: to climb Snowdon. Lace up your boots, pack the essentials and head up to the summit. There are plenty of decent restaurants where you can refuel once you’re back down in town.

Detour: Check in on the colourful folly village of Portmeirion, designed by the Welsh architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis. 2 hours.

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Lilly Trott/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

6 CONWY 1 DAY

OK, you can’t miss Edward I’s imposing castle, but be sure to seek out Britain’s smallest house and the wonderfully preserved Elizabethan townhouse Plas Mawr too. Conwy also has Wales’ freshest mussels and arguably its best pub. Cheers!

Detour: The Isle of Anglesey has some of the best food and chefs in all Cymru. Make Menai Bridge your end-of-trip binge. 2 hours.

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lilly trott/Shutterstock ©

ITINERARIES

Highlights of Scotland

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Allow: 13 Days    Distance: 720 miles

Taking in the Highlands, two islands and three of its biggest cities – plus some of that fabled North Coast 500 driving – this two-week-long route shows off Scotland in all its glory. Like a good dram of whisky, sip it slowly, savour it and drink in the scenery.

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1 GLASGOW 2 DAYS

Welcome to the belly of the beast. Glasgow’s cultural dynamite includes incredible museums, brilliant bellyfillers, plus the kind of nightlife that sucks you in at dusk and spits you out at dawn.

Detour: Stop in on Stirling’s clifftop castle and the country’s best-surviving town wall to see why if you held Stirling, you controlled Scotland. 2 hours.

2 EDINBURGH 2 DAYS

Scotland’s vibrant capital Edinburgh has highlights including the renouned castle, the Royal Mile and all the haunts of the medieval Old Town.

Detour: There’s lots more besides in Dundee, but the stunning V&A Dundee design museum alone makes it worth the trip. 3 hours.

3 ABERDEEN 1 DAY

Northeastern Scotland’s powerhouse can be expensive, but its best bits are free. Pop in at the Maritime Museum, its art gallery and the 15th-century St Machar’s Cathedral.

Detour: Stop for a distillery tour in Speyside, Scotland’s whisky heartland. 3 hours

4 INVERNESS 1 DAY

One of Britain’s fastest-growing cities, riverside Inverness has an imposing hilltop castle, plus the best culture and gastronomy in the Highlands. Oh – and Loch Ness down the road.

Detour: The adventurous should aim for Aviemore as a base for exploring the Cairngorms, the UK’s largest national park. 5 hours.

5 FORT WILLIAM 1 DAY

Hiking trails, mountain-biking routes and more glens and hills than an English phonebook surround Fort William. Harry Potter fans can also catch the Jacobite steam train to Mallaig from here. It crosses the viaduct the wizards do en route to Hogwarts.

Detour: Either hike up Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis, or ski and mountain bike down its slopes. 6 hours.

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Jacobite steam train | Sternstunden/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

6 SKYE 2 DAYS

Scotland’s most famous island is hiking country, a misty world of jagged mountain peaks, rich river valleys and plunging cliffs. Conquering Quiraing should be a priority, as should a dram of the island’s world-famous whisky. Plan a couple of days here.

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Nataliya Hora/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

7 ULLAPOOL 1 DAY

Sat on the shore of Lochbroom and reachable via Scotland’s greatest drive, the curl of Destitution Rd, Ullapool doesn’t feel like the end of the earth, but it practically is. Tuck into the ice cream and live ceilidh after a hike around that startling lake.

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Tim lamper/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

8 ORKNEY 3 DAYS

Orkney is replete with ancient archaeology: Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar, the Standing Stones of Stenness and Maeshowe. You’ll need at least three days to really dig into its Neolithic past, especially once stunning sandy beaches such as Tresness catch your eye.

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LouieLea/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

WHEN TO GO

Fewer crowds and increasingly good weather make the shoulder seasons (March to May; September and October) the time to go.

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Loch Lomond | Jaroslav Moravcik/Shutterstock ©

The Great British Summer – as June to August is often christened – is when schools empty, rack rates run red-hot and most of the UK flees to the seaside. Hikers flock to the national parks as the likes of Bath, Oxford, Edinburgh and York start to teem with tourists. The festival season won’t sleep till late September either, but once teachers start to recall the register, things mellow out.

The weather can be decent (still pack a mac!) from March to May and during September and October, but go beyond autumn half-term – when the Chiltern Hills turn gold and red for leaf-peeping season – and attractions and hotels start to shutter. Still, London, Cardiff and Glasgow are all magical beneath the sparkling festive lights and among the busy Christmas markets. There may even be skiing in Scotland too.

I LIVE HERE

The Garden of England

Will Devlin is the chef-owner of The Small Holding, an award-winning, sustainably led restaurant in Kent @the_small_holding_

‘In autumn we’re harvesting the fruits of our labours on the farm and preparing pickles, preserves and ferments for the coming colder months. The hedgerows and woods are full of sloes, rose hips and mushrooms. Foraging for chanterelles and porcini in the ancient woods near The Small Holding, and where we live, is very special. I often go with my young daughters and it’s our bonding time.’

Want a Bargain?

Prices in shoulder and low seasons (September–May) are sometimes cheaper. Booking online often secures a discount unless you’re a solo traveller, when phoning helps to nab a better price. Booking accommodation in advance is recommended, especially in popular holiday areas and on islands (where options are often limited). Easter, summer and school holidays (including half-terms) are particularly busy. Book several months ahead for July and August.

BRITAIN’S WARMEST PLACE(S)

The Scilly Isles and Penzance, both in Cornwall, are the warmest places in Britain. Both have an average annual mean temperature of 11.5°C.

CHRISTMAS SNOW

If just one solitary snowflake falls on 25 December anywhere in Britain, the Met Office will announce a white Christmas. But widespread snow (where more than 40% of weather stations report snow at 9am) has happened only four times since 1960. Scotland’s Tomintoul is Britain’s snowiest village.

The Biggest British Events

Glastonbury Festival One of Britain’s favourite pop and rock gatherings is invariably muddy, and still a rite of passage for every self-respecting British music fan. June

Pride Highlight of the gay and lesbian calendar, this technicolour street parade heads through London’s West End. June

Guy Fawkes Night Britain’s skies fill with fireworks in commemoration of a failed attempt to blow up parliament back in 1605. Known also as Bonfire Night. Lewes hosts a banger. November

Edinburgh Festivals Edinburgh’s most famous August happenings are the International Festival and the Fringe, but this month the city also has an event for anything you care to name – books, art, theatre, music, comedy, marching bands…. August

Weird & Wonderful Festivals

Up Helly Aa Half of Shetland dresses up with horned helmets and battleaxes in this spectacular re-enactment of a Viking fire festival, which includes the burning of a full-size longship. January

Cotswolds Olimpicks Welly-wanging, pole-climbing and shin-kicking are the key disciplines at this traditional Gloucestershire sports day, held every year since 1612. June

Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling For more than 200 years, the brave and the bonkers have chased/tumbled/slid down a vertiginous slope after an 8lb round of Double Gloucester cheese. May

Stonehaven Fireball Festival The Scottish fishing town of Stonehaven celebrates Hogmanay with a spectacular procession of fireball-swinging locals. December

I LIVE HERE

Brooding Dartmoor

Nicholas JR White is a photographer based in Dartmoor National Park, Devon @nicholasjrwhite

‘August marks the magical reappearance of the heather. It transforms the moors into an ocean of soft pink and purple, merging with the vivid yellows of gorse. As Dartmoor basks in the warmth of the sun, river valleys bloom and the aroma can overwhelm you. Late-summer storms envelop the slopes and high ridge of Hameldown, and as the fog rolls in you become lost in an infinity pool of heather.’

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Dartmoor National Park | Alexey Fedorenko/Shutterstock ©

THE UNPREDICTABLE WEATHER

Brits love to talk about the weather. It acts as an ice-breaker and a conversation filler, mainly because it’s so changeable. Britain’s at the tail end of an Atlantic storm track where cold and hot air smash together, creating the depressions that bring wind, rain and repartee.

Weather Through the Year

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JANUARY

Ave. daytime max: 7-8°C

Days of rainfall: 11-17

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FEBRUARY

Ave. daytime max: 7-9°C

Days of rainfall: 9-13

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MARCH

Ave. daytime max: 10-11°C

Days of rainfall: 10-15

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APRIL

Ave. daytime max: 12-14°C

Days of rainfall: 9-12

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MAY

Ave. daytime max: