Great places to visit in the UK
Black Rock Sands
Even though the name suggests a dark beach, you won’t see much in the way of blackness. Black Rock Sands is an open, wide beach with fine sands. The name comes from the area to the west of the beach dominated by a large, multi-coloured headland rock, low-tide caves and rock pools, an area rich in marine life.
Natural history is also a feature of the local sand dunes, which have been declared a ‘Site of Special Scientific Interest’. Unusually, you can drive onto the beach here – so it’s a popular spot not just for picnickers and sandcastle builders, but also for motor boats and water bikes which have a special zone designated for their use.
Lake District
The Lake District is England’s newest UNESCO World Heritage Site and a spot that can’t be missed when exploring northern England. Perched on the north-west coast of the country, it’s got around sixteen lakes across the whole national park, which is stunning.
Once you’re here, make sure to check out the bigger lake of Windermere, learn more about Beatrix Potter and gorge on all the sticky toffee pudding you can find. Though, don’t forget, if you want a quieter lake, check out places like Ullswater Lake that’s not only vast but also has much fewer visitors.
“The Lakes” are right on the lakefront and perfect for paddleboarding, hiking the mountains and catching the Ullswater Steamer.
Seven Sisters
Perched on the south coast of England, the Seven Sisters is a totally gorgeous area of England to visit and pretty easy to find when visiting Brighton (40-min away).
Overlooking the English Channel, the Seven Sisters are one of the best natural sights in the UK to visit if you like dramatic views. Nestled within the South Downs National Park they’re actually ancient valleys that have now been eroded away by the sea.
Head here to walk the beautiful paths and walkways that follow the coastline that is stunning. Just be cautious of going to close to the edge, the cliffs are made from chalk and are not stable. Stay well back from the edge and always be sensible.
Snowdonia
Mount Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales and the highest British mountain south of Scotland. The Snowdon massif rises from the center of Snowdonia National Park and the views across North Wales from its slopes and summit are spectacular.
On a clear day, you can see Ireland, Scotland, and England as well as a Welsh landscape dotted with castles and lakes (called Llyn in Welsh). There are a eight official paths to the top. The Llanberis path, known as the “tourist path” because it is considered the easiest, is also the longest — at 9 miles.
If, on the other hand, you’d rather look up at the mountain than down from it, there are good views of Snowdon from the Janus Path, a 500 yard, accessible board walk around Llyn Cwellyn, a lake to the west of the summit near the Mt. Snowdon base camp. It’s reached from the Snowdon Ranger Station parking.
Stonehenge
A walk around the Stone Circle is the centrepiece of any visit to the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site.
With a history spanning 4,500 years Stonehenge has many different meanings to people today. It is a wonder of the world, a spiritual place and a source of inspiration.
The Stone Circle is a masterpiece of engineering, and building it would have taken huge effort from hundreds of well-organised people using only simple tools and technologies. Visit Stonehenge to find out more about this iconic symbol of Britain.
Over 250 archaeological objects and treasures discovered in the landscape, are displayed together at Stonehenge for the first time. Ranging from jewellery, pottery and tools to ancient human remains, many of these items are on loan from our museum partners, Salisbury Museum and Wiltshire Museum.
Come and see the face of a man who was here 5,500 years ago – a forensic reconstruction based on his bones found near Stonehenge.
Their is also regular special exhibitions in the visitor centre.
The South Gower Coast
The Gower is a South Wales peninsula west of Swansea that has exceptionally beautiful beaches and cliff formations. Rhossili Beach, pictured here, is a three-mile scallop of sand backed by sandy, beach grass covered bluffs high enough for paragliders to launch from. At low tide, shipwrecks emerge from the sand and Worm’s Head, a tidal island that extends off the Western end of the beach becomes walkable – for the adventurous – at low tide. It takes its name from the Viking word for dragon – wurm – because from the shore, that’s what its 200-foot-high cliffs resemble.
The South Gower Coast is owned by the National Trust which maintains some parking, a shop and visitor center near Rhossili Beach. National Trust parking, (£5 for all day or free for members) includes toilets and a shop. A visitors center on the first floor has information and exhibitions by local artists. There are several cafes and a pub (with arguably one of the best coastal views in Wales) in the Worm’s Head Hotel, beside the National Trust parking area.
The best view of Rhossili Bay and Worm’s Head is from the top of Rhossili Down, the highest point on the Gower, reached from Swansea on the B4247.
Kynance Cove
Kynance cove, with its enormous rock towers, sea caves and low tide islands, is Nampara, Poldark’s white sand beach.
The beach which looks extensive and permanent is in fact, most of it only visible and accessible at low tide. It’s part of The Lizard, the most southerly spit of land on mainland Britain. It is worth planning your trip around the tides to see and swim in the stunning turquoise waters, wrapped in Cornish headlands that make up this beach — often listed as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
The name, “Kynance” is derived from an old Cornish word, kewnans. It means ravine which should give you an idea of why this is considered an adventure beach. A stream, with steep sides cuts through the open heathland or downs opening out onto the beach and revealing more coves and caves that flood at high tide.
The area around the cove, including the cliffs at The Lizard, are noted for wildlife watching, wildflowers and even wild asparagus. If you’re lucky and watching from the cliff tops, you could spot enormous basking sharks in the clear turquoise waters. The second biggest fish in the ocean, they frequent the area in late spring and early summer.
Malham Cove and the Limestone Pavements
If you’ve seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, then you’ve already seen Malham Cove and the Limestone Pavements. The cove is a huge, limestone crag, shaped like an amphitheater, 230 feet high and 985 feet wide. It’s just a few hundred yards outside the village of Malham on the Pennine Way. Steps take you to the top where you can carefully walk on the limestone pavement. This is a rare and legally protected habitat formed when rainwater dissolves limestone, exposing its structure of regular, square blocks. There are several limestone pavements in the Pennine Hills that run through the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales National Parks. This is one of the best. The views from the bottom and the top are terrific.
Malham Cove is three quarters of a mile south of the village of Malham, on Cove Road, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. After about a half mile, look for a public footpath marker and a small National Trust sign on the right. The rest of the way is over a gently climbing but wide, flat path of the Pennine Way.
