|
Top 10
tourist attractions in UK |
Resources
• Tower of London,
London, England, UK >
hrp.org.uk
• British Airways
London Eye, London, England, UK >
ba-londoneye.com
• Westminster Abbey,
London, England, UK >
westminster-abbey.org
• Stonehenge,
Amesbury, Wiltshire, England, UK >
english-heritage.org.uk
• Edinburgh Castle,
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK >
historic-scotland.gov.uk
• Tate Modern,
London, England, UK >
tate.org.uk
• British Museum,
London, England, UK >
thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
• Buckingham Palace,
London, England, UK >
royal.gov.uk
• Cabinet War Rooms,
London, England, UK >
iwm.org.uk
• Victoria and
Albert Museum, London, England, UK >
vam.ac.uk
P.S.: This website (eyewitness-travel-guide.com)
provides;
World
travel destinations & top ten tourist attractions interactive
photo
gallery.
You may want to explore later > if so
you can
add this website to your favorites!..
Travelling Great Britain
Author: Phil
Edwards
Who isn't
tempted by the mystique of Great Britain?
The castles, the museums, the historical sites, the tame green
countryside - the country is much like the people, with a deepness
and complex history beneath a deceptively restrained surface.
Wales
The rough beauty of Welsh landscape, with its high mountains, deep
valleys, rivers, and marshes, is as well-known as the Welsh
language's lack of vowels. Wales is completely unique, with its own
deep, rich history and heritage. Wales is the homeland of Arthurian
legend, and any visitors interested in Camelot should visit the many
landmarks in Wales associated with Arthur, including the tree where
Merlin is supposed to lie sleeping. Wales is often called the land
of song, and if you visit, you should not miss attending a cymanfa
ganu ("singing festival"). And you should visit Tintern Abbey, made
famous by William Wordsworth's poem; Tintern is one of many (mostly
ruined) abbeys, priories, and castles scattered across the Welsh
countryside.
Scotland
Where does one start? Scotland is lowlands and highlands and
islands, a land of rugged rustic beauty and the
intellectually-renowned colleges of Edinburgh. If it's monsters you
like, you can look for Nessie in the Loch Ness; if you prefer more
down-to-earth pursuits, Scottish men and women are friendly,
hospitable, and kind. Scottish cuisine is unique, to say the least,
but much better than the descriptions of things like haggis (sheep's
stomach filled with a meat and oatmeal mixture and boiled) would
lead you to think! Bagpipes and kilts, Highland games and Scottish
single-malt whiskey (the name comes from the Gaelic uisge-beatha,
meaning "water of life") are only part of the culture you can
experience in Scotland.
The large cities in Scotland have marvelous art and culture museums,
and there are dozens of excellent historical museums and sites. In
Edinburgh Castle, don't miss the famous Stone of Scone, over which
all the Scottish kings were crowned, or the ancient Scottish crown
jewels. And in the countryside, some of the historic castles are
available as lodging; speak to your travel agent for information.
Cornwall
Cornwall is the historic birthplace of King Arthur, and it's easy to
believe in Arthurian legends when you stand on its high cliffs. It's
mostly rural now, but has a unique culture and a strong seafaring
tradition. Many British emigrants to the Americas set sail from its
port Falmouth.
England
Northern England is the home of the famous Lake District of Cumbria,
from where the English Romantic poets Byron, Wordsworth, and Shelley
often drew their inspiration. Much of Northern England is
historically heavily industrialized, but you shouldn't let that
deter you from visiting; the countrysite is beautiful, and the coast
nearby. You'll also find dozens of sites in the countryside where
standing stones were erected in the past, as well as museums filled
with archaeological treasures from Britain's past.
When you move southward, you can find the remnants of Sherwood
Forest, only a pale shadow of the immense old-growth forest of Robin
Hood tales. You'll also find dozens of castles and castle remains
from a millennium of history, ranging from the concentric rings of
earthwork foundations left over from the wooden fortresses of
Saxons, to the relatively new castles of the Normans. Many castles
are still lived in, and there are castles in England you can spend
the night in, others that you can tour during the day.
Southward still is Salisbury Plain, the austere green meadowland on
which stands Stonehenge. Visitors are not allowed to get close
enough to touch the ancient standing stones, but you can still feel
the history that permeates the countryside around them.
And on the south coast of England, Bath has an amazing variety of
architectural treasures, ranging from the still-usable Roman baths
to the proud Georgian townhouses that line its streets. Bath has
more protected historical buildings per capita than any city in
England. If you visit, you should not miss the Roman baths; the Pump
Room, center of Georgian society; and the Royal Crescent, lined with
elegant Georgian homes from the 19th century heyday of Bath. And
from Bath, you can take the 2 ½ hour bus trip to London, surely the
crowning glory of any tour of England.
London
London is one of the premier cities of the world, populated by more
than seven million people. And it is filled with history, with art,
with culture. It is not to be missed, no matter what your interests.
If you like nightlife, London has some of the best nightclubs in the
world, ranging from tough punk bars to celebrity-haunted clubs. In
the day, you can get free admission to the British Museum, the
British Library, the National Gallery, the National Portrait
Gallery, and Tate Gallery; admission to many, many other cultural
attractions is inexpensive.
There are dozens of walking tours of London, both self-guided and
using a guide; if you look online, you can find many of the
self-guided ones for free. Almost every guidebook to London also has
its own self-guided tours listed.
If you want to visit some of the admission-charging attractions (for
which students and seniors may be able to get "concessions," or
discounts), consider Westminster Abbey, the Cabinet War Room, and
St. Paul's Cathedral. Covent Garden, once a pleasure-garden for the
rich and not-so-rich, has evolved into a boutique filled shopping
district. And if you hang out around Buckingham Palace, you can see
the Changing of the Guard, and maybe even a member of the Royal
Family or two.
Travelers to London, in short, may wish they had a month or three to
just tour London; two millennia of history is a lot of layers to dig
through. One word of warning: London does have problems with
pickpockets, especially in the more tourist-haunted sections of
town. Avoid showing money around, and keep your pockets guarded.
About the
Author:
P. Edward
is a writer and manager of the The UK Web Index
Directory
and UK Package Holidays.
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