The UK packs an extraordinary amount into a small space. In a single day you can go from a Roman bath house to a medieval cathedral, and in a long weekend from mountains to beaches. Few countries of its size have such variety, with four nations, dozens of national parks and protected landscapes, and thousands of years of history written into its towns and countryside.
These are the ten places we would send a friend first, spread across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Every one of them is reachable by road, and most pair well with a second stop nearby, so for each we have added a note on making a proper trip of it. At the end there is advice on stringing several of them together without spending the whole holiday behind the wheel.
1. Edinburgh
Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful capital cities in the world, and it is the place most visitors to Scotland see first. A great castle stands on the plug of an extinct volcano at its heart, with the medieval Old Town running down the hill below it and the elegant Georgian New Town laid out to the north. Together the two towns form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and almost everything worth seeing is within walking distance.
Start at Edinburgh Castle, where the Honours of Scotland, the oldest crown jewels in the British Isles, are on display. Walk down the Royal Mile, exploring the narrow closes that lead off it, and visit St Giles’ Cathedral and the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the bottom. Then climb Arthur’s Seat, the extinct volcano in Holyrood Park, for a view over the whole city and the Firth of Forth.
The city is full of free museums and galleries, including the National Museum of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery. In the evenings, the pubs of the Old Town and the restaurants of Leith and Stockbridge are lively. Every August, the Edinburgh festivals take over the whole city, turning every hall, pub and courtyard into a stage.
Edinburgh pairs well with Stirling, with its castle and the Wallace Monument, about an hour away, and with the Forth Bridges and the coast at North Berwick. Book accommodation well ahead for August and Hogmanay, when the city is packed. Read our Edinburgh guide for much more.
2. The Lake District
The Lake District, in Cumbria in the north west of England, is England’s largest national park and its most loved. It is a landscape of mountains, known locally as fells, rising above long, still lakes, with slate villages and farms in the valleys between. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It has inspired poets and writers for centuries. William Wordsworth lived at Dove Cottage in Grasmere and wrote some of his most famous poems here, and Beatrix Potter bought farms in the area and left them to the nation. Their homes are open to visitors.
Windermere, the largest natural lake in England, is the busiest part of the park, with lake cruises from Bowness. Keswick, beside Derwentwater, is the best base for walking, and Grasmere, Ambleside and Coniston are lovely villages. Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England, is here for the ambitious, while flat lakeside walks like the one around Buttermere suit almost anyone.
The weather changes quickly and it rains often, so pack for it, and have a list of tea rooms and indoor attractions for wet afternoons. The Lake District is about an hour and a half by road from Manchester, and the roads can be busy on summer weekends and bank holidays. See our weekend in the Lake District for a plan.
3. London
London is the obvious one, and for good reason. It is one of the great cities of the world, with royal palaces, world famous museums, the theatres of the West End and neighbourhoods that each feel like a small city of their own. Many of its greatest museums and galleries are free to enter.
The trick is not to try to see it all. Pick two or three areas and do them properly, walking between the sights and stopping for lunch in a market or a pub. Westminster, with Parliament, the Abbey and Buckingham Palace, and the South Bank, with its riverside walk from the London Eye to Tate Modern, make a good first day.
The British Museum, the Natural History Museum and the National Gallery are among the finest museums in the world, and all are free. The Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral, in and around the City, are worth the entry fee. In the evening, a West End show or a walk along the river as the lights come on is hard to beat.
London’s Underground and buses make it easy to get around, and walking is often quicker than you think. For arrivals and departures with luggage, especially from the airports, a car booked ahead saves the stress. Start with our guides to Westminster and the City of London.
4. Bath
Bath, in Somerset, is one of the most beautiful small cities in Europe, and the whole city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its streets of honey coloured Georgian terraces and crescents were built in the eighteenth century, when it was the most fashionable resort in England. Before that, the Romans built a great temple and bathing complex around its hot springs.
The Roman Baths are among the best preserved Roman remains in northern Europe, with steaming water rising from the only natural hot springs in Britain. You cannot bathe in them, but you can at Thermae Bath Spa nearby, where a rooftop pool looks out over the city. Floating in warm spa water with Bath Abbey in view is unforgettable.
The Royal Crescent and the Circus are the great set pieces of Georgian Bath, and Bath Abbey, Pulteney Bridge and the Jane Austen Centre are all within a few minutes’ walk. Afternoon tea in the Pump Room, above the baths, is a Bath tradition. The city is small enough to cover on foot, beautiful enough to justify a night.
Bath pairs well with the Cotswolds, just to the north, and with Wells, Lacock and Bristol. It is about an hour and a half from London by train. Our Bath guide has the detail.
5. The Isle of Skye
The Isle of Skye, off the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, is one of the most dramatic places in Britain. Its jagged mountains, sea cliffs and waterfalls look like they belong somewhere much further away. It has become one of the most popular destinations in Scotland.
Skye is reached by the Skye Bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh, which opened in 1995, or by ferry from Mallaig to Armadale in the south of the island. On the way, Eilean Donan Castle, on a tiny island where three lochs meet, is one of the most photographed castles in Scotland. The drive from Fort William or Inverness is spectacular.
On the island, highlights include the Fairy Pools, a series of clear blue pools and waterfalls beneath the Cuillin mountains, and the Old Man of Storr, a tall rock pinnacle above the sea. The Quiraing, a landscape of landslips and pinnacles, is breathtaking. Portree, the main town, has a harbour of brightly painted houses.
Dunvegan Castle, home of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod for centuries, and the Talisker whisky distillery are also popular. Skye is busy in summer, accommodation books up early, and many roads are single track with passing places, so allow plenty of time. Midges, tiny biting insects, can be fierce on still summer evenings, so bring repellent.
6. York
York packs two thousand years of history into a city small enough to walk around. The Romans founded it, the Vikings made it their capital, and in the Middle Ages it was the second city of England. Its medieval walls, cathedral and streets survive remarkably well.
York Minster is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in northern Europe, with some of the finest medieval stained glass in the world. You can climb its central tower for a view over the city. The city walls, the longest medieval town walls in England, make a wonderful walk of about two hours.
The Shambles, a crooked medieval street of overhanging timber buildings, is one of the most famous streets in Britain. The JORVIK Viking Centre takes you on a ride through a reconstruction of the Viking city, built on the site of the excavations. The National Railway Museum is free and brilliant with children.
Afternoon tea at Bettys is a York institution, and the city’s pubs are full of character. York is about two hours from London by train and an hour and a half from Manchester. York pairs well with the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors and Castle Howard. Read the York guide.
7. Cornwall
Cornwall, at the far south western tip of England, is a land of coves, cliffs, sandy beaches and fishing harbours. It has a character all of its own, with its own language, flag and food. Its mild climate and clear light have attracted artists, surfers and holidaymakers for generations.
St Ives is famous for its beaches and its art, with a branch of the Tate gallery and the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden. Padstow, on the north coast, is known for its seafood restaurants. The Minack Theatre, an open air theatre carved into the cliffs above the sea at Porthcurno, is one of the most magical places in Britain to see a play.
St Michael’s Mount, a castle on a tidal island reached by a causeway at low tide, and Land’s End, the most westerly point of mainland England, are both near Penzance. The Eden Project, with its giant biomes, and the Lost Gardens of Heligan are in the middle of the county. Tintagel, on the north coast, is linked with the legends of King Arthur.
Distances in Cornwall are longer than they look on a map, and the roads are narrow and winding, so it is best to base yourself in one area rather than trying to see everything. The roads are very busy in the summer holidays. Try a Cornish pasty and a cream tea, with the jam on first, as the Cornish do.
8. Eryri (Snowdonia)
Eryri, also known as Snowdonia, is a national park in north Wales, with the highest mountains in Wales and England. At its heart is Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. The landscape of jagged peaks, deep valleys and lakes is breathtaking.
You can walk up Yr Wyddfa on several paths, which take around five to seven hours up and down, or take the Snowdon Mountain Railway from Llanberis, which runs in the warmer months. The views from the top on a clear day stretch across Wales to Ireland. The weather can change quickly, so go prepared.
The area around the mountains has some of the finest castles in Europe. Conwy and Caernarfon castles, built by King Edward I, are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with Harlech and Beaumaris. Betws-y-Coed, a village of waterfalls and woodland, is a popular base.
Portmeirion, a fantastical Italianate village on the coast, and the slate villages and quarries of the area, now a World Heritage Site in their own right, are well worth a visit. North Wales is also a centre for adventure sports, with zip lines, surfing lagoons and mountain biking. It is about an hour and a half from Manchester and Liverpool by road.
9. The Giant’s Causeway
The Giant’s Causeway, on the north coast of Northern Ireland, is one of the most remarkable natural sights in the world. It is made up of around forty thousand interlocking basalt columns, most of them six sided, stepping down into the sea like giant stepping stones. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The columns were formed around sixty million years ago, when molten lava cooled and cracked. But legend tells a different story: that the giant Finn McCool built the causeway to cross the sea to Scotland and fight a rival giant. The visitor centre tells both stories.
You can walk down to the columns and climb over them, and there are clifftop paths with wonderful views along the coast. The site is looked after by the National Trust. It is busy in summer, so go early or late in the day.
The Causeway Coastal Route, from Belfast along the Antrim coast, passes the Glens of Antrim, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Dunluce Castle and the Bushmills distillery. It is one of the great road trips in these islands. Combine it with a night in Belfast, and see our Belfast and the Causeway Coast guide.
10. The Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of rolling hills stretching across several counties of south west and central England, and they are one of the most beautiful and protected landscapes in the country. They are famous for their villages and small towns of golden limestone, which grew rich from the wool trade in the Middle Ages. Almost every village could be on a postcard.
Bibury, with its row of weavers’ cottages, Bourton-on-the-Water, with its low bridges over the river, and Chipping Campden, with its grand high street, are among the prettiest. Stow-on-the-Wold, Broadway and Burford are lovely too. Each has old churches, inns and tea rooms.
The Cotswold Way, a long distance footpath, runs along the edge of the hills from Chipping Campden to Bath. Walking between villages on quiet footpaths is the best way to see the countryside. The area also has grand houses and gardens, including Blenheim Palace and Hidcote.
The Cotswolds are best explored slowly, one village at a time, rather than trying to see twenty from a car window. The most popular villages are very busy on summer weekends, and parking is scarce. We picked eight Cotswolds villages to start with.
Making a trip of it
Most of these places are a long drive from each other, so pair nearby places rather than zig-zagging across the country: Bath with the Cotswolds, York with the Yorkshire Dales, Edinburgh with Stirling, the Lake District with a night in Keswick. Fewer, longer stays are more relaxing than a dash between many places.
A car and driver between them means nobody spends the trip watching the satnav, and the luggage stays in the boot. For longer journeys between cities, one fixed price covers the whole route.
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