David Else - Discover Great Britain

This Is Great Britain

Icons Britain is full of them: the Tower of London, Edinburgh Castle, Buckingham Palace, Manchester United, The Beatles. And alongside these big names, Britain boasts many more delights thatll soon become your own personal favourites.

Britains astounding variety is a major reason to travel here. In cities such as Bath and York, the streets buzz day and night, with tempting shops and restaurants, and some of the finest museums in the world. Next day, youre deep in the Cotswolds countryside, climbing mountains in Snowdonia, enjoying the coast at Brighton or sailing across to the Isle of Skye.

A journey through Britain is a journey through history. You can walk beside the ancient megaliths of Stonehenge, stroll around the masterpiece of Canterbury Cathedral or explore the ancient colleges of Oxford and Cambridge. Then fast forward to the future and youre admiring 21st-century architecture in Manchester or the space-age domes of Cornwalls Eden Project.

Britain boasts a rich and complex culture, but its familiar to many visitors. This is all thanks to a vast catalogue of British film and TV exports. The same applies when it comes to communication; this is home turf for the English language, so many visitors dont need to carry a phrasebook. Of course Wales and Scotland have their own languages, but everyone speaks English too.

Finally, travel in Britain is a breeze. Granted, it may not be totally effortless, but its easy compared with many other parts of the world. Although the locals may grumble (in fact, its a national pastime) public transport is pretty good, and a train ride through the British landscape can be a highlight in itself. For drivers road distances are short, and in this compact country youre never far from the next scenic town, the next welcoming pub, the next national park or the next impressive castle on your hit-list of highlights.

Walkers on the Pembrokeshire Coast ()
PHOTOGRAPHER: MARK DAFFEY / LONELY PLANET IMAGES

Great Britains Top Experiences

Historic London

Londons () visible history stretches across almost 2000 years, from the ancient remains of Roman walls in the oldest parts of the metropolis to the space-age designs of skyscrapers in the City financial district and new millennium projects such as the London Eye. In between the very old and very new, other eras have bequeathed Britains capital with some of the worlds best-known and most instantly recognisable buildings the Tower of London, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge along with other iconic structures like the Southbank Centre and the great maritime monuments of Greenwich.

Tower Bridge with Wendy Taylors Timepiece sculpture in the foreground
DAVID TOMLINSON / LONELY PLANET IMAGES