DK Great Britain

Great Britain

Inspire / Plan / Discover / Experience

contents

Experience

London

England

Wales

Scotland

g Contents

DISCOVER

t View over Oxford’s spires and rooftops

g Discover Great Britain g Contents

WELCOME TO

great britain

t Snowdon Mountain Railway, North Wales.

Sumptuous stately homes and glorious gardens. Epic mountains and cosmopolitan cities. Inspirational museums and world-famous festivals. Dazzling in its diversity, with a rich cultural tapestry part woven by the interlocking histories of its three constituent nations – England, Scotland and Wales – Great Britain offers enough thrilling experiences to fill a lifetime of exploring. Whatever your dream trip entails, this DK Eyewitness Travel Guide is the perfect companion.

Separated from mainland Europe by the merest sliver of sea, Great Britain has some of the continent’s most spectacular scenery. From the jagged peaks of the Scottish Highlands and the towering sea cliffs of Pembrokeshire to the desolate moors of the Peak District and the sweeping sands of Norfolk and Northumberland, there are miles of spectacular terrain to hike, bike and explore. Many centuries of civilization are etched across this timeless landscape, from mysterious menhirs to noble mansions. Gripping reminders of a tumultuous past – evident in ruined abbeys and countless brooding castles – add to the intrigue.

As well as being rich in history, you’ll find Great Britain’s dynamic cities surging forward with restless energy. Beyond the pomp and politics, London remains an unparalleled entrepot of global cultures, its innovative museums and galleries and diverse music, theatre and culinary scenes competing with the world’s best. Edinburgh and Cardiff show-case Scottish and Welsh culture with exuberance and elan, while regional cities – from Liverpool to Newcastle, Bristol to Glasgow – are thriving, enhanced by eye-catching architecture and exciting regeneration projects.

We’ve broken Great Britain down into easily navigable chapters, with detailed itineraries, expert local knowledge and colourful, compre-hensive maps to help you plan the perfect trip. Whether you’re here for a flying visit or a grand tour, this DK Eyewitness guide will ensure that you see the very best Great Britain has to offer.

1 Sunbathing on Brighton Beach.

2 Medieval cottages on the front quad of Worcester College, Oxford.

3 Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street, London.

g Discover Great Britain g Contents

Reasons To Love

great britain

Spectacular landscapes, world-beating museums, postcard-pretty villages, glorious pubs and one of the greatest capital cities on the planet – there are so many reasons why visitors fall in love with Great Britain. Here are some of our favourites.

1 Sumptuous Stately Homes

t Marvel at the opulent country piles of Britain’s old money – the real stars of many a costume drama. Classics include Hatfield House, Longleat and Hardwick Hall.

Discover Great Britain

2 A Pint in the Pub

t Whether for a swift pint or a leisurely Sunday lunch, the pub is the beating heart of British social life. From aged taverns to modern gastropubs, they’re an essential part of any visit.

Discover Great Britain

3 Great Cities

t Britain’s cities are vibrant places, encompassing medieval treasure troves and rejuvenated Victorian metropolises. And how many other countries can boast three dynamic capitals?

Discover Great Britain

4 Music Scene

t From the Arctic Monkeys to Led Zeppelin, Britain is a leader in the global music industry. Whether you’re after folk, funk or classical you’ll find some-where to indulge your passion.

Discover Great Britain

5 Hiking in the Lake District

t The sublime landscape of rugged fells, serene lakes and lush green valleys in the Lake District offers some of the most rewarding hiking in Britain.

Discover Great Britain

6 Quirky Festivals

t Watching a crowd chase a wheel of cheese down a steep hill? Chances are you’ve stumbled upon one of Britain’s many weird and wonderful local festivals.

Discover Great Britain

7 Picturesque Villages

t For many the essence of British life is found in its villages – often little more than a church, a pub and a handful of picturesque cottages with lovingly tended gardens. Head out into the sticks to appreciate the slow pace of life.

Discover Great Britain

8 Pomp and Ceremony

t From the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace to the flag-waving party of the Last Night of the Proms, Britain knows how to put on a good show.

Discover Great Britain

9 Glorious Gardens

t Whether you’re after classical landscapes or exotic greenhouses, Britain offers an incredible array of gorgeous gardens, not to mention the many flower shows.

Discover Great Britain

10 Coastal Adventures

t Fish and chips on the beach; windswept walks along clifftop paths; the icy tingle of a dip in the North Sea: some of Britain’s best experiences can be had by the ocean.

Discover Great Britain

11 London’s World- Class Museums

t Spend a day with the Old Masters at the National Gallery or meet a roaring dinosaur at the Natural History Museum – all without spending a penny.

Discover Great Britain

12 Great British Grub

t Nothing beats Britain’s comfort food staples such as steak and kidney pie; bangers and mash; Cornish pasties; or haggis, neeps and tatties, all prepared with love and attention.

g Discover Great Britain g Contents

Explore

great britain

This guide divides Great Britain into four main sections: London; England; Wales and Scotland. These have been split into 17 colour-coded sightseeing areas, as shown on the map below.

n Double-tap image to read the labels

g Contents

GREAT BRITAIN ITINERARIES

t London’s world-famous Tower Bridge at sunset.

g Great Britain Itineraries g Contents

Discover Great Britain Itineraries

2 weeks

A Grand Tour of Great Britain

With so much to see and do in Great Britain it can be difficult to know where to start. This itinerary, taking you through dynamic cities and spectacular landscapes, will help you make the most of your visit.

Discover Great Britain Itineraries

t Looking north down Danby Dale from Blakey Rigg in the wild North York Moors National Park.

g Discover Great Britain g Contents

Great Britain for

Bookworms

Home to some of the world’s best-loved fictional characters and celebrated authors, Great Britain beckons bibliophiles from far and wide. There are opportunities aplenty to browse in bookshops, attend a literary festival and tread the streets that inspired readers’ favourite tomes.

t Daunt Books, with its Edwardian galleries, in Marylebone, London

Bookshop Browsing

There’s nothing quite like scouring the shelves of a good bookshop. Stalwart Waterstones appears in most towns, while the flagship Blackwells store, founded in 1879 on Broad Street in Oxford, is a book-aholic’s dream. It’s the independent shops that particularly reward a visit, however. In Bath, have an expert prescribe books catered to your tastes at Mr B’s Emporium (www.mrbsemporium.com) or head to Barter Books in Alnwick, where a model railway runs around the groaning bookcases. In London, don’t miss a visit to Daunt Books (www.dauntbooks.co.uk), with its superb travel section. You can explore the capital’s 100-plus independents with the London Bookshop Map app.

Children’s Favourites

Unleash your inner wizard by boarding the train at Platform 9¾ at London’s Kings Cross station or master the art of broomstick flying at Alnwick Castle. Many other kids’ favourites are celebrated up and down the country. Look out for Peter Rabbit and friends at Beatrix Potter’s home in the Lake District, head out on the trail of Roald Dahl in Cardiff or take your daemon on a tour of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials in Oxford.

Celebrate the Written Word

See authors in action, discover your next favourite writer and browse for new books at Britain’s literary festivals. Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Oxford and Bath each host popular annual events, but the cream of the crop is arguably Hay Festival. Held in Hay-on-Wye, this spring bookfest attracts high-profile literati from across the globe.

Literary Giants

Get under the skin of literary titans by exploring the places they lived and worked in. Visit the Bard’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon; walk the Brontë Way to see key landmarks in the three sisters’ lives; visit Chawton in Hampshire, where Jane Austen wrote her most famous works; or feel the power of nature that inspired the Romantics in the Lake District.

1476

The first printing press in England was established by William Caxton at Westminster.

DISCOVER Great Britain Your Way

Beautiful Libraries

Bodleian Library

Take a tour of the refined Oxford University library.

John Rylands Library

Manchester’s Neo-Gothic masterpiece has a collection of rare books (www.library.manchester.ac.uk).

Liverpool Central Library

This book haven has a spiral staircase and a splendid glass-domed roof (www.liverpool.gov.uk/libraries).

g Discover Great Britain g Contents

Great Britain for

Architecture

Sumptuous stately homes, imposing castles, lofty Gothic cathedrals – over the centuries, Britain’s builders have created a staggering showcase of architectural treasures. As dynamic cities continue to morph and develop, there’s always something new to grab architecture lovers’ attention.

t The romantic cliff-top ruins of Corfe Castle in Dorset

Modern Giants

Britain’s cities have provided an open stage for architec-ture’s leading players since World War II, with buildings ranging from the Brutalist concrete slabs of the 1960s to 21st-century steel-and-glass skyscrapers. Standouts include Birmingham’s chainmail-like Selfridges store in the Bull Ring shopping centre,the sensuously curved Sage Gateshead concert venue and London’s Shard, the tallest building in Western Europe.

Stately Pleasure Domes

From Tudor beginnings the grand country house reached its zenith in the 18th and 19th centuries. Everyone has their favourite, whether it be the Elizabethan extravagance of Burghley House, Chatsworth House’s Palladian perfection or Vanbrugh’s Baroque masterpieces – Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard.

Forbidding Fortresses

For almost a millennium, castles have stood sentinel along the faultlines of British history, an enduring visual link with a tumultuous and bloody past. From the mighty fortresses that garland the Anglo-Scottish border to Edward I’s formidable structures, Britain’s castles always provide a great day out, especially over summer weekends when you’ll find pageantry aplenty.

Prayers in Stone

Encompassing the hulking, walled creations of the early Normans and the modern masterpieces of Liverpool and Coventry, Britain’s cathedrals represent its architectural apotheosis. The statistics alone are staggering: Winchester has the longest medieval nave in Europe; Salisbury’s spire is the tallest in Britain; while the dome of Wren’s St Paul’s still dwarfs almost all others. Be prepared to be moved by these awe-inspiring, magisterial spaces.

The national trust

The National Trust was formed as a charity in 1895 to preserve the nation’s valuable historic landscapes and finest buildings. It protects many of Britain’s castles and stately homes, parks and gardens, as well as vast tracts of countryside and coastline. National Trust properties are denoted by an NT symbol throughout this book.

g Discover Great Britain g Contents

Great Britain for

Green Fingers

Wander through the grand gardens that surround many a stately home, explore a platoon of art gardens that combine magnificent scenery with modern sculpture, or enjoy scores of leafy city parks. Those with green fingers are spoilt for choice in each and every part of Great Britain.

t The Temperate House in Kew Gardens, home to 1,500 species

Pioneering Gardens

Green-fingered Brits take a keen interest in garden design – the most pioneering gardens attract visitors in their thousands. Join the throng at the splendid Eden Project, whose vast glassy biomes hold an extraordinary range of plant life drawn from every corner of the globe. Of comparable size is the National Botanic Garden of Wales, whose single-span glasshouse, designed by Norman Foster, is the largest in the world. Crowning them all is the magnificent Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew where you can get up-close to the trees on the unique Treetop Walkway.

Victorian Gardens

Taking full advantage of Britain’s trading prowess, the Victorians imported plants, trees and shrubs from all over the world to create wooded arboretums such as those that are the hallmark of the Plantation Garden in Norwich and Cragside estate in Northumberland. To see intensely colourful flower beds wander around Bodnant Garden near Conwy.

Sculpture Gardens

A range of glorious natural settings host striking works of art all over Britain, from the wild uplands of Yorkshire Sculpture Park to the tranquil grounds of an Edinburgh estate, site of the Jupiter Artland art and Sculpture Park (www.jupiterartland.org), to the Cumbrian hills of Grizedale Forest, whose footpaths offer a delightful medley of modern sculpture. The garden of the former home of Barbara Hepworth in St Ives has beautiful displays of her works. For a more unusual experience, seek out the hidden sculptures in eerie Tout Quarry on the Isle of Portland.

Tudor Gardens

In Tudor times, throughout the 16th century, British garden design was influenced by Renaissance Italy. Regularity and formality were all the rage. The knot garden, with its geometric flower beds and closely manicured shrub hedges, became very popular – Hampton Court Palace, on the edge of London, has a fine example. Water features and fountains are key at Aberglasney, one of Wales’s finest gardens, while loggias and pavilions, such as those at Hever Castle, offer leisurely views of its award-winning garden.

Capability Brown

Lancelot Capability Brown (1716– 1783) was the supreme landscape gardener of Georgian England. He favoured the move away from formal gardens to man-made pastoral settings. You can admire his handiwork at a string of stately homes, such as Chatsworth, Stowe and Blenheim Palace. Mimicking nature, immaculate green lawns run down to artificial curving lakes, which occupy the middle distance and are given perspective by a clump or island of trees. These are, indeed, the best views in England.

DISCOVER Great Britain Your Way

Flower shows

Chelsea Flower Show

∑ rhs.org.uk

The most famous flower and landscape gardens show in the UK takes place over five days in May in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London.

Hampton Court Flower Show

∑ rhs.org.uk

Held in early July at Hampton Court Palace near London, this is the largest flower show in the world.

Chatsworth Flower Show

The gardens of Chatsworth House in Derbyshire provide a stunning backdrop for this flower show in June.

g Discover Great Britain g Contents

Great Britain for

Foodies

Once written off by the food cognoscenti, Britain has undergone little short of a culinary revolution in the last few decades. Creative chefs pick up Michelin stars and farmers’ markets and street food vendors bring artisan know-how and innovative new trends to local food scenes.

t Stalls at Abergavenny Food Festival in Wales, held every September

Festive Flavours

See top chefs in full flow and support independent food producers at a food festival. To tap into the latest trends, bag a ticket for Taste of London, a summer alfresco jamboree in Regent’s Park, or graze to your heart’s content at Abergavenny Food Festival. Other foodie events showcase local specialities: from oysters in Whitstable to cheese in Cardiffto sausages in Lincoln.

Open to the World

Ever since medieval merchants first brought exotic spices to British shores, Britons have absorbed culinary influences from across the globe, and nowadays are as likely to tuck into a Mexican burrito or a Vietnamese banh mi as bangers and mash. Chicken tikka masala eclipsed fish and chips as the nation’s favourite dish some years ago; head to Bradford, London’s Brick Lane and Birmingham to sample the best.

Catch of the Day

Firm, flaky cod, freshly caught and crisply battered; fat, juicy scallops, tossed in butter with a hint of garlic; delicate oysters, slurped fresh from the shell. With ocean on all sides, it’s little wonder that seafood in Britain is a treat, especially in coastal villages and towns. Fish and chips, of course, is a national favourite – you’ll find a chippy in every town, often with an excruciatingly punning name – and Scottish smoked salmon is legendary. There are plenty of local favourites to try, too, from kippers in Craster in Northumberland to Norfolk crabs in Cromer.

A Taste of Britain

From steak and kidney pie to treacle sponge, hearty native dishes are a delight. You’ll find distinctive local flavours on your travels, too. In Scotland, the definitive dish is spicy, nutty haggis, while warming Lancashire hotpot is a favourite in northwest England. There’s even more variety among Britain’s sweet treats, from crumbly Welsh cakes to flaky Aberdeen butteries – salty, sweet and wholly delicious.

DISCOVER Great Britain Your Way

British cheeses

Caerphilly

This fresh, mild and crumbly Welsh cheese is a top choice.

Cheddar

Often imitated but never bettered, and nothing else is as good on toast. Somerset produces the best.

Cornish Yarg

Creamy, semi-hard and fresh-tasting cow’s milk cheese with a mouldy nettle rind.

Stilton

Strong, with a creamy texture, this blue-veined king of cheeses is especially popular at Christmas.

Wensleydale

From Hawes in North Yorkshire, this cheese has a crumbly texture and mild but tangy taste.

g Discover Great Britain g Contents

Great Britain for

Nature Lovers

From the wild moors of Devon to the lofty fells of the Lake District, the landscapes of Britain are staggeringly beautiful and a veritable nature playground. Come rain or shine, a trip into the countryside is a joy. Lace up your boots and head out on an adventure worth writing home about.

t Rannoth Moor on the West Highland Way in Scotland

Hiking Heaven

With miles upon miles of footpaths, Britain is a walker’s paradise. Long- distance trails include the West Highland Way (westhighlandway.org) and Pembrokeshire Coast Path. For hill hikes with stunning views, choose from the Cairngorms, Brecon Beacons or the Lake District.

Geology Rocks

Craggy peaks, jagged coastline, disused quarries: Britain’s rock-climbing scene is wonderfully varied. Tackle the iconic rocky ridges of the Roaches in the Peak District or Yorkshire’s wonderfully named Gordale Scar gorge. On the coast, scramble along the cliffs of Pembrokeshire; back inland, scale the heights of Snowdonia for a view to end all views.

Take to the Water

Being an island nation, it’s no surprise that Britain offers a rich array of water-based activities. Take to the lakes in a canoe (Loch Lomond or the Lake District can’t be beaten), surf the waves at Cornwall’s Fistral Beach or Porthleven, dive World War II wrecks off the Orkney Islands, or jump into cool waters for a wild swim.

Starry, Starry Skies

Home to some of the darkest skies in Europe, Britain offers a good chance of spotting the Milky Way and major constellations. The Brecon Beacons, Dartmoor National Park, Bodmin Moor and Kielder Water & Forest Park are four of Britain’s best stargazing spots.

Britain’s National Parks

Created in 1949, the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of Parliament led to vast swathes of the Great British outdoors being designated National Parks. Independently managed, Britain’s 15 parks (which include many of the places mentioned on these two pages) make up some of Britain’s most breathtaking landscapes; the natural beauty, wild-life and heritage of each are protected by National Parks Partnerships. Find out more at www.nationalparks.uk.

DISCOVER Great Britain Your Way