United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has historically played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith in the 19th century, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth’s surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK’s strength seriously depleted in two world wars and the Irish Republic’s withdrawal from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a founding member of NATO and the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1998.

The UK has been an active member of the EU since its accession in 1973, although it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union. However, motivated in part by frustration at a remote bureaucracy in Brussels and massive migration into the country, UK citizens on 23 June 2016 narrowly voted to leave the EU. The UK is scheduled to depart the EU on 31 January 2020, but negotiations on the future EU-UK economic and security relationship will continue throughout 2020 and potentially beyond.

The United Kingdom has historically played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith in the 19th century, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth’s surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK’s strength seriously depleted in two world wars and the Irish Republic’s withdrawal from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a founding member of NATO and the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1998.

The UK has been an active member of the EU since its accession in 1973, although it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union. However, motivated in part by frustration at a remote bureaucracy in Brussels and massive migration into the country, UK citizens on 23 June 2016 narrowly voted to leave the EU. The UK is scheduled to depart the EU on 31 January 2020, but negotiations on the future EU-UK economic and security relationship will continue throughout 2020 and potentially beyond.

England Tourism Information

OFFICIAL TOURISM SITE

VisitEngland.com

Other Sites

VisitBritain.org

The Best of England

Here is a break down of some of the most interesting and visited places. Cities or areas listed will always have more than just one thing see and do. With the popular cities or areas we list some of the best known, which should go on everyone’s, must see list when they visit.    

BEDFORDSHIRE
BERKSHIRE

Windsor Castle

Highclere Castle

BRISTOL

Clifton Suspension Bridge

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

Cliveden House

CAMBRIDGESHIRE

City of Cambridge

CHESHIRE
CORNWALL

Lands End

Eden Project

Tintagel Castle

Saint Michael’s Mount

CUMBRIA

Windermere

Ullswater

DERBYSHIRE

Chatsworth House

Peak District National Park

DORSET

Durdle Door

Jurassic Coast

DEVON

Dartmoor National Park

Exmoor National Park

DURHAM

Durham Cathedral

Durham Castle

EAST RIDING OF YORKSIRE
EAST SUSSEX

Royal Pavilion

Brighton Palace Pier

Bodiam Castle

ESSEX
GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Cotwold District

Arlington Row-Bilbury

GREATER LONDON

The British Museum

Tower of London

Buckingham Palace

St. Paul’s Cathedral

The National Gallery

Victoria and Albert Museum

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Hyde Park / Kensington Gardens

The Shard

Natural History Museum

Palace of Westminster

Borough Market

Trafalgar Square

Tate Britain

Tate Modern

The British Library

Kensington Palace

National Portrait Gallery

Camden Market

Museum of London

Oxford 9

Piccadilly Circus

Regents Park / London Zoo

Royal Albert Hall

St. James Park

Serpentine Gallery

The Wallace Collection

Somerset House

Hampstead-Heath

London Transport Museum

Sky Garden

Tower Bridge

Churchill War Rooms

Sir John Soane’s Museum

Portobello Road Market

Leadenhall Market

Covent Garden

Harrods

Imperial War Museum

Greenwich ( National Maritime Museum, Cutty Shark, Royal Observatory. Greenwich Park}

Richmond ( Hampton Court, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens,  Richmond Park)

The London Eye

GREATER MANCHESTER
HAMPSHIRE
HERTFORDSHIRE
ISLE OF WIGHT
KENT

Canterbury Cathedral

Dover Castle 

White Cliffs of Dover 

Hever Castle & Gardens

Leeds Castle

LANCASHIRE
LEICESTERSHIRE
LINCOLNSHIRE

Lincoln Cathedral

MERSEYSIDE

Liverpool

Royal Albert Dock

NORFOLK
NORTHUMBERLAND

Hadrian’s Wall

Alnwick Castle

Bamburg Castle

NORTHHAMPTONSHIRE
NORTH YORKSHIRE

York (York Minster,

Fountains Abbey

Yorkshire Dales National Park

National Railway Museum

North York Moors National Park

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

Sherwood Forest

OXFORDSHIRE

Ashmolean Museum

Bodleian Library

Radcliffe Camera

City of Oxford

Blenheim Palace

RUTLAND
SHROPSHIRE

The Iron Bridge

SOMERSET

City of Bath ( The Roman Baths, Bath Abbey)

Cheddar Gorge

SOUTH YORKSHIRE
STAFFORDSHIRE
SUFFOLK
TYNE & WEAR 
WARWICKSHIRE

Warwick Castle

WEST MIDLANDS

Stratford-Upon-Avon

WEST SUSSEX

Arundel Castle

WEST YORKSHIRE
WILTSHIRE

Stonehenge

Averbury

Salisbury Cathedral

WORCESTERSHIRE

The Regions of the United Kingdom…

The England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales make up the United Kingdom. Within those are regions then sub-regions called counties and under those districts and unitary authorities. 

 ENGLAND
EAST OF ENGLAND

Counties
Bedfordshire – Districts: Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton – Cities: Luton, Bedord, Leighton Buzzard
Cambridgeshire – Districts: City of Peterborough, Finland, Huntingtonshire, East Cambridgeshire, South Cambridgeshire, City of Cambridge – Cities, Cambridge, Peterborough
Essex – Districts:
Hertfordshire – Districts:
Norfolk –Districts:
Suffolk – Districts:

EAST MIDLANDS

Counties: Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire ( except North and North East Lincolnshire), Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland

GREATER LONDON

Ceremonial County: City of London
Boroughs: Barking & Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Hillington, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Westminster

NORTH EAST ENGLAND

Counties: County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, North Yorkshire ( Tees Valley)

NORTH WEST ENGLAND

Counties: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester,  Lancashire, Merseyside 

SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

Counties: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex 

SOUTH WEST ENGLAND

Counties: Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire

WEST MIDLANDS

Counties: Herefordshire, Shropshire , Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire

YORKSHIRE & THE HUMBER

Counties: East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire (except areas that are part of the Tees Valley), South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Lincolnshire (North and North East Lincolnshire)

NORTHERN IRELAND

Counties: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Derry / Londonderry, Tyrone

 SCOTLAND

Councils:
Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyil and Bute, City of Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dumbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Fife, Galsgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlotia, Moray, Na h-Eileanan Sar, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Shetland, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian.

 WALES

Counties:
Carmarthenshire (Sir Gaerfyrddin), Ceredigion, Denbighshire (Sir Ddinbych), Flintshire (Sir y Fflint), Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey (Ynys Môn), Monmouthshire (Sir Fynwy), Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro), Powys
Boroughs: 
Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend (Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr),
Caerphilly (Caerffili), Cardiff (Caerdydd), Conwy, Merthyr Tydfil (Merthyr Tudful), Neath Port Talbot (Castell-nedd Port Talbot), Newport (Casnewydd), Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea (Abertawe), Torfaen (Tor-faen), Vale of Glamorgan (Bro Morgannwg), Wrexham (Wrecsam)

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Northern Ireland Tourism Information

OFFICIAL TOURISM SITE

DiscoverNorthernIreland.com

The Best of Northern Ireland…

Northern Ireland

  • Counties: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Derry, Fermanagh, Tyrone
  • Cities: Belfast, Derry, Lisburn
  • Towns: Portrush 
  • Villages: Bushmills
  • Others Sights & Attractions: Fair Head, Giant’s Causeway, Titanic, Ulster Museum
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Scotland Tourism Information

OFFICIAL TOURISM SITE

VisitScotland.com

Other Sites

Historic-Scotland.gov.uk

 The Best of Scotland

Borders

  • Towns:Coldstream, Eyemouth, Galashiels, Hawick , Jedburgh , Kirk Yetholm, Melrose, Peebles, Selkirk, St Boswells
  • Others Sights & Attractions: Jedburgh Abbey, Kelso Abbey, Melrose Abbey, 
  • Long Distance Trails: Berwickshire Coastal Path, Borders Abbeys Way, Pennie Way, St Cuthbert’s Way , Sir Walter Scott Way, Southern Upland Way

Central Belt

Edinburgh – For more detailed information go to our ➾ Edinburgh page. 

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The Hebrides

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The Highlands

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North East

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Orkney Islands

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Shetland Islands

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South West

  • Towns: Ardrossan, Ayr, Brodick, Girvan, Irvine, Largs, Prestwick, Troon, West Kilbride
  • Others Sights & Attractions: Scottish Distilleries
    • Islands: Isle of Arran, Allsa Craig, Great Cumbrae, Kilbirnie, Kilmarnock, Kilwinning 
    • Golf Courses: Royal Troon, Old Course Prestwick, Turnberry North of Girvan
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Wales Tourism Information

OFFICIAL TOURISM SITE

VisitWales.com

 The Best of Wales…

Mid Wales

  • Counties: Ceredigion, Powys
  • Cities:
  • Towns: Aberystwyth, Brecon, Builth Wells, Cardigan, Hay-on-Wye, Lampeter, Llanidloes, Llanwrtyd Wells, Machynlleth
  • Villages:
  • Others Sights & Attractions:Brecon Beacons National Park, Devil’s Bridge waterfall, Powis Castle, Strata Florida Abbey

North Wales

  • Counties: Anglesey, Clwyd, Conwy, Gwynedd
  • Cities: Bangor
  • Towns: Caernarfon, Colwyn Bay, Conwy, Dolgellau, Denbigh, Llandudno, Llanfairfechan, Tywyn, Wrexham
  • Others Sights & Attractions: Isle of Anglesey, Caernarfon Castle, Clwydian Range, Conwy Castle, Llŷn peninsula, Snowdonia National Park

South Wales

  • Counties: Carmarthenshire, Glamorgan, Monmouthshire,  Pembrokeshire
  • Cities: Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, St. Davids
  • Towns: Barry, Carmarthen, Chepstow, Monmouth, Tenby
  • Others Sights & Attractions: Afan Forest Park, Gower peninsula, Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
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UNITED KINGDOM DEPENDENCIES …

 Gibraltar

 Guernsey

 Isle of Man

 Jersey

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 United Kingdom Country Information…