Find places to visit in Britain by name, location, type of attraction, or other keyword.
This listings directory of over 950 entries is being phased out.
It now excludes places and things of interest in North East England.
These can be found in ABAB’s Places.
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Paul McCartney's former Liverpool home, where he spent his teenage years with his father, Jim, and his brother, Mike. This is where Paul and John went when they 'slagged off' from school to play the guitar and compose, later joined by George Harrison. Several of the Beatles' hits were written at Forthlin Road, including 'I Saw Her Standing There'. The house been restored back with incredible attention to detail to how it was when Paul and Mike McCartney lived in it and includes several of Mike's photos of 'the boys' on the walls.
Entry into 20 Forthlin Road is only possible by booking a minibus tour with the National Trust. This also takes in John Lennon's former home in Menlove Avenue. Knowledgeable guides greet you at both properties. You can also view 20 Forthlin Road from the outside - many do - though bear in mind this is a residential area and respect the privacy of those that live nearby.
Allerton
Liverpool
A Queen Anne house, situated on the south bank of the Thames between the Globe Theatre and Tate Modern, which has a plaque on the wall declaring that both Christopher Wren and Katherine of Aragon lived in it (not simultaneously). Both assertions are false. The plaque is of unknown date. The house is a private residence.
Southwark
From 1940 - 1946, 64 Baker Street was the world headquarters of the Special Operations Executive, SOE, a clandestine organisation ordered to be set up by Churchill with the instruction to 'set Europe ablaze' by helping local resistance movements and conducting espionage and sabotage in enemy-held territories. A plaque was unveiled on the building in May 2010 by Margaret Jackson MBE, who was PA to Brigadier, later Major-General, Colin Gubbins, head of SOE from 1943 known by the initial 'M'. Margaret Jackson, herself a remarkable woman, was just 23 years old in 1940; she died in Croydon on 2 June 2013.
Abbey Park is Leicester’s premier park and opened in 1882. It includes gardens, lakes, a café, sports pitches and facilities for bowling, tennis and boating. It is a place for families and lies about a mile north of the city centre. The River Soar divides it into two distinct parts – a Victorian park with shrubberies, boating lake and miniature railway, and the western part which includes the remains of the 12th century Leicester Abbey, where Cardinal Wolsey died and was buried, and the ruins of the 17th century Cavendish House, a mansion which was Charles I’s HQ before the Battle of Naseby. It was destroyed and plundered by Royalist troops.
Leicester
Abbot Hall Art Gallery is one of Britain’s preeminent small art galleries, run by the Lakeland Arts Trust and set in a restored Grade I-listed Georgian house on the banks of the River Kent in Kendal. The gallery holds an exceptional collection of 18th-20th century fine art, including (allegedly) works by George Romney, John Ruskin, JMW Turner, Barbara Hepworth, David Hockney, LS Lowry and Graham Sutherland. The gallery also runs a temporary exhibition programme throughout the year.
A gallery refurbishment project is due to be completed in 2022.
Kendal
This is, allegedly, the only place in the world where you can visit a colony of nesting Mute Swans. (Trust me, they are not mute). A Benedictine monastery was established at Abbotsbury in the 11th century and the monks began farming swans - which often featured at medieval banquets. The monks have long gone, but the swans are still there (different ones, obviously). If you visit Abbotsbury Swannery these days, you'll find about 600 swans, all free to roam. The colony is established adjacent to a shallow lagoon, the Fleet, which lies behind Chesil Beach. It's a unique location.
Abbotsbury
Nr Weymout
Abbotsford was the extraordinary home of the 19th century novelist Sir Walter Scott, who was born in 1771 and died at Abbotsford in 1832. The works of ‘Great Scott’ included 'Waverley' and 'Ivanhoe'. Scott also popularised tartan, saved the Scottish banknote and rediscovered his country’s Crown Jewels ('the Honours of Scotland'). Abbotsford is in the Scottish Borders and was built - or developed - as a family home, as well as Scott's workplace and somewhere to keep his collection of curios, artefacts and books.
Image credit: Historic Houses
Acorn Bank offers an attractive garden and partially open 17th century red sandstone manor house. The estate at Acorn Bank dates back to the medieval order of the Knights Hospitaller. The main attraction now is the 17th century walled garden, with its fascinating medicinal and culinary herbs, pretty formal area, traditional orchard, woodland walks and industrial past complete with restored working watermill dating from the 16th century.
Nr Penrith
Statue of Adam Smith outside St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh. Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith (1723-1790) is probably best known as the author of 'Wealth of Nations'. The bronze statue is by Alexander Stoddart and was unveiled in 2008.
The post code is for St Giles' Cathedral.
The Royal Mile
Edinburgh
Albert Dock is Liverpool's famous Victorian dock area, originally built of iron, stone and brick, now fully restored and claiming to be the largest group of Grade I listed buildings in the country. The complex includes car parking, hotels, shops, restaurants and several museums, including: Slavery Museum; Maritime Museum; Beatles Story; and Tate Liverpool. Albert Dock is about a 20-30 minute walk from Lime Street station and handy for the lively Cavern Quarter.
Liverpool
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