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.
Places to visit in Yorkshire will be moved to ABAB’s Places during May.
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The Tate Gallery was founded by industrialist Henry Tate and Tate Britain houses both permanent and temporary exhibitions of British art from 1500 to the present day. The building has been extended at least seven times since opening in 1897 and the Tate brand has also expanded, with Tate Modern in London, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives now all part of the network.
The Churchill War Rooms, aka the Cabinet War Rooms, is a complex of secret operational rooms in a former basement created to enable government to continue during the Second World War, theoretically safe from German bombs. The complex includes a Cabinet Meeting Room, map room, kitchens and bedroom - including one each for Mr and Mrs Churchill. Some of the rooms remain more or less as they were left in 1945; others have been refurbished in period style.
There is also an extensive Churchill Museum, telling the story of one of Britain's most remarkable leaders, from childhood in the 1870s to his death in 1965. The museum includes an enormous number of items associated with Churchill, audio-visual displays and an interactive timeline giving access to original documents and other resources.
King Charles Street
Buckingham Palace is the administrative HQ of the Monarchy and has been the Monarch's official London residence since 1837. The Duke of Buckingham acquired a house on the present site in 1698, which he replaced with a new 'Buckingham House'. This was acquired by George III in 1761 as a family residence for his wife, Queen Charlotte, and their children, and extensively refurbished and modernised. George IV commissioned John Nash to turn the house into a Royal Palace. The familiar east wing, with its central balcony, was added during the reign of Queen Victoria.
Visitors can see three aspects of Buckingham Palace.
1) The State Rooms. The 19 sumptuous state rooms, where guests are received and entertained, are generally open to the public during summer months. They include paintings, porcelain and furniture from the royal collection.
2) The Queen's Gallery, which hosts a programme of changing exhibitions of artwork, mostly from the royal collection, is open most days.
3) The Royal Mews is the stables responsible for the horses that pull the royal carriages as well as where state vehicles are kept and looked after. It is open most days, but closed in December and January.
All three venues have separate entrances on Buckingham Palace Road (the road running along the left of the Palace as you face it).
Beaulieu is a stately home as well as home to the National Motor Museum. The estate has been in the hands of the Montagu family since the 16th century and is based around the ruins of the medieval Beaulieu Abbey. The National Motor Museum tells the story of motoring and the collection includes some 250 vehicles, old and not so old, cars, motor cycles and racing cars. As well as the museum and the abbey, a visit to Beaulieu can include the palace/house, the extensive gardens, at least two exhibitions - at the time of writing there are exhibitions of 'the World of Top Gear', featuring many original vehicles from the TV show, and an exhibition about SOE - the secret Special Operations Executive - who used Beaulieu for training during WW2. On top of that, there's a monorail and loads of things going on, like a vintage bus chugging about, offering rides.
New Forest
Buckler's Hard is a show village, built in the 18th century, on the Beaulieu river with a pub, hotel and museum. There is also a riverside walk to Beaulieu village. Buckler's Hard was at one time a busy port and shipbuilding community, where many of the Royal Navy's ships began life. It also had a role in the preparations for D-Day during the Second World War. Buckler's Hard is part of the Beaulieu Estate.
Fascinating local museum housed in the former village school room, built in 1617 next to the church, and which features in the book, 'Tom Brown's Schooldays' (1857) by Thomas Hughes. Hughes grew up in Uffington. Another famous resident was the poet, John Betjeman, who lived there with his family in the 1930s and '40s. The museum contains information about both Hughes and Betjeman as well as local sites like the Uffington White Horse. It also has an excellent website. Limited opening.
Uffington
Lacock Abbey was established between 1229 and 1232 by Lady Ela, Countess of Salisbury. After the Reformation, it became a family home in the hands of the Sharingtons, followed by the Talbots. The most famous Talbot, William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-77) was an accomplished scientist and inventor of the negative/positive photographic process. Thus, Lacock is often plugged as "the birthplace of photography". There are wonderful gardens and grounds set amongst rolling Wiltshire countryside. The ground floor of the abbey has been well preserved - including the cloisters - and parts have featured in several film and TV productionss, including Harry Potter and Wolf Hall. The first floor is a Gothic Victorian home. Also on site is the Fox Talbot Museum, dedicated to photography.
Nr Chippenham
A small museum telling the history of British military intelligence from the Boer War onwards. There are additional exhibitions dedicated to BRIXMIS, an intelligence gathering mission based in the former DDR during the Cold War, and to the Intelligence Corps' work with SOE, Special Operations Executive, during WW2.
The museum is on a military base. Visitors are welcomed but need to book visits in advance and brink photo ID with them - eg UK passport or driving licence.
Chicksands
Shefford
The National Maritime Museum is allegedly the world’s largest maritime museum with a collection that includes artwork, maps and charts, models, memorabilia and thousands of other objects - such as an impressive number of figureheads and items relating to Horatio Nelson and Captain Cook. The museum opened in 1937 and is part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site.
Greenwich
The Royal Observatory was established by Charles II in 1675 for the purpose of observing the motion of the heavens and to help perfect navigation. It is the location of the Prime Meridian (dividing the world into east and west) and the source of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) - a time ball still drops at precisely 1pm each day to help sailors and others set their time pieces correctly. The Royal Observatory moved to Herstmonceaux Castle in Sussex in 1957 - what remains is essentially a fascinating museum. Also on site is the Peter Harrison Planetarium.
Part of Royal Museums Greenwich, which includes the National Maritime Museum, Cutty Sark and Queen's House. It's about a 20 minute walk from the nearest railway station (Cutty Sark DLR or Blackheath main line) and the museum is located in the middle of Greenwich Park on a steep hill with no parking; check the website for more details.
Greenwich
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