The Antonine Wall has World Heritage status alongside Hadrian's Wall to the south. It was built in 140 AD on the orders of Hadrian’s successor, Emperor Antoninus Pius. It ran 37 miles (60km) from Old Kilpatrick in the west to near Bo’ness in the east and formed the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire, but was abandoned after 20 years and the frontier shifted back south to Hadrian’s Wall. Unlike the latter, the Antonine Wall was constructed mostly out of layers of turf. These ramparts reached a height of almost 10 feet (3 m). In front, to the north, ran an enormous ditch, up to 16 feet (5 m) deep. Behind the wall ran a road to enable the movement of troops and supplies. There were 17 manned forts along the wall, plus additional ‘fortlets’. The Antonine Wall website calls it “the biggest, most awe-inspiring building project the people of Scotland had ever seen” – which is true but for the fact that Scotland did not exist at the time. There are several stretches of the wall that can be seen today – one of the best is at Rough Castle (address below). See the World Heritage website for details of all locations. The largest collection of Antonine Wall artefacts is held by the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow.

“Who can ever be tired of Bath?” Jane Austen enquired. Apart from being a favourite of one of England’s most-loved novelists, Bath is probably most famed for its Roman and Regency heritage. The Romans built extensive baths there and called the town Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sul, a local Celtic deity similar to Minerva). The remains of the complex were discovered in the 18th C, by which time the healing waters of Bath had again become fashionable, with the help of the dandy, Beau Nash, and the town evolved into a go-to Regency place. Thus Bath is also loved for its surviving honey-coloured Georgian architecture, not least its elegant Royal Crescent and unusual Pulteney Bridge over the Avon, designed by Robert Adam and containing shops built across its full span.  Among Bath’s many other attractions is the Gothic 15th C Abbey, where a monastery was founded in the 7th century. Bath is a World Heritage Site, one of Britain’s tourist magnets and features heavily on overseas visitors’ itineraries, as well as being a desirable romantic weekend destination.

Enormous 18th century home of the Dukes of Marlborough.  The estate was given to the 1st Duke, John Churchill, as a reward for his military victories against the French.  The house was desuigned by John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor and the park was landscaped by Capability Brown.  Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim and has many associations with it - he proposed to Clementine in the Temple of Diana in the grounds.  The estate is a World Heritage Site and one of the 'treasure houses of England."

Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Cathedral was founded by St Augustine in 597AD, though the present building dates mostly from the late medieval period. Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered here in 1170 and it thereafter became a place of pilgrimage. The Cathedral is a holy place and part of a World Heritage Site.

The Forth Bridge is a railway bridge that spans the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. It was the world’s first major steel structure when it was opened by the then Prince of Wales on 4 March 1890 and is still the world’s longest cantilever bridge. When it opened, it provided an unbroken railway line between London and Aberdeen. It took 7 years to build, employing more than 4,000 men at the peak of its construction, and 57 lives were lost building it. It is 8,904 feet (2,467 metres) long and stands 361 feet (110 metres) above the water at high tide. It requires 52,793 gallons (240,000 litres) of paint.

Two hundred trains use the Forth Bridge each day carrying 3 million passengers a year. In 2015, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

You cannot visit the Forth Bridge but there are viewpoints at South Queensferry.