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 the North of England, including Yorkshire.
These can be found in ABAB’s Places.
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Forde Abbey is a former 12th century Cistercian monastery converted into a palatial family home during the mid-17th century. The house has exquisitely ornate plaster ceilings throughout the state rooms, together with a collection of tapestries woven from cartoons drawn by Raphael for the Sistine Chapel. It is certainly a unique family house.
Throughout the 20th century the 30 acres of gardens that surround this unusual house have been transformed by the present owners. The gardens are now a diverse and breath-taking landscape fit for the house that they surround, from the productive Kitchen Garden, to the Arboretum, Rock Garden, Herbaceous Borders, Bog Garden, and Woodland Garden. Forde has also been used as a film location, including for the production of ‘Far From the Madding Crowd,’ starring Carey Mulligan and Michael Sheen.
Image credit: Historic Houses
The ruins of Glastonbury Abbey are associated with two famous legends: firstly that Joseph of Arimathea visited Glastonbury in the 1st century AD, planting his staff which grew into a thorn tree and, secondly, that Glastonbury is Avalon and the burial place of King Arthur and his Queen, Guinevere. There is a thorn tree on the site that, it is claimed, descends from Joseph's staff. And there is a grave that purports to be that of Arthur and Guinevere. The abbey is said to date from 7th century; by 1086, it was allegedly the richest monastery in England and, in the 14th century, only Westminster was wealthier. The community was dissolved on the orders of Henry VIII in 1539 and the last abbot, Richard Whiting, was hanged, drawn and quartered on nearby Glastonbury Tor.
Glastonbury
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was first held in 1970, the day after Jimi Hendrix died, when the headlining act was T Rex (who replaced the Kinks). It was the brainchild of farmer Michael Eavis and is now a regular event, the largest of its kind in the world. Though best known for its music (as well as its mud and awful toilets), the festival, as its name implies, covers all performing arts - such as dance, cabaret and comedy. For 5 days during June, Worthy Farm is transformed into a major conurbation of 175,000 people - it is a masterpiece of logistics and organisation. Headline acts over the years have included the likes of the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, The Who, Adele and Dolly Parton.
Attendance is ONLY possible by allocated ticket obtained via the festival website.
Pilton
Shepton Mallet
Glastonbury Tor is a magical place, with links to Celtic mythology and the legend of King Arthur. Some say this conical hill, rising from the Somerset levels, is the Isle of Avalon. Now topped with the roofless tower of 14th century St Michael's church, there is evidence of other structures on the site since at least the 5th century and it has been used by man since prehistoric times. The Tor has distinctive, but unexplained, terracing on it. The last abbot of Glastonbury Abbey and two of his fellow monks were executed on the summit in 1539.
Post code is approximate. It is a walk to the top and there are no facilities. Parking in Glastonbury, cross the A361 and follow the path from either Dod Lane or the bottom of Wellhouse Lane. You can take a circular route.
Golden Cap is a cliff and countryside estate on Dorset's Jurassic coast, with footpaths, views and access to the beach for fossil-hunting.
NB Particular care must be taken of tides and the high risk of cliff falls.
There are a variety of ways of getting to the estate. Stonebarrow Hill, where there is a car park and information centre with toilets and a small shop in an old radar station, is a good place to start. Post code below is approximate. From the west, go through Charmouth and take the turning on right by Stonebarrow Manor into Stonebarrow Lane. NB this is extremely narrow. Head as far as you can until you're there!
Located off the A35 between Lyme Regis and Bridport
The writer Thomas Hardy's birthplace in 1840, where he grew up with his parents and sisters and where he wrote Under the Greenwood Tree and Far from the Madding Crowd.
Note - entry is sometimes by timed ticket.
Image: Chris Downer via Wikimedia Commons
Nr Dorchester
Lovely, and popular, beach on Dorset's Jurassic Coast. National Trust car park.
England’s Jurassic Coast encompasses 95 miles of lovely coastline from Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks in Studland Bay in Dorset. It actually covers three geological time periods - the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous which together make up the Mesozoic Era, from around 250 to 65 million years ago. The area's significant fossil sites and model coastal geomorphologic features have contributed to the study of earth sciences for over 300 years. The coast includes some wonderful geological features, like Durdle Door and Chesil Beach, dramatic views and seaside towns and resorts such as Bournemouth, Poole, Swanage, Lyme Regis and West Bay. Walk, bathe and hunt for fossils.
Managed by the Jurassic Coast Trust
This was the home the Bankes family created after their castle at Corfe was destroyed in the Civil War. Designed to resemble an Italian palace, it is packed with treasures including works of art by Rubens Van Dyck, Tintoretto, Titian and Brueghel. The house also contains what is said to be the largest collection of Egyptian relics in the UK. Outside, there is a 3,500 acre estate with walks, plus extensive gardens, including a Japanese garden and Victorian kitchen garden.
Note: Entrance to house often on a timed visit; also, volunteer shortages mean that sometimes only a small part of the house is open - essential to check beforehand.
Lacock is one of those places that are almost frozen in another time. In this small picture-perfect Wiltshire village of about 350 souls, there are few overt trappings of the 21st century: no satellite dishes or TV aerials, no yellow lines, and only a small amount of signage – which anyway appears to be easily removable. Blank out the cars and rough-up the road surface a little and you’re transported back to the past, albeit a sanitised version where every building is immaculately maintained. Which explains why Lacock is one of the UK’s premier locations for filming period dramas, like Pride and Prejudice and Cranford. The village is owned by the National Trust.
Nr Chippenham
If your favourite attraction is not listed yet, and you have a good quality digital photograph of it that you are able to freely send, please get in touch.