871 Best Sights in England

The lake came to prominence in the 1930s when Arthur Ransome made it the setting for Swallows and Amazons, one of a series of beloved novels about a group of children and their adventures. The lake is about 5 miles long, a tempting stretch that drew Donald Campbell here in 1959 to set a water-speed record of 260 mph. He was killed when trying to beat it in 1967. His body and the wreckage of Bluebird K7 were retrieved from the lake in 2001. Campbell is buried in St. Andrew's church in Coniston, and a stone memorial on the village green commemorates him.

One of the most dramatic ruins in Britain, Corfe Castle overlooks the picturesque gray limestone village of the same name. The present ruins are what's left of a castle begun by Henry I, son of William the Conqueror, who erected the great central keep in the early 12th century to guard the principal route through the surrounding Purbeck Hills. The outer walls and towers were added in the 1270s. Cromwell's Parliament ordered the castle to be blown up in 1646 during the Civil War, after a long siege during which its Royalist chatelaine, Lady Bankes, led its defense.

About 4 miles west of Buckland Abbey and 9 miles southwest of Tavistock, Cotehele House and Quay was formerly a busy port on the River Tamar, but it is now usually visited for the well-preserved, atmospheric late-medieval manor, home of the Edgcumbe family for centuries. The house has original furniture, tapestries, embroideries, and armor, and you can also visit the impressive gardens, a quay museum, and a restored mill. (The mill's operation is currently suspended while repairs take place following damage to the weir upstream.) Choose a bright day or bring a flashlight, because the rooms have no electric light. Shops, crafts studios, a gallery, and a restaurant provide other diversions.

Take advantage of the shuttle bus that runs most days between the house, quay, and mill. Just keep in mind that the shuttle is driven by volunteers, and so is dependent on volunteer availability. Call in advance to confirm the shuttle will be running when you're here.

The family-run Cotswold Farm Park is the best family day out in the Cotswolds, and an excellent showcase for British farming. In addition to meeting the animals, including the iconic Suffolk Punch horses, visitors can enjoy wildlife and woodland walks, outdoor and indoor playgrounds, and viewing towers and platforms. At the Muddy Kitchen, all the kitchen appliances and utensils are provided to help make your very best mud pie. The park's Ox Shed restaurant and farm shop sell delicious food from local suppliers, and you can stay on-site in a lodge, camping pod, or luxury glamping tent. Visits should be prebooked by arrival time. Also note that cash is not accepted on-site. Cotswold Farm Park is 6 miles west of Stow-on-the-Wold in Guiting Power.

Housed in an old mill and marked by a topiary vintage Mini car, this museum has seven rooms crammed to the rafters with more than 30 shiny vintage and classic cars, delightful caravans from the 1920s and 1960s, ancient motorbikes and bicycles, road signs from past times, and a shepherd's hut on wheels. If this and the assortment of motoring memorabilia are not enough, there are also children's toys, pedal cars, models, and board games.

Near the church of St. James, this museum occupies an old agricultural building that has been smartly renovated to showcase the area's prominence in the fields of craft and design. You can admire examples of silverware, ceramics, printing, woodcarving, jewelry, and cutlery, as well as changing exhibitions. Opposite the barn is an important row of almshouses dating from the reign of King James I.

Exeter's historic waterfront on the River Exe was the center of the city's medieval wool industry, and the Custom House, built in 1680, attests to the city's prosperity. The city's earliest surviving brick building is now flanked by Victorian warehouses and houses a visitor center where you can view a short video as well as documents on Exeter's maritime history.

Here three galleries tell the absorbing story of the planning and preparation for the Allied invasion of Europe during WWII and the actual landings on D-Day—June 6, 1944—through an eclectic range of exhibits including maps, uniforms, and even the last surviving landing craft tank, as well as filmed testimonies from those who were there. The museum's centerpiece is the Overlord Embroidery ("Overlord" was the invasion's code name), a 272-foot-long embroidered cloth with 34 panels illustrating the history of the operation, from the Battle of Britain in 1940 to victory in Normandy in 1944.

Home of the Hasell family since 1679, Dalemain began with a 12th-century peel tower, built to protect the occupants from raiding Scots, and is now a delightful hodgepodge of architectural styles. An imposing Georgian facade of local pink sandstone encompasses a medieval hall and extensions from the 16th through the 18th century. Inside are a magnificent oak staircase, furniture dating from the mid-17th century, a Chinese drawing room, a 16th-century room with intricate plasterwork, and many fine paintings, including masterpieces by van Dyck. The gardens are worth a look, too, and deer roam the estate. At the end of winter, the house hosts the annual World Marmalade Awards and Festival. Dalemain is 3 miles southwest of Penrith.

Even on a summer's day, the brooding hills of this sprawling wilderness appear a likely haunt for such monsters as the hound of the Baskervilles, and it seems entirely fitting that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle set his Sherlock Holmes thriller in this landscape. Sometimes the wet, peaty wasteland of Dartmoor National Park vanishes in rain and mist, although in clear weather you can see north to Exmoor, south over the English Channel, and west far into Cornwall. Much of Dartmoor consists of open heath and moorland, unspoiled by roads—wonderful walking and horseback-riding territory but an easy place to lose your bearings. Dartmoor's earliest inhabitants left behind stone monuments and burial mounds that help you envision prehistoric man roaming these pastures. Ponies, sheep, and birds are the main animals to be seen.

Several villages scattered along the borders of this 368-square-mile reserve—one-third of which is owned by King Charles III—make useful bases for hiking excursions. Accommodations include simple inns and some elegant havens. Okehampton is a main gateway, and Chagford is a good base for exploring north Dartmoor. Other scenic spots include Buckland-in-the-Moor, a hamlet with thatch-roof cottages; Widecombe-in-the-Moor, whose church is known as the Cathedral of the Moor; and Grimspound, the Bronze Age site featured in Conan Doyle's most famous tale. Transmoor Link buses connect many of Dartmoor's towns and villages. The National Park Visitor Centre in Princetown is a good place to start your trip, as are centers in Postbridge and Haytor. You can also pick up information in Ashburton, Okehampton, Ivybridge, Moretonhampstead, Bovey Tracey, Tavistock, and Buckfastleigh.

Dating from the 14th century, this well-preserved fortification a mile downriver was once equipped with a massive chain attached to the Dart's opposite bank to protect the town from sea raiders. Five hundred years later it was the site of a gun battery, dramatically illustrated in a sound and light display. It's a pleasant riverside walk from Dartmouth's center, or take one of the frequent boats leaving from Dartmouth's quay.

These lovingly restored trains chug along on tracks beside the River Dart between Paignton and Kingswear (across the river from Dartmouth). You can combine a train ride with a river excursion between Dartmouth and Totnes and a bus between Totnes and Paignton or Torquay on a Round Robin ticket (£39.50). Consult the website for the sporadic winter timetable.

This is just one of several influential New York gallerists to open a London space in Mayfair in recent years, a trend that has revitalized an area that's been losing ground to edgier neighborhoods like Bethnal Green, Hackney, and Peckham. Zwirner's roster contains the likes of Bridget Riley and Jeff Koons, and modern masters such as Piet Mondrian are exhibited in this grand converted town house, too.

Erected in 1540 and intricately built to the shape of a Tudor rose, Deal Castle is the largest of the coastal defenses constructed by Henry VIII. A moat surrounds its gloomy passages and austere walls. The castle museum has exhibits about prehistoric, Roman, and Saxon Britain.

Legend has it that shepherds found graphite on Seathwaite Fell after a storm uprooted trees in the 16th century. The Derwent company still makes pencils here, and the museum contains the world's longest colored pencil (it takes 28 men to lift it), a pencil produced for World War II spies that contains a rolled-up map, and displays about graphite mining. There's a café and plenty of opportunities for kids to draw, so it's a good, family-friendly option on a rainy day.

To understand why Derwentwater is considered one of England's finest lakes, take a short walk from Keswick's town center to the lakeshore and past the jetty, and follow the Friar's Crag path, about a 15-minute level walk from the center. This pine-tree-fringed peninsula is a favorite vantage point, with its view of the lake, the ring of mountains, and many tiny islands. Ahead, crags line the Jaws of Borrowdale and overhang a mountain ravine—a scene that looks as if it emerged from a Romantic painting.

Located in the former Commonwealth Institute, this museum was the first in the United Kingdom to place everyday contemporary objects in a social and cultural context and to consider their role in the history of design. A free, permanent exhibition displays some 1,000 examples of 20th- and 21st-century design—from furniture, fashion, and domestic products to digital technology, architecture, and engineering. The temporary exhibitions may be focused on leading individual designers, such as Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi, Terence Conran, or David Adjaye, on themes such as the global influence of Californian design, or on the role of design in related art forms, like an exhibition devoted to the work of film director Stanley Kubrick. There's also a design library and archive, two shops, a café, and a restaurant.

This impressive 18th-century building was designed by John Carr as a stable with room for 110 horses. In 1859, the circular area for exercising horses was covered with a slate-color, 156-foot-wide dome—bigger than that of St. Paul's Cathedral in London—and incorporated into a hospital. The University of Derby has taken over the building, which you can visit for free when school is in session. The Devonshire Dome is also home to the luxurious Devonshire Spa.

This house was originally the home of Mary Pearson Strong, on whom Dickens based the character of Betsey Trotwood, David Copperfield's aunt. Dickens lived here from 1837 to 1839 while writing The Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist. Some rooms have been decorated to look as they would have in Dickens's day, and there's a reconstruction of Miss Trotwood's room as described by Dickens. The house is in Broadstairs, 16 miles up the coast from Deal.

This reproduction of an archaeological dig in and beneath an old church is a great way to spark an interest in history and archaeology in young people. A venture by the people behind the Jorvik Viking Centre, DIG is supervised by knowledgeable experts. Kids dig in the dirt to "find" Roman or Viking artifacts, and everyone heads to the lab afterwards to learn what previous archaeological finds discovered on the site have revealed about former inhabitants.

The home of Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–79), the eminent Victorian portrait photographer and friend of Lord Tennyson, has a gallery that includes more than 60 examples of her work, including striking images of Carlyle, Tennyson, and Browning. In addition, there's much here that will appeal to fans of decorative textiles and wall coverings. Another room is devoted to documenting the Isle of Wight rock festival, most famously the five-day event in 1970 that featured the Who, the Doors, Joni Mitchell, and Jimi Hendrix. The ground floor holds a shop and a good Alice in Wonderland–themed tearoom for snacks, hot lunches, and a traditional cream tea.

Located in a former church, this compact private museum run by a paleontologist has an excellent collection of local fossils with more than 16,000 specimens dating back 200 million years. It also provides information on regional geology, how fossils develop, and guided fossil-hunting walks. There are more fossils for sale in the shop on the ground floor, along with minerals.

Reconstructed streets and homes lead you from Roman times to the present day in this engaging museum. Kids like its interactive approach to teaching Newcastle's history, including themed trails on subjects from pioneering Tyneside women to climate change—these are self-guided, with PDFs available on the website. Meanwhile, history buffs will be most thrilled by galleries showing off the town's maritime and industrial achievements, including the Turbinia. Built in 1894, it was once the fastest ship in the world and the first to be powered by steam turbines.

One famous beauty spot linked with Wordsworth is Dora's Field, below Rydal Mount next to the church of St. Mary's (where you can still see the poet's pew). In spring, the field is awash in yellow daffodils, first planted by William Wordsworth and his wife, Mary, in memory of their beloved daughter Dora, who died in 1847.

In addition to secluded cloisters and gardens, the abbey has a spacious church dating from 1170, with a rare lead baptismal font from the Norman period. There are two unique items from the 14th century: a sculptured stone Tree of Jesse window and a wall painting of the Crucifixion with an unusual cross design. The great tower was rebuilt in 1602, but it incorporated the old 14th-century spiral staircase. The Sanctuary has unusual carved wooden niches, depicting figures representing the Seven Deadly Sins. In the Lady Chapel, you can see the so-called "Swaggering Knight" effigy, one of England's best-preserved knight's effigies, which has faint traces of its original 13th-century coloring (extremely rare for statuary of this age). Be sure to check out the People's Chapel for its rare and beautiful fragments of 14th-century wall paintings. Dorchester Abbey is about 9 miles south of Oxford, on A4074. Although free and open 365 days a year, check the bookings calendar in advance to make sure.

This labyrinthine museum contains eclectic collections devoted to nearby Roman and Celtic archaeological finds, Jurassic Coast geology, social history (especially rural crafts and agriculture), decorative arts, regional costumes, and county-based artists such as Elizabeth Frink and local literary luminaries, primarily Hardy but also T. E. Lawrence and others.

Were it not for the wrought-iron gates and armed guards that block the entrance, you'd probably miss this otherwise unassuming Georgian side street off Whitehall—but this is the location of the famous No. 10, London's modest equivalent of The White House. The Georgian entrance to the mid-17th-century mansion is deceptive; it's actually a huge complex of discreetly linked buildings. Since 1732 it has been the official home and office of the prime minister—the last private resident was the magnificently named Mr. Chicken (the current prime minister actually lives in the private apartments above No. 11, traditionally the residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the head of the Treasury). There are no public tours, but the famous black front door to No. 10 is clearly visible from Whitehall. Keep your eyes peeled for Larry the cat, whose official title is Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office.

Just south of Downing Street, in the middle of Whitehall, is the Cenotaph, a stark white monolith built to commemorate the 1918 armistice. On Remembrance Day (the Sunday nearest November 11), it's strewn with red poppy wreaths to honor the dead of both world wars and all British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in action since. A hundred yards farther, toward Parliament, is the Monument to the Women of World War II. The prominent black-marble sculpture uses a string of empty uniforms to symbolize the vital service of women in then-traditionally male jobs during the war, as well as in frontline roles, such as medics and auxiliary officers.

For a taste of Arthurian legend, follow A30 northeast out of Bodmin across the boggy, heather-clad granite plateau of Bodmin Moor. After about 10 miles, turn right at Bolventor to get to Dozmary Pool. A lake rather than a pool, it was here that King Arthur's legendary magic sword, Excalibur, was supposedly returned to the Lady of the Lake after Arthur's final battle.

Built in 1700, this elegant Georgian residence, with its restored interiors, paneled rooms, and period furniture, is where Samuel Johnson lived between 1748 and 1759, compiling his landmark A Dictionary of the English Language in the garret as his health deteriorated. There's a research library with two early editions on view, along with other mementos of Johnson and his friend and biographer, James Boswell, one of literature's greatest diarists. After your visit, enjoy more 17th-century atmosphere around the corner in Wine Office Court at the venerable pub Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, once Johnson and Boswell's favorite watering hole.