871 Best Sights in England

On the hills above Abbotsbury stands this 72-foot-tall stone monument dedicated to Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy (not the famous writer), Nelson's right-hand man at the battle of Trafalgar to whom his dying words "Kiss me, Hardy" were addressed. The monument, built in 1844 and designed to look like a spyglass, lacks charm, but in clear weather, you can scan the coastline from the Isle of Wight to Start Point in Devon, 56 miles away (the Hardy family wanted a monument that could be used as a landmark for shipping). On open days in May and October, you can climb the 120 steps inside to a viewing platform. The monument is 3½ miles north of Abbotsbury via B3157 and Portesham Hill.

Thomas Hardy's grandfather built this small thatch-and-cob cottage, where the writer was born in 1840, and little has changed since the family left. Here Hardy grew up and wrote many of his early works, including Far from the Madding Crowd, at a desk you can still see. Access is by foot only via a walk through ancient woodland or down a country lane from the parking lot, where a visitor center has information about the surrounding landscape and trails so you can follow in Hardy's footsteps. Admission is by prebooked one-hour guided tour only.

With an encyclopedic assortment of luxury brands, this Knightsbridge institution, currently owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, has more than 300 departments and 25 eating and drinking options, all spread over 1 million square feet on a 4½-acre site. Now populated more by window-shopping tourists and superrich visitors from abroad than by the bling-averse natives, Harrods is best approached as the world's largest, most upscale, and most expensive mall. The dining hall offers on-site dining options that include a Pasta Evangelists' Italian spot, fish-and-chips by noted chef Tom Kerridge, a ramen bar, a sushi restaurant under the auspices of sushi guru Masayoshi Takayama, and a Mediterranean grill, plus a rooftop restaurant serving Nordic cuisine, a pan-Asian fine dining restaurant, a patisserie, a dim sum terrace restaurant, a Gordon Ramsey burger bar, and a Moët & Chandon champagne bar, while downstairs there's a restaurant from Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton. There's also a giant coffee-roasting station, ceiling-high shelves of fresh bread refreshed every half-hour at the Bakery, and a Chocolate Hall. The Beauty Hall offers cult brands, innovative "Magic Mirrors" that allow shoppers to instantly see a new makeup look via digital technology, an in-house "hair doctor," and more than 46,000 different lipsticks, as well as 13 treatment rooms where you can try on makeup in private, suites for facials and body treatments, and even a piercing salon. Most ultra-luxe international designers such as Vuitton, Chanel, and Hèrmes are represented, but even this temple to money-is-no-object shopping has embraced sustainability: there's a designer rental service in conjunction with My Wardrobe HQ.

Take a thrilling ride up the West Hill Cliff Railway from George Street precinct to the atmospheric ruins of the thousand-year-old fortress now known as Hastings Castle. It was built by William the Conqueror in 1066, before he had even won the Battle of Hastings and conquered England—that's confidence for you. Today all that remains of the country's first Norman castle are mere fragments of the fortifications, some ancient walls, and a number of gloomy dungeons. Nevertheless, you get an excellent view of the chalky cliffs, the rocky coast, and the town below. 

A symbol of Hastings's gradual regeneration after decades of neglect, this spruced-up exhibition space in the Old Town has become one of the most talked-about contemporary art museums outside London. Formerly known as the Jerwood Gallery, Hastings Contemporary focuses on innovative global modern and contemporary art exhibitions that change every couple of months. The glazed-tile building on the seafront was designed to reflect the row of distinctive old, blackened fishing sheds it sits alongside.

A cable car ride across the River Derwent takes you to this 60-acre country park on the crags above Matlock Bath. Tickets include access to the woodland walk, nature trails and a willow sculpture trail, guided tours of two caverns and a former lead mine where workers toiled by candlelight, access to the film theater, and use of the audio tour. There are also two adventure playgrounds and a restaurant. The parking lot has a display-and-pay (by the hour) system of payment.

West of Ullswater's southern end, the brooding presence of Helvellyn (3,118 feet), one of the Lake District's most formidable mountains and England's third highest, recalls the region's fundamental character. It's an arduous climb to the top, especially via the challenging ridge known as Striding Edge, and the ascent shouldn't be attempted in poor weather or by inexperienced hikers. Signposted paths to the peak run from the road between Glenridding and Patterdale and pass by Red Tarn, which is the highest small mountain lake in the region at 2,356 feet.

Located within Hereford's Town Hall, this heritage museum holds many of the city’s historic artifacts, including the first Royal Charter given to Hereford in 1189 by Richard the Lionheart, which validated its city status and assured its position as one of England's most important cities at the time. Visitors can also see items from the Mayor's Parlour, such as the sword of Owen Tudor, great-grandfather of Henry VIII, who met his grisly end in Hereford during the Wars of the Roses. Though you can visit independently, you can also visit as part of a wider guided walk through the city with the brilliant Guild of Mayors Guides ( herefordguidedwalks.org.uk), a great way to understand of Hereford's intriguing past.

In the garden of this modest Bath town house, which he shared with his sister Caroline (an astronomer in her own right), William Herschel (1738–1822) identified the planet Uranus. He used a handmade telescope of his own devising, and this small museum, devoted to his studies and discoveries, shows his telescopes, the workshop abutting the kitchen where he cast his speculum metal mirrors, as well as orreries, caricatures, and musical instruments of his time (Herschel was the organist at Bath's Octagon Chapel). The museum does not accept cash for the admission price.

Since 1239, this pretty square has been the site of a weekly market, held each Tuesday. Crowded stalls are set out across the square under colored awnings, attracting serious shoppers and souvenir hunters year-round. A popular farmers' market takes over on the second and fourth Saturday of the month. Even when there's not an official market on, there are often one or two food stalls set up.

The Upper Teesdale Valley's elemental nature shows its most volatile aspect in the sprays of England's highest waterfall, part of the Raby Castle Estate. Located 15 miles northwest of Barnard Castle—a lovely, 30-minute drive through pretty countryside and charming villages—the dramatic High Force cascade drops 69 feet into a plunge pool. From the roadside parking lot, it's a 10-minute walk through woodland to the massive rocks over which the water tumbles.

One of four castellated gateways originally built between 1327 and 1342 using stones taken from the original settlement at Old Sarum, this is the north passage through the wall that surrounds the Cathedral Close. The mullioned windows over the archway mark the site of a small lock-up jail to which anyone who committed offenses within the Close was taken.

The Ashmolean, the world's oldest public museum, was originally housed in this 1683 building, which now holds scientific and mathematical instruments, from astrolabes to quadrants. Among the gems are a wonderful collection of 18th- and 19th-century models of the solar system and the chalkboard Einstein used in a lecture on the Theory of Relativity. There are guided tours on Thursday (2:30 and 3:15) and Saturday (12:30 and 1:15).

At 613½ feet, this large light-cruiser is one of the last remaining big-gun armored warships from World War II, in which it played an important role in protecting the Arctic convoys and supporting the D-Day landings in Normandy; the ship later saw action during the Korean War. This floating museum has been moored in the Thames as a maritime branch of IWM London since 1971. A tour of all nine decks—including an engine room 15 feet below sea level, the admiral's quarters, mess decks, bakery, punishment cells, operations room, and more—gives a vivid picture of life on board the ship. A riveting gun-turret experience with immersive sound puts you in the middle of the D-Day landings, while life aboard is explored through archive film and veterans' recorded reminiscences.

A historic mill building that dates from 1853 and once housed the world's largest factory has been transformed into a gallery housing the world's largest permanent collection of works by Bradford-born artist David Hockney, including his biggest piece, a 295-foot painting depicting the changing seasons of his garden in Normandy during the COVID-19 lockdown. The gallery also sells art materials and art books, plus there's a shopping complex, a café, and a diner on-site.

From the Hoe, a wide, grassy esplanade with crisscrossing walkways high above the city, you can take in a magnificent view of the inlets, bays, and harbors that make up Plymouth Sound.

The satirist and painter William Hogarth (1697–1764), little known in the rest of the world, is hugely famous in Britain. His witty, acerbic engravings, which railed against the harsh injustices of the time, may be called the visual equivalent of the satires of Jonathan Swift and were no less influential in their time. Unfortunately his beloved house has had an appalling streak of bad luck; as if the decision, in the 1960s, to route one of the nation's busiest highways outside the front gates wasn't ignoble enough, the house was closed after a fire in 2009.

Now fully restored, the rooms contain absorbing exhibitions, featuring many of Hogarth's 18th-century prints, together with replica furniture of the period. Look out for the 300-year-old mulberry tree outside; Hogarth and his wife used its fruit to bake pies for destitute children. The original copies of some of Hogarth's most famous works can be seen elsewhere in the city: A Rake's Progress at Sir John Soane's Museum; Marriage A-la-Mode at the National Gallery; and Gin Lane at the British Museum. His tomb is in the cemetery of St. Nicholas's Church on nearby Chiswick Mall.

The red sandstone towers of sprawling Holker Hall, still the home of the Cavendish family, rise above elegant English gardens. Much of the house was rebuilt in Elizabethan style after an 1871 fire, and it has a fine cantilevered staircase and a library with more than 3,000 books. Topiaries, a labyrinth, and an enormous lime tree are the highlights of the 25 manicured acres of gardens. Special events and festivals take place here regularly. 

Formerly the grounds of a 17th-century aristocrat's manor house and open to the public only since 1952, Holland Park is an often-overlooked gem in the heart of London. The northern "Wilderness" end offers woodland walks among native and exotic trees first planted in the early 18th century. Foxes, rabbits, and hedgehogs are among the residents. The central part of the park is given over to the manicured lawns—still stalked by raucous peacocks—one would expect at a stately home, although Holland House itself, originally built by James I's chancellor and later the site of a 19th-century salon frequented by Byron, Dickens, and Disraeli, was largely destroyed by German bombs in 1940. The east wing was reconstructed and has been incorporated into a youth hostel, while the remains of the front terrace provide an atmospheric backdrop for the open-air performances of the April–September Holland Park Opera Festival ( www.operahollandpark.com). The glass-walled Orangery garden ballroom now hosts events and art exhibitions, as does the Ice House, while an adjoining former granary has become the upscale Belvedere restaurant. In spring and summer, the air is fragrant with aromas from a rose garden, great banks of rhododendrons, and an azalea walk. Garden enthusiasts will also not want to miss the tranquil, traditional Kyoto Garden with its pretty waterfall, a legacy of London's 1991 Japan Festival.

The southern part of the park is devoted to sport and play: cricket and soccer pitches; a golf practice area; tennis courts; a well-supervised children's Adventure Playground (with a zipline!); and a giant outdoor chess set.

The birthplace of the English composer Gustav Holst (1874–1934), who was born in Cheltenham, is the only Victorian house open to the public in the town. The period interiors are well preserved, and the collection includes many of the Holst family's own possessions, including the Collard & Collard piano on which Holst wrote The Planets, a famous orchestral suite.

This largely 15th-century church, founded by the rich clothiers of Long Melford, stands on a hill at the north end of the village. Close up, the delicate flint flush-work (shaped flints set into a pattern) and huge Perpendicular Gothic windows that take up most of the church's walls have great impact, especially because the nave is 150 feet long. The Clopton Chapel, with an ornate (and incredibly rare) painted medieval ceiling, predates the rest of the church by 150 years. The beautiful Lady Chapel has an unusual cloister; the stone on the wall in the corner is an ancient multiplication table, used when the chapel served as a school in the 17th and 18th centuries. Tours can be arranged in advance. Email [email protected] for more details and to make reservations.

Beyond Seatoller, B5289 turns westward through Honister Pass (1,176 feet) and Buttermere Fell. Boulders line the road, which is one of the most dramatic in the region. The road sweeps down from the pass to the village of Buttermere, sandwiched between its namesake lake and Crummock Water at the foot of high, craggy fells. Beyond the pass, at the edge of Buttermere village, Syke Farm Tea Room sells fantastic local ice cream. Both Buttermere and Crummock Water have excellent walking options, away from many of the crowds farther east. Newlands Pass is an equally spectacular route back to Keswick via the pastoral Newlands Valley.

Set amid 16 acres of gardens, this eclectic museum is considered something of a well-kept secret by the residents of south London—perhaps because of its out-of-the-way location. Its offerings encompass world anthropology, natural history, and a fine collection of some 1,300 musical instruments (including a giant tuba). The emphasis is on fun and a wide range of activities (many hands-on), including London's oldest nature trail (which features domesticated creatures such as sheep, chickens, and alpacas), a butterfly house, and an aquarium stocked with endangered species. It's also home to a comically overstuffed walrus who serves as the museum's unofficial mascot. You can reach the Dulwich Picture Gallery from the museum via a door-to-door 15-minute bus ride on Bus P4 heading toward Brixton.

Once the tiltyard for jousting tournaments, Horse Guards Parade is best known for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony, in which the King takes the salute on his official birthday, on a Saturday in June. (Though it's called a birthday, it's actually just a ceremonial event—his real birthday is November 14.) It's a must-see if you're around, with marching bands and throngs of onlookers. Throughout the rest of the year, the changing of two mounted sentries, known as the King's Life Guard, at the Whitehall facade of Horse Guards provides what may be London's most popular photo opportunity. The ceremony takes place daily from April to July, and on alternate days from August to March (usually odd-numbered days, but check the monthly schedule at  www.householddivision.org.uk/changing-the-guard-calendar). It starts at 10:30 am at St. James's Palace, where the guard begins its march to Buckingham Palace, and the new guards take up their posts in a ceremony at 11. (It's sometimes canceled in bad weather.)

At 4 pm daily is the dismounting ceremony, aka the 4 O'Clock Parade, during which sentries are posted and horses are returned to their stables. It began in 1894, when Queen Victoria discovered the guards on duty drinking and gambling. As a punishment she decreed that the regiment should be inspected every day at 4 pm for the next 100 years—by the time 1994 swung around, they decided to continue the tradition indefinitely.

Hang around Horse Guards for even a short time and you'll see a member of the Household Cavalry on guard, or trotting past on horseback, resplendent in a bright crimson uniform with polished brass armor. Made up of soldiers from the British Army's most senior regiments, the Life Guard and the Blues and Royals, membership is considered a great honor; they act as the King's official bodyguards and play a key role in state occasions (they also perform the famed Changing the Guard ceremony).

Housed in the cavalry's original 17th-century stables, the museum has displays of uniforms and weapons going back to 1661 as well as interactive exhibits on the regiments' current operational roles. In the tack room you can handle saddles and bridles, and try on a trooper's uniform, including a distinctive brass helmet with horsehair plume. You can also observe the working horses being tended to in their stable block behind a glass wall.

Tucked inside the imposing Royal College of Surgeons, this museum is part homage to celebrated 18th-century Scottish anatomist John Hunter and part exploration of surgery's evolution from its primitive, morally dubious origins to the lifesaver it is today. The sheer volume—and strangeness—of the exhibits on display can feel overwhelming, but pace yourself and your curiosity will be amply rewarded. Everywhere you turn something catches the eye: from Victorian-era prosthetic noses to an unexpectedly glamorous amputation case from the 1700s (in which the grisly instruments are inlaid in red velvet lining, to the simply enormous molar tooth of an Asian elephant. But be warned, the museum's centerpiece—Hunter's vast collection of body parts and organs suspended in jars of formaldehyde—is not for the squeamish.

The creation of the eccentric Frederick Hervey, fourth earl of Bristol and bishop of Derry, this unusual 18th-century home was owned by the Hervey family until the 1960s. Inspired by his travels, Hervey wanted an Italianate palace and gardens. The two wings are arranged around a striking central rotunda. The east wing now contains a hotel, while the west has paintings by Hogarth, Titian, and Gainsborough. Behind the house, the rose gardens and vineyards spread out to join a vast, 1,800-acre wood. A stroll over the hills gives the best views of the house, which is 7 miles southwest of Bury St. Edmunds.

It may not have become the essential commuter route its makers envisioned, but this cable car, which connects Greenwich Peninsula with the Docklands across the Thames, offers spectacular views from nearly 300 feet up. The journey takes about 10 minutes each way and cable cars arrive every 30 seconds.

Fondly regarded in folklore as the lost land of Lyonesse, this compact group of more than 100 islands 30 miles southwest of Land's End is equally famed for the warm summer climate and ferocious winter storms. You can find peace, flowers—wild, cultivated, and subtropical—swarms of seabirds, and unspoiled beaches galore. There's a 2¾-hour ferry service from Penzance, a plane service from Land's End airport and other mainland airports, and a helicopter service ( www.penzancehelicopters.co.uk) from Penzance. Planes and ferries both arrive at the largest of the five inhabited islands, St. Mary's, while up to 11 helicopter flights connect Penzance with St. Mary's and Tresco. St. Mary's has the bulk of the lodgings, though the most palatial retreats are on the islands of Tresco and St. Martin's.

Europe's leading aviation museum houses a remarkable collection of 180 aircraft from Europe and the United States. The former airfield is effectively a complex of several museums under one banner. The Land Warfare Hall features tanks and other military vehicles. The striking American Air Museum, which honors the 30,000 Americans killed in action flying from Britain during WW II, contains the largest display of American fighter planes outside the United States. AirSpace holds a vast array of military and civil aircraft in a 3-acre hangar. Directly underneath is the Airborne Assault Museum, which chronicles the history of airborne forces, such as the British Parachute Regiment, which played a pivotal role in the Normandy Landings.

One of the most popular exhibits is a Spitfire plane that was shot down over Calais during World War II and recovered in 1986. A massive restoration project made the plane fully airworthy again in 2014. There are also hangars where you can see restoration work taking place on other WW II planes and exhibitions on maritime warfare and the Battle of Britain. See the planes in action with the historic air shows that are held on a handful of dates every summer; check the website for details.