A united kingdom of wonders
The united kingdom of great adventure
For the first time, the experts at Lonely Planet have ranked the top 500 unmissable experiences and hidden gems across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands – to create the ultimate UK travel hitlist.
Here are their top five experiences.
See the greatest shows on Earth at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Walking down the cobbled Royal Mile, set against the brooding backdrop of Edinburgh Castle and a congregation of medieval rooftops, it isn’t the knife-throwing unicyclist that first stops you in your tracks.
Neither is it the a cappella choir rehearsing in the shadows of St Giles’ Cathedral, nor the gussied-up collective of artists, including bare-chested Korean drummers, a karaoke version of Macbeth, a soap-bubble circus and a group of preening Thai ladyboys.
Even the camera-ready crowds lining up to take photos aren’t surprised by them.
Instead, it is the zombified drag queen, pulling balloons from between her buttocks, that brings the street to a standstill.
At such times, there’s no shame in being baffled by the world’s largest arts festival. Now well into its 70s, the annual, three-weeklong Edinburgh Fringe comes with a packed programme of some 3500 shows, 1900-odd premieres, and about 55,000 performances stretched across 300 citywide venues.
In previous years, the Royal Botanic Gardens has hosted a ‘‘pianodrome’’ built from 55 recycled pianos. A repurposed 1960s caravan has become a comedy club. The top deck of a bus has welcomed poetry recitals, and a chicken coop – with a capacity for only three – has hosted the world’s smallest-ever comedy show.
In some cases, public convenience has been forsaken in the name of art – believe it or not, even toilets have been used as an unlikely venue.
Quite simply, the Edinburgh Fringe floods the city with art, and nowhere beats it for spectacle or scale. Strangeness, too.
Come August in Edinburgh, everything seems brighter, barmier and more colourful.
To negotiate such a minefield of creative freedom, it’s best to tackle the Edinburgh Fringe over several days, dipping in and out of shows aided by word-of-mouth reviews and tips picked up in the pub.
There is theatre, comedy, dance, circus, cabaret, opera, music, and spoken word. Whatever the time of day, an acrobat, trapeze artist, contortionist or tried-and-tested bagpiping busker will be pleased to entertain you.
Plan ahead too much and you’ll miss the freedom of spontaneity, but come ill-prepared and you may find the hot tickets already sold out. In the past, you could have seen the likes of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, Robin Williams, Rowan Atkinson, Mike Myers, members of Monty Python, or Billy Connolly for less than a fiver.
Still bewildered? Simply step through the looking glass and prepare to be dazzled by the greatest show of arts and culture on Earth.
You won’t have seen anything like it and – unless you return year on year, like a local – you never will again.
Take a world tour of treasures at London’s British Museum
Some museums are travel destinations in themselves. The British Museum – the first public national museum – is the envy of the world, with good reason in some cases, considering the many treasures obtained under questionable circumstances in colonial times.
Yet this miraculous museum started life as a humble cabinet of curiosities, assembled by 18thcentury physician and hot-chocolate inventor, Sir Hans Sloane.
As a condition of bequeathing his treasures to the nation, he ordered that they be open for free to ‘‘all studious and curious persons’’, a tradition that continues.
Early on, the collection was dominated by natural history, books and drawings, but the kleptomaniac zeal of the colonial period saw it stuffed with gifted, borrowed and purloined treasures from across the globe, from mummified pharaohs to the Parthenon Marbles, alongside the greatest treasures unearthed in the British Isles.
Putting disputes over ownership to one side, visitors are transported on a whirlwind world tour of human creativity.
If human beings have made it, somewhere in the world, there’s a chance you’ll find an example in the display cases.
One effect of this globetrotting collection is that the museum speaks to the culture of almost everyone who walks in the door.
The museum also has its finger on the pulse of modern archaeology, hosting temporary exhibitions in the Reading Room, beneath a geodesic canopy designed by Norman Foster.
There’s far too much to take in on one trip; if
you only have a day, make a beeline for the Egyptian treasures, the Parthenon Marbles and the quirky British antiquities such as the Sutton Hoo helmet and the Lewis chessmen.
Step ogre-sized strides over hexagonal stones at Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway
The descent from the cliffs to the strange rocks of the Giant’s Causeway feels at once timeless – the scene has remained the same for many centuries – and unrepeatable: the moody skies, the light and the temperament of the sea are constantly changing.
Equally exhilarating when cloaked in fairy tale mist as when bathed in bright sunshine or whipped by howling winds, uneven stacks of hexagonal basalt columns stand in neat clusters along the water’s edge, emerging from the shore like tightly packed tower blocks in a city skyline.
The low rumble of the ocean builds into a roar as white-tipped water creeps up and crashes over the rocks, lapping the stones as it retreats.
Northern Ireland’s only Unesco World Heritage site is shrouded in a sense of magic, myth and natural wonder.
Legend has it that Irish giant Finn McCool built a causeway across the sea as a way to reach his rivals in Scotland.
One day, the Scottish giant Benandonner followed Finn back to Ireland, but he was tricked by Finn and retreated home to Scotland, ripping up the causeway behind him.
Giants aside, scientists put the formation of the rocks down to volcanic activity 60 million years ago. As the lava flow cooled and hardened it contracted, creating a honeycomb pattern.
After clambering over the pillars on the shore, check out the Organ, a rock formation resembling organ pipes, and the Chimney Stacks headland, which looks like industrial chimneys on the edge of the ocean. A clifftop path leads to the Amphitheatre viewpoint and down the Shepherd’s Steps to the shore.
There’s also a minibus that runs to the rocks from the visitor centre, where you can learn more about the causeway’s history, geology and legends.
Experience how the Romans bathed in Bath
If there’s one thing the Romans liked better than anything – except perhaps straight roads, good sanitation and gladiatorial gore – it was a nice hot bath.
And 2000 years ago, when Britain was under Roman rule, they built a sumptuous bath complex at a site known as Aquae Sulis, taking advantage of the area’s geothermal hot springs, which warm the underground water to 46 degrees Celsius.
Though now swallowed up by the modern city of Bath, most of the structure is still standing, including bathing pools, changing rooms, the original hypocaust heating system, and the central Great Bath, lined with lead and filled with 1.58 metres of steaming, geothermally heated water.
In fact, it’s one of the best-preserved Roman bathhouses in the world, and gives a fascinating glimpse into Romans’ everyday lives (and fastidious ablution habits).
The only disappointment is that people are no longer allowed to take a dip there, but you can get pretty close to a bona fide Roman bathing experience at the Thermae Bath Spa nearby, complete with its postcard-worthy panoramic rooftop pool.
Retrace the Romans’ footsteps along Hadrian’s Wall
Hot on the heels of Bath’s namesake thermal baths is another mighty Roman legacy – an enormous defensive wall stretching 117km across Britain.
This phenomenal feat of engineering was built under Roman emperor Hadrian between AD122 and AD128 to keep out Scottish Picts. Rising to 4.5m, and with a width of almost 3m, it took 15,000 men six years to construct it from local whinstone (dolerite). Only 10 per cent survives today, but it makes an unforgettable impression.
Along the wall were 80 milecastles (small forts), with observation turrets between them. Larger forts were built in the south, with 16 more lying astride the wall, which you can visit today.
Staggering remains that serve as reminders of the Romans’ advancements include the hospital at Housesteads Fort, ventilated granaries and barracks, as well as flushable communal latrines.
Exploring sections of the wall is easy thanks to good rail and road access (including buses), but if you’re up for an adventure, you can complete the national Hadrian’s Wall Path walking trail along its length in about a week.