Pomp and circumstance. Danny Boyle summed it up best. Our proud traditions and extraordinary heritage are the bread and butter of what makes us English. We can brush our fingers across mighty megaliths, stones standing guard, frozen in time. We can step inside preserved castles bearing battle scars of old, and plunge into darkness down abandoned mines, relics of great industries, long-since past. Guards march solemnly past, making history today as they have done for hundreds of years. We stand and stare at heritage tourist attractions throughout the land and allow the past to meld into the present. Our England.
This Sceptred Isle
Pomp and circumstance. Danny Boyle summed it up best. Our proud traditions and extraordinary heritage are the bread and butter of what makes us English. We can brush our fingers across mighty megaliths, stones standing guard, frozen in time. We can step inside preserved castles bearing battle scars of old, and plunge into darkness down abandoned mines, relics of great industries, long-since past. Guards march solemnly past, making history today as they have done for hundreds of years. We stand and stare at heritage tourist attractions throughout the land and allow the past to meld into the present. Our England.
Experience living history on the Spurn Lightship
Step back more than 80 years and experience living history brought to life by this fascinating vessel.
Location: Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Delve into the dark history of Hexham Old Gaol
If the kids start misbehave, why not 'treat' them to a trip to gaol. Hexham Old Gaol was built in 1330 and is England's oldest purpose-built prison.
Location: Hexham, Northumberland
Explore Levant Mine and Beam Engine
Restored to UNESCO World Heritage status after 60 years by the Greasy Gang, a visit to the Levant Mine and Beam Engine is a fascinating trip into the past.
Location: Near St Just, Cornwall
Industry meets art at Salts Mill
Packed to its Victorian rafters with independent traders and the largest collection of David Hockney’s work.
Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire
Watch Three Queens meet on the Mersey
See this once-in-a-lifetime cruise event, as Cunard celebrates 175 years with its Three Queens meeting on the Liverpool waterfront.
Location: Liverpool, Merseyside
Discover a secluded fortified manor house at Aydon Castle
Over 900 years old and pretty much unaltered since then, Aydon Castle sits proudly upon its crag; a true survivor of some rough times and visitors.
Location: Corbridge, Northumberland
Life in Victorian Bradford
Founded by Sir Titus Salt in 1853, Saltaire is a UNESCO World Heritage site and remains a living, working 19th century village.
Location: Saltaire, West Yorkshire
Explore the working trawler Arctic Corsair
Journey back to the stormy waters of the North Sea at the height of the Cod Wars on the only trawler accessible to the public.
Location: Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Experience life as a dockyard apprentice in Portsmouth
Be transported back in time to 1911 and become an apprentice for a day at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire
Visit the Papplewick Pumping Station
The pumping station was designed in the 1880s to pump gallons of clean, fresh water every day to the rapidly growing population of Industrial Britain.
Location: Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
Uncover London’s industrial heritage at The Brunel Museum
Discover how the world's first underwater tunnel was built on a visit to the Brunel Museum.
Location: London, Greater London
Saxon Heritage at Sutton Hoo
See one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time at Sutton Hoo.
Location: Woodbridge, Suffolk
Full steam ahead on a loco driven by you
Many would love the chance to drive a steam engine, well now's your chance: become a train driver for the day at Telford Steam Railway.
Location: Telford, Shropshire
Discover Danebury mysterious Iron Age world
Danebury is perhaps the most extensively studied Iron Age hillfort in Europe. Its intriguing finds can be found at Andover’s Museum of the Iron Age.
Location: Test Valley, Hampshire
Welcome aboard the longest Essex heritage railway
Pay a visit to Epping Ongar Railway, and ride on running steam and diesel engines between period stations, through countryside and forest.
Location: Chipping Ongar, Essex
Discover a new visitor experience at Colchester Castle
Colchester Castle is the biggest Norman keep in Britain, in fact, it’s the biggest ever built by the Normans anywhere in Europe.
Location: Colchester, Essex
Dig for buried treasure at Roman Vindolanda
See live archaeological excavations before your eyes at the ancient fort of Vindolanda.
Location: Vindolanda, Northumberland
Rainy Day Activities: Experience the underground world of Wookey Hole
There are legends aplenty about Britain’s biggest caves, where you’ll find a secret river and bewitching caverns.
Location: Wells, Somerset
Explore the Industrial Revolution at Ironbridge Gorge
Go to Ironbridge Gorge which created the spark that started the Industrial Revolution.
Location: Ironbridge, Shropshire
Rainy Day Activities: Uncover England's maritime history in Greenwich
Journey back into London’s seafaring history and come up close and personal with Britain’s most famous sailor.
Location: Greenwich, London
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