My Favourite Places to Visit in England

It’s English Tourism Week! After working in a tourist information office, I have a better understanding of how valuable tourism can be to a local economy. However, it has its downsides, such as extra traffic and crowds of people, that are never fun for an introvert.

Regardless, I thought I’d pick out some of my favourite places to visit in England—and I’m sticking to England, it’s English Tourism Week, not UK Tourism Week—that have historical attractions and/or literary connections.

Unsurprisingly, places in Yorkshire feature high on my list, simply because I’ve been a few times and they’re within two to three hours of home.

Haworth

Yes, the famous home village of the Brontë’s is well worth a visit if you’re a fan, but also if you like cobbled streets and shops (I do, so bear with me because they’ll feature a lot in this post). There’s a steep climb up to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, but it’s well worth it when you reach the top. I haven’t been for years, but the museum then was set up to appear as it would have done while the Brontës lived there, and it’s crammed with their possessions, including gowns worn by the sisters.

If you’re not that bothered about the Brontës, there’s also the North Yorkshire Moors Railway where you can catch a steam train across the rugged landscape and enjoy a cream tea. The railway line was used for the film The Railway Children and includes Goathland Station, which doubles as Hogsmeade Station in the first Harry Potter film.

York

The capital of Yorkshire is a fabulous city to visit if you love history. You can walk on the Roman walls, visit a Viking settlement at Yorvik Viking Centre, take a tour of the many churches and York Minster, walk down pokey medieval streets like The Shambles and get a cream tea at the famous Betty’s tea shop (but be prepared to queue).

York Castle Museum is fantastic, and it can take a whole day to see everything. I particularly love the recreation of the Edwardian streets and shops. It’s a very immersive experience.

Whitby

Still in Yorkshire, Whitby is a seaside town on the northeast coast. On the journey there, you can enjoy the wild beauty of the North Yorkshire Moors. There are stunning views from the site of Whitby Abbey where the gothic ruins tower over the bay. You just have to climb 99 steps to get up there.

Whitby is also the port where the mysterious ship berthed in the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. With the ghostly ruins of the abbey overlooking the wind-swept coast, it’s easy to see why Stoker was so inspired by the landscape that he included in his novel.

Make sure you wander down the quaint, cobbled shopping street and have a look at the jewellery shops featuring the local precious stone jet, which was a favourite piece of mourning jewellery for the Victorians. Avoid the Dracula Museum though, it’s little more than a fun house of timid horrors.

Tintagel

Down south, you can enjoy warmer climes and blue seas off the north coast of Cornwall. Tintagel is an ancient village; ensure you don’t miss the medieval building called the Old Post Office. However, most people visit Tintagel Castle because of its connections with the legend of King Arthur.

I went with my family around five years ago, and the castle ruins were split into two promontories. We had to descend and climb lots of steps, but now a bridge has been built to connect the two parts.

Many people, including me, have photographed the gateway of Tintagel. While there, we also enjoyed hearing the tale of the birth of King Arthur from a costumed, medieval bard (I think the version he told came from Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, written in the fifteenth century). I also recommend stopping for a pasty after you’ve climbed back up the hill into the village. You can go with the traditional Cornish version of minced beef and vegetables, but there are also plenty of other choices available these days.

The Lake District

The northwest of England is famous for its beautiful lakes and rugged hills. Before we had kids, my husband and I stayed in a little bed-and-breakfast in Keswick and enjoyed endless hours of walking. Something we could not do now without a lot of earache.

The lakes were also the home of Beatrix Potter, and you can visit her house at Hill Top near Sawrey, the inspiration for the children’s books featuring Peter Rabbit and his friends. Romantic poet, William Wordsworth, was born and raised in the Lake District and lived at Rose Cottage in Grasmere as an adult. The landscape around his home inspired a lot of his work.

If you go during the summer, which is advisable because of the weather in England, it will be very busy.

What about Bath?

Yes, Bath is another fantastic historical city to visit, and home to Jane Austen for several years. I haven’t included it on my list because I’ve never been. However, that will change this June. I cannot wait to visit the Roman Baths and see the Georgian architecture. I also plan to enjoy brunch at The Pump Rooms, and I’ll be taking lots of pictures to share with you while gushing about all things Bath and Jane Austen when I return. No doubt it will also become one of my favourite places to visit in England.

Which are your favourite places to visit in England? Are there any places in England you would love to see and why?