Top 5 places to visit in England

While South African is still on the UK's travel 'red list', you can start planning your holiday for when travel restrictions are lifted.


With the lush greenery of the land, England is the country that always worked as an inspiration for poets, writers, painters, and filmmakers. England is unique and consists of much more than just cities like London.

Here’s the list of top 5 places to visit in England that will make you fall in love with the country immediately.

The good news is British visa for Oman citizens has become a lot easier to make your trip to England a pleasurable one.

London

You can possibly travel to England without visiting London, but you shouldn’t. The nation’s bustling capital has a plethora of attractions to keep you entertained. If you are a fan of the British Royal Family, you should visit Buckingham Palace, the Royal residence since Queen Victoria’s reign. Book in advance for a State Rooms tour, as they’re only open for limited periods each year. You can also watch the colorful pomp of the Changing of the Guard.

Another must-see is the city’s Whitehall Road area, which includes Big Ben, Parliament Buildings, and Westminster Abbey, the site of many royal weddings. Also, visit South Kensington, home to the city’s best museums like the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum. When you are visiting London for the first time, make sure to visit Covent Garden,  Notting Hill, King’s Cross, Camden Town, Shoreditch, Peckham, and Whitechapel. Each of these neighborhoods is entirely unique and a great way to experience London’s diversity.

Cotswolds

The Cotswolds, about 2 hours from London, is an area of outstanding natural beauty that you will enjoy and unquestionably one of the best places to visit in England. Tourists come here to get a taste of rural English life and to explore the area’s many rustic villages and idyllic pasturelands. The area’s extensive trail network, including the excellent 16-kilometer-long Cotswold Way, is one of the most popular ways to do this.

Once there, visit Bibury to see the beautiful Arlington Row, the Upper and Lower Slaughters, which are far less gruesome than they sound, and other places like Tetbury’s Chipping Steps and Bourton-on-the-Water. Other exciting things to do include horseback riding and biking, as well as simply taking in the history of popular market towns such as Castle Combe. The Cotswolds are best explored by car, as you’ll have more freedom to explore the hamlets, villages, and rolling hills.

Lake District

The Lake District is the UK’s latest UNESCO World Heritage Site, and for a good reason. As the name says, the Lake District is filled with tranquil lakes, beautiful mountain ranges, and a multitude of tiny villages to explore. The Lake District National Park, which covers just over 885 square miles, has been protected since 1951, and its picturesque patchwork of lakes, valleys, woodlands, and fells makes it one of the best places in England.

Enjoy the great outdoors, whether on a leisurely bike ride down country lanes or a day-long hike through the hills. While the weather is highly unpredictable, showers and racing clouds only add to the charm of the magnificent views. The best part is that each lake has its own distinct character. Windermere Lake is perhaps the most well-known, but if you want to avoid the crowds, head over to Ullswater Lake.

Bath

Despite being one of the United Kingdom’s smaller cities, Bath makes up for its small size with plenty of things to see and do. This beautiful city, named after its famous Roman Baths, has been attracting tourists to its healing waters for more than 2,000 years. The water, which is known to contain 43 different minerals, travels 3,048 meters at a rate of 275,000 gallons per day before erupting at a constant temperature of 46.5°C.

This ancient Roman Spa settlement still retains some of its incredible Roman features. Make sure to visit the Roman Baths themselves to learn more about the great history of this location. It is undoubtedly one of the best places to visit in England. While showering in the original Roman Baths is not possible, several nearby spas, most notably the superb Thermae Bath Spa, offer guests the opportunity to enjoy the city’s famous waters. And then, take a walk over to Sally Lunn’s for a tasty treat. She is the city’s most famous and oldest bun maker.

Devon

Devon holidays are wholesome, simple, and scenic, with rocky coves, cream teas, surf breaks, strolls, picnics, and pints in pub gardens. A visit here combines two of life’s greatest pleasures – good food and the best outdoors. Dartmoor and Exmoor are vast granite highlands that offer solitude and big skies. In contrast, the gentler, Friesian-filled pastures of mid-Devon conceal clusters of thatched villages, winding rivers, and densely wooded cleaves.

And, when it comes to food, Devonians make the most of the extensive menu available to them in their backyard. Lamb, venison, pheasant, pork, and seafood are popular, and the county’s farmers’ markets are brimming with artisan producers selling delicious cider, apple juice, cheese, and ice cream.

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