See the puffins at Pembrokeshire. Great Britain is loaded with some of the most iconic attractions on earth. While millions of travelers regularly flock to the island's highlights—like Westminster Abbey and Stonehenge—there are plenty of hidden gems scattered over Great Britain. We put together a list of off-the-beaten path locations that are regularly overlooked by most tourists, but are well-worth exploring.
The Broads
It may seem counterintuitive to forgo the expansive coast in search of paddling opportunities, but some of the best boating in Britain is slightly inland on the extensive network of navigable channels, lakes, and rivers known as the Broads. Beginning as a grid of peat diggings from the 12th century—ultimately flooded and abandoned by the 14th century—the Broads National Park covers more than 120 square miles between Norfolk and Suffolk. The park encompasses seven rivers and more than 60 lakes, forming the largest protected wetland in Great Britain and creating a wildlife-rich wonderland for paddlers. (The area harbors a quarter of Britain's scarcest species!)
Besides the 125 miles of navigable waterways, the vast wetland is also laced with 190 miles of footpaths. It's scattered with historic towns and villages, including the riverside city of Norwich, a location loaded with medieval architecture and recognized as England's first UNESCO City of Literature in 2012.
One of a Kind Festivals
Great Britain hosts some of the most renowned gatherings on the planet, with gigs like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest celebration of performing arts on the planet; the Glastonbury Festival, a musical mishmash drawing the biggest acts in the business; and the intellectually-inclined Hay Festival, based in Hay-on-Wye, the world's bastion of secondhand books.
Amidst the iconic yearly celebrations, a few quirky festivals still stand out.
For more than three decades the World Bog Snorkeling Championship has attracted revelers from all over the globe to Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells to swim a lengthy trench carved in a local peat bog. Beyond bog snorkeling, the Cotswolds Olimpicks, held in Gloucestershire, have celebrated pastimes like tug of war and shin-kicking every summer since the early 17th century. Further north in Scotland, in the town dubbed the United Kingdom's outdoor capital, the Fort William Mountain Festival hails all things outdoorsy with a hodgepodge of lectures by legendary mountaineers, as well as films and workshops.
Mystifying Mazes
Great Britain is home to some of the most elaborate mazes on earth, including one of the oldest in the world: the trapezoid-shaped labyrinth adoring the grounds of Hampton Court Palace. It was planted in the early 1700s and is just one of many elaborately perplexing hedgerows punctuating the British landscape. In Lincolnshire you'll find the Belton House, the backdrop for multiple period dramas including BBC's Pride and Prejudice series. This English country house is nestled in the midst of ornamental gardens and a massive deer park, and has a maze originally sown in 1890, later replanted by the National Trust in 2000.
Located outside Peebles, due south of Edinburgh, is a beech maze that is one of the largest in Scotland. Originally planted in 1981, the leafy labyrinth stands in the shadow of the Traquair House, Scotland's oldest inhabited residence. The house dates back to the early 12th century and has hosted more than two dozen Scottish royals.
Captivating Castles
Britain is home to some of the most magnificently opulent palaces and formidable fortresses on earth. But beyond the obvious royal lairs like the Tower of London and Kensington Palace, the island has plenty more to see. In Central Wales, the skeletal remains of the 13th century Carreg Cennen stand perched on a limestone promontory with the western portion of Brecon Beacons National Park as a backdrop. In Northern Wales, Caernarfon Castle is one of Great Britain's best-preserved citadels. Completed in 1330, the awe-inspiring fortification was built by Edward I and is one of four castles making up the Castles and Town Walls of Edward in Gwynedd, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
On Scotland's Solway Coast (dubbed the Scottish Riviera) stands Caerlaverock Castle, a quintessential medieval stronghold, complete with a protective moat. The picturesque 13th-century fortress was sieged on several occasions, including by the aforementioned Edward I in 1300.
Further north in Central Scotland, the stately Inveraray Castle has a distinctly different air. Perched beside Loch Fyne, the turreted fortress has a distinctly fairy-tale aura and has the distinction of being the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll.
Hair-Raising Haunts
With a human history dating back to Neolithic times that is often bloody and tumultuous, Great Britain is loaded with macabre attractions and purportedly haunted places. On the Yorkshire Coast, the ruins of Scarborough Castle—once a medieval fortress looming over the North Sea—are rumored to be haunted by a collection of spirits, including the headless ghost of Piers Gaveston, a nobleman captured at the stronghold and later executed.
Yorkshire also provided inspiration for one of Britain's most famous literary classics: Bram Stoker's Dracula. Stoker penned the epic while vacationing in the town of Whitby in the late 19th century and was especially inspired by the remains of Whitby Abbey, a 13th-century Gothic masterpiece perched on a cliff above the sea.
An otherworldly presence can also be found hanging around the Skirrid Mountain Inn in Central Wales. One of the oldest accommodations in Wales, the lodging is believed to have weathered the Norman invasion of the 11th century and functioned as a court and execution site for upwards of 180 criminals. Adding to the spookiness factor, the inn is nestled at the edge of Brecon Beacons National Park, one of the first locations on the planet recognized as an International Dark Sky Reserve.
Far-Flung Beaches
Blessed with just over 11,000 miles of coastline, Great Britain has plenty of seaside retreats that have been frequented for centuries. But besides these long-popular coastal enclaves, there are plenty of ruggedly wild expanses of shore. In Cornwall along a wild stretch of the Cornish Coast, Portheras Cove is a sandy spot surrounded by cliffs. This beach isn't easy to find, which means you might have it all to yourself (though you'll have to share with the seals!).
Slightly east, along the sea-pelted coast of North Devon, the beach at Speke's Mill Mouth is home to the loftiest waterfall in Devon. A trip here can easily be tacked onto a longer trek along England's 630-mile South West Coast Path, part of the forthcoming England Coast Path, slated to be the longest marked coastal trail on earth.
At the western tip of Wales, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is Great Britain's only truly coastal national park – protecting a landscape endowed with everything from volcanic headlands to precipitous sea cliffs. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path showcases the park's spectacular scenery and evidence of human habitation dating back to the Neolithic period, while also offering the chance to see native wildlife, like puffins and peregrine falcons.
While we aren't suggesting that you skip the tourist hotspots (they are pretty amazing, after all), plan some time off the beaten path and see another side of Great Britain.
Originally written by RootsRated for Craghoppers.
Featured image provided by Shan Owens