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INDEPENDENT TRAVEL GUIDES Independent ideas for your day out

A LITTLE CURIOSITY. A BETTER DAY.

Somewhere new.
A day well spent.

Big sights. Small discoveries. Find your kind of day in 115 places across the UK.

A little inspiration ↓
The Great Bath and its stone colonnades reflected in the water
Photo: Diego Delso
The Roman Baths Bath ↗
Bamburgh Castle above the coast
Photo: Michael Hanselmann - Quaoar10
Bamburgh Castle Bamburgh ↗
Windermere Lake Cruises vessel Teal moored at Bowness in 2019; vessels vary by route
Photo: Nthep
Windermere Lake Cruises from Bowness Windermere ↗

Where would you like to explore?

Or start withWith kids ↗Free days out ↗For couples ↗Rainy days ↗

LET’S MAKE A PLAN

115 ideas for your day

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A FEW IDEAS TO GET YOU GOING

Find your next day out

GET TO KNOW A PLACE

Explore somewhere.

All destinations ↗

England / North Yorkshire · Choose a main experience. Leave room to wander.

Explore the full York guide →

England / Somerset · Choose a main experience. Leave room to wander.

Explore the full Bath guide →

Scotland · Choose a main experience. Leave room to wander.

Explore the full Edinburgh guide →

Pembrokeshire · Choose a main experience. Leave room to wander.

Explore the full St Davids guide →

TAKE THE SLOWER TURN

Small places worth a day

Sunlit carved stone and rose window on York Minster
Photo: Robert-brook

ONE GOOD DAY IN YORK

Cathedral & gardens

A central introduction to York, with one paid visit and an unhurried outdoor finish.

  1. York Minster

    Allow 1½–2 hours for the cathedral. Afterwards, leave 45–60 minutes for lunch, then allow roughly 10–15 minutes to walk via the central streets to Museum Gardens.

  2. York Museum Gardens

    Spend 30–60 minutes among the abbey ruins and gardens. Check gate times before settling down; this is a good place to finish without adding another ticketed stop.

A shorter day
Just visit the Minster, followed by a café break. Save the gardens for another day if the weather or your energy changes.

Make this day your own →

SALT AIR & ROOM TO BREATHE

A day by the sea

GO A LITTLE FURTHER BACK

History, castles & curious places

GOOD DAYS NEEDN’T COST THE EARTH

Days out without admission fees

Free general entry; travel, parking and optional experiences may cost extra. Check each guide for opening and access details.

CHOOSE YOUR STARTING POINT

Get to know a region.

Cornwall: find your kind of day →

Compare five Cornish destinations for beaches, art, harbour walks and family days. Choose one place, plan the journey and find practical local guides.

Derbyshire: find your kind of day →

Compare Buxton and Bakewell for a Derbyshire day of spa-town heritage, riverside walks, caves or the Monsal Trail, with practical wet-weather alternatives.

Devon: find your kind of day →

Choose between Exeter, Plymouth, Torquay and Dartmouth for museums, seaside outings and river days, with practical plans and links to local guides.

Dorset: find your kind of day →

Compare Bournemouth, Swanage and Lyme Regis for Dorset beaches, museums and coastal outings, with realistic plans and weather-aware alternatives.

Fife: find your kind of day →

Compare St Andrews and Dunfermline for Fife beaches, museums, royal history and parks, with useful day plans beyond the golf course.

Hampshire: find your kind of day →

Compare Portsmouth’s naval heritage and seafront with Winchester’s cathedral, museums and river walks, with Hampshire day plans and practical visitor advice.

Highland: find your kind of day →

Compare Inverness, Fort William and Portree as Highland bases, with realistic local days, weather alternatives and clear advice about long transfers.

Kent: find your kind of day →

Compare Canterbury, Dover, Deal and Whitstable for heritage, seaside walks and family days, with realistic itineraries and practical local guides.

Lancashire: find your kind of day →

Compare Blackpool and Lancaster for Lancashire seaside fun, museums, castle visits and park walks, with realistic family days and wet-weather choices.

Norfolk: find your kind of day →

Choose a Norwich city day or a Norfolk coastal outing in Cromer or Wells-next-the-Sea, with family ideas, indoor options and practical plans.

Shropshire: find your kind of day →

Compare Shrewsbury, Ludlow and Ironbridge for museums, castles, riverside walks and relaxed town days, with useful planning advice and local guides.

Somerset: find your kind of day →

Compare Bath and Wells for Roman history, cathedral visits, gardens and city walks, with practical Somerset day plans and family-friendly choices.

Suffolk: find your kind of day →

Compare Lavenham, Bury St Edmunds and Southwold for Suffolk heritage, gardens and seaside days, with practical choices and realistic local itineraries.

West Sussex: find your kind of day →

Choose Chichester or Arundel for West Sussex art, cathedral visits, castle gardens and riverside time, with realistic day plans and family alternatives.

YOUR NEXT STOP

All 115 destinations.

Search for a place ↑

From a familiar city to a place you’ve never quite got round to visiting.

England 92 places

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England

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Northern Ireland 2 places

County Antrim

Northern Ireland

Scotland 10 places

Argyll and Bute

Fife

Highland

Perth and Kinross

Scotland

Wales 11 places

Ceredigion

Conwy

Conwy County

Denbighshire

Gwynedd

Pembrokeshire

Wales

RESEARCHED WITH CARE

Useful details.
Room for a little spontaneity.

Official visitor information, credited photography and practical plans. We help you choose what fits your day — including when to book, what’s free and where a shorter visit makes sense.

How we put our guides together →