Some people travel for leisure but for those who love history, Unesco’s World Heritage Sites are a ready-made bucket list.
The UN agency started these listings in 1978 with a goal of preserving cultural and natural landmarks around the globe, from the Taj Mahal to the Galápagos Islands. But you don’t have to venture far to find them as the UK itself is home to 31 such locations. Here are some of the best spots to visit.
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England
Blenheim is an “elite example” of masterful late 17th- and early 18th-century architecture, said Chris Leadbeater in The Telegraph. Designed by John Vanbrugh, the palace’s “broad wings and art-stuffed chambers” are “beautifully” sprawled over the Oxfordshire landscape. The grand estate was completed around 1735 and was made in honour of the Duke of Marlborough when he won the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, which took place at Blindheim in Bavaria. The fact that he emerged victorious against Louis XIV, the creator of the famed palace Versailles, “adds a sweet symmetry” to its history.
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Giant’s Causeway, Co Antrim, N Ireland
This geological formation (pictured above) was not “built by giants”, as legend has it, but is very much a “legendary” spot, said Ted Thornhill in The Independent. The causeway is a “spectacular cluster of around 40,000 black basalt polygonal columns” in the sea, reaching heights of up to 39 feet. They are a result of lava that was “cooled some 60 million years ago”. Over time, the structure evolved into “tightly interlocking formations, cracking into remarkably regular geometric shapes”. This is an “exceptionally rare” phenomenon, especially at this scale.
St Kilda, Hirta, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
This spectacular archipelago was the first to achieve a dual listing from Unesco for both its “human heritage and unique nature”, said Robin McKelvie in The Telegraph. Home to the “world-famous seabird colonies”, it is a “real-life Jurassic Park, with its own species of mouse and wren”. The enchanting landscape features “Tolkien-esque sea cliffs”, while the old village “tells the story” of the locals who lived here until 1930. The best way to experience the dramatic landscape is by hopping on a Hebrides Cruises adventure vessel.
Heart of Neolithic Orkney, Orkney Islands, Scotland
This prehistoric site is older than the Pyramids or Stonehenge. Unesco listed the 5,000-year-old land, highlighting its “remarkable quartet of islands”, said Robin McKelvie in The Telegraph. Visitors can “wander around the village of Skara Brae” and go down a “36-ft tunnel into the chilling Maeshower burial cairn” if they wish to explore the darkness. The “spectacular” Ring of Brodgar henge and Stones of Stenness will make even the most self-assured “ponder your own insignificance”. The best part? This glimpse into ancestral life is completely free.
St Agnes, Cornwall, England
This village has a “compact charm” and is known for its “vibrant local community”, said Parul Sharma on Plymouth Live. It is full of “dog-friendly beaches” and “top-notch pubs and restaurants”, including the Peterville Inn, which was named the UK’s best pub at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence. You will never be short of things to do as “popular spots for surfing, swimming and sunbathing” can all be found in this “delightful” coastal town. It is famously home to “Cornwall’s most awe-inspiring coastal paths and walks”. The village also has “remnants” of its mining heritage and visitors can still visit the “engine houses and mine shafts” today.