There are so many places I’d love to visit around the world but I don’t have the time or money to travel extensively. Fortunately there’s lots to see and do in my own country so I’ve created a UK bucket list which will keep me busy for the next few years.
My UK bucket list favours outdoor attractions, walks and great scenery as that’s what I enjoy. It may look like I’ve ignored vast swathes of the country and prime tourist attractions but that’s because I’ve already visited many of them!
What’s on my UK bucket list?
- Wild camp on Dartmoor.
- Walk a long distance path. We walked the South Downs Way across four weekends. We also walked the Oxfordshire Way.
- Cycle the towpath from Bath to Bradford-on-Avon. We walked rather than cycled but I’m still counting it!
- Spend a night on Lundy Island, Devon.
- Enjoy a weekend break in Lincoln.
- Join a tour of Highgate Cemetery, London.
- See the Purton Ships graveyard, Gloucestershire.
- Brave the Via Ferrata at Honister Slate Mine, Cumbria.
- Camp on Bryher, one of the Isles of Scilly.
- Climb Up at the O2, London
- Watch a Highland Games in Scotland.
- Spend a week exploring the Isle of Anglesey. Here’s our list of 10 things we enjoyed on Anglesey, including the best sunset in Wales at Newborough Beach.
- Attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
- Take an underground train ride at the Postal Museum, London.
- Stay in a castle. No blog post but I spent a night at St Briavels YHA, which was once a castle.
- Enjoy the Gower Peninsula beaches. We spent a day exploring the northern Gower and tackled Worm’s Head, Rhossili.
- Explore the Isle of Harris. Completed in August 2023 whilst cycling the Hebridean Way.
- Go wildlife spotting on the Farne Islands, Northumberland.
- Explore Neolithic Orkney.
- Visit a lavender field.
- See Britain’s only desert (or is it?) at Dungeness beach, Kent.
- Walk part of Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland. We walked sections at Walltown Crags and Steel Rigg.
- Enjoy the waterfall at St Nectan’s Glen, Cornwall.
- Stay in an Airstream caravan.
- Explore the deserted village of Tyneham, Dorset.
- Visit a tin mine in Cornwall.
- Spot dinosaurs at Crystal Palace, London.
- Eat afternoon tea somewhere posh.
- Discover the Rame Peninsula, Cornwall.
- Watch the British Firework Championships in Plymouth, Devon
- Ride Phoenix, the fastest seated zip line in the world at Brecon Beacons.
- Tour Ramsgate’s war tunnels, Kent.
- Watch the seabirds on Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire.
- Go pony trekking on Exmoor.
- Spot Banksy’s art in Bristol.
- Have fun in Margate, Kent. Completed October 2021.
- Stay overnight on the Knoydart Peninsula.
- Attend the Cotswold Olimpick Games, Gloucestershire.
Medal ceremony, Cotswold Olimpicks Attended, and I even won an Olimpick medal in a running race!
- Enjoy the seaside at Barry Island, Vale of Glamorgan.
- Search for dolphins in Cardigan Bay. I found them! Too far away to photograph successfully.
- Walk in the Mourne Mountains, County Down.
- Explore the remote Ardnamurchan Peninsula, Lochaber.
- Take a boat trip to Smoo Cave, Sutherland.
- Cycle from Bournemouth out to Hengitsbury Head, Dorset.
- Visit Dennis Severs’ House, London. Completed January 2024.
- View the Kelpies in Falkirk.
Kelpies Stopped over on our return journey from Ardnamurchan.
- Explore Kinver Edge and the cave houses, Staffordshire.
- Admire the Devil’s Bridge, Ceredigon.
- Walk along Brean Down, Somerset.
- Discover Hawkstone Park follies, Shropshire. Completed May 2021.
Hawkstone Park Follies - Visit a deserted underground station.
- See the treasures at London Silver Vaults.
- Go fossil hunting in Charmouth, Dorset.
- Explore the ruins of Denbigh Castle, Denbighshire.
- Have an adventure in How Stean Gorge, Yorkshire.
- Discover the coastal scenery of Duncansby Head, Caithness.
- See the apes at Trentham Monkey Forest, Stoke-on-Trent.
- Enjoy the rock formations at Brimham Rocks, North Yorkshire.
- Tour Brighton’s sewers. Sadly I’ve discovered this is no longer possible so my alternative is to visit Crossness Pumping Station, London. The sewage theme remains!
- Go puffin spotting on Rathlin Island, County Antrim.
- Take a boat trip in the Lake District.
- Take the ferry from Southampton to Hythe.
Southampton- Hythe ferry Took the ferry!
- Climb Low Fell, Cumbria.
- See the Callanish Stones on the Isle of Lewis. Completed August 2023.
- Drive the ‘Pass of the Cattle’ to Applecross, Wester Ross.
- Take the train from Exeter to Teignmouth, Devon.
- Learn about the historic Coffin Works, Birmingham.
- Go on a wildlife safari. Completed at Knepp.
- Walk up Pendle Hill, Lancashire.
- Ride the Kyle Line from Lochalsh to Inverness.
- Walk along the shingle on Chesil Bank, Dorset.
- Enjoy the views from the summit of Box Hill, Surrey.
- See how the Roman’s lived at Fishbourne Roman Palace, West Sussex. Completed October 2020.
Fishbourne Roman Palace - Watch the seabirds at Bass Rock, North Berwick.
- Walk the woodland trail to Puck’s Glen, Argyll.
- Stroll around the fishing village of Crail Harbour, Fife. Completed October 2023.
- Explore Great Orme Copper Mine, Conwy. Completed May 2021.
- Enjoy Dewstow Garden and Grottoes, Monmouthshire.
- Climb Old Winchester Hill, Hampshire. Completed as part of our South Downs Way walk.
- Learn about the past at Killhope Lead Mining museum, County Durham.
- Explore maritime history at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent.
- Cycle the Plym Valley Trail, Devon. Completed August 2020.
- Wander around Eyemouth harbour, Berwickshire.
- Discover ancient Wistman’s Wood, Two Bridges, Dartmoor.
- Enjoy the plants of Benmore Botanic Garden, Argyll.
- Go caving.
- Go underground into a Cold War bunker.
- Buy some blooms at Columbia Road Flower Market, London.
- Experience life in The Workhouse in Southwell, Nottinghamshire.
- Explore the coastline at Robins Hood Bay beach, North Yorkshire.
- Cycle the Red Squirrel Cycle Trail, Isle of Wight. We cycled around the island, but incorporated some of the Red Squirrel trail en route.
- Descend into the mine at the National Coal Mining museum, West Yorkshire.
- Hunt for wildlife at RSPB Leighton Moss, Lancashire.
- Explore the valley around Hardcastle Crags, West Yorkshire.
- Learn about our industrial heritage at Quarry Bank Mill, Cheshire.
- Walk the stepping stones at Chee Dale.
- See the Severn Bore.
- Discover our history at Battle Abbey and Battlefield, East Sussex. The battlefield wasn’t open but we visited the abbey.
- Zoom down the ArcelorMittal Orbit Slide, London.
- Spot a swallowtail butterfly in Norfolk.
Completing my UK bucket list
As I complete items on the bucket list I’ll be adding photos or links to my blog write up so do pop back from time to time to see how I’m getting on.
Do you have a bucket list? If so, what’s on it?
I’d love to see a lavender field, I didn’t know we had any. My bucket list for the UK would include the Hebrides – but only if I could control the weather. I’d like to stay overnight in Hawarth in the Bronte parsonage during a (rain-free) winter storm: probably not possible. #FarawayFiles
great list! you’ve got a lot of really interesting items on this list. hope you cross all the items off 🙂 #farawayfiles
I am totally copying this list! :p
Sounds like an incredible idea! I recently wrote my first ever bucket list and in no time it was 3 pages long! Can’t wait to read about your adventures! #FarawayFiles
Great list, I’ve done some of the things and they are amazing. I would add boating on the Norfolk Broads. #FarawayFiles
Sounds like quite the list! I really need to get better about exploring my home country more. You’ve inspired me to create a list of my own!
Wow. What an amazing list! I have done the puffin and bird watching boat trip from Seahouses out to Farne Islands and and can highly recommend it! I wrote a post if you’re interested. I will look forward to seeing the places you visit as you tick them off! Good luck and enjoy! Cheers from Copenhagen, Erin
#FarawayFiles
I love puffins! I saw them on Skomer last year but would love to go to the Farne Islands.
What a good idea to write a bucket list of things you want to do – so many brilliant suggestions here and I particularly like that you’ve listed specific things to do at each destination which makes it a lot more interesting. I’d thoroughly recommend fossil hunting along the Dorset coast and I’ve taken a boat down the canal from Bath to Bradford-on-Avon – it would make a lovely cycle ride. Thanks for linking this up to #FarawayFiles
I’m British and lived there for 28 years and have only managed to do 4 on your list – eek! I did thoroughly enjoy those four though #farawayfiles
Our planet is an incredible place when you consider that there are so many wonderful things to experience on this small island. So much inspiration in your list – I have barely scratched the surface of these possibilities. Thank you for sharing them with us on #FarawayFiles
That’s such a great idea and so much to inspire on here – a good reminder of how much is on the doorstep.
I do have a bucket list, but I haven’t been as organised as you in writing it up! There are so many great ideas here. D’s uncle and aunt recently bought a place in North Berwick, so we should definitely go there soon. #FarawayFiles
Seven! Not bad I suppose…
Living in continental Europe (as I do) is wonderful, but in terms of sheer variety of landscapes and experiences, the British Isles are truly something else. It really is a superb list – good luck with your quest! #FarawayFiles
Seven more than me (so far)….. Being a landscape junkie I could probably have written a list of 100 places to visit in Scotland alone!
This list must have taken a long time to put together. You’ve got me thinking. I think I would have to include lots that you have listed. Top of my list would be to see puffins. I’m sure that for every one item I crossed out, I’d end up adding two more. There is so much to see.
The list didn’t take too long to write but that’s because a lot of these ideas have been swimming around in my head for a year or two, I just needed to get them all written down.
It is so easy to forget the wonders of our country when we are looking for inspiration for places to visit. You have some wonderful ideas on this list and I will watch how you get on with interest. #MondayEscapes
Wow! quite a few I never thought of! just shows you, you don’t need to go much further than the UK for some wonderful places. I look forward to seeing your visits.
Great list! I’ve never been to the UK but my family and I are hoping to go in the next 2-3 years. We’re not able to travel exclusively, either so we can only plan 2-3 big trips a year. And those trips fill up fast since there are so many places we want to go. But I will admit, it is fun being a tourist around your home. #mondayescapes
Firstly I’m slightly disappointed that visit Coombe Mill doesn’t feature in your top 100 (only joking) That said you have a great list with some very diverse ideas across the UK, what’s with the Brighton sewers though? #mondayescapes
If only the kids had been younger Fiona…… And don’t diss the sewer tours, they sound great!
What a great idea for a list. I have to say I don’t think I’ve done any of these. Walking the O2 and Hadrian’s Wall are just two that would definitely be on my list #farawayfiles
A great bucket list! We think the Jurassic Coast is amazing! And love Charmouth and Lyme Regis. Good luck on completing it x #MondayEscapes
Wow this is quite a list! I live in the Cotswolds so I’m delighted to see it pop up several times on your list;) We visited the Cotswold lavender fields over the summer, I can thoroughly recommend. Thanks for linking up to #MondayEscapes
So many great ideas. We are planning on mostly holidaying in the UK for the forseeable future and there’s so much I want to do. I shall be following your progress, and may well write my own list next year! #MondayEscapes
What a fantastic list!
Hi Christine, a very fine bucket list indeed. I love #66 (taking the train from Exeter to Teignmouth) as it’s something I have done many a time and it’s funny to think it’s on someone’s bucket list. It is a beautiful route, especially in winter.
I think I would quite happily join you on your bucket list if I could.
xx
Great list – Some we’ve done, some we’d like to do, and some – well maybe. It’s a great spread across this beautiful country of ours, and probable like most readers there’s many more too (like Rye, East Sussex)
Inspiring stuff…
So well written, I loved reading your blog, Please keep on writing blogs like this in future as well.
Best and wonderful blog, I loved reading it. Please keep on writing blogs like this in future as well.