One of my favorite tourist sites to visit when back in the UK…read moreKnown as King Henry VIII palace it is such a great place with lots to see and obviously a ton of history Do the headset tour the first time you visit so you know all the rooms and what you're looking at I especially love the old kitchen area and the gardens , the garden maze was always a fun area as a child Staff are all super nice and helpful Lovely day out

Love this place. We live fairly close and have bought a season pass so we can enjoy the palace in…read moreall its glory. It's nice that the palace gets decorated for Halloween. The haunted garden round the back is also great to bring kids. Love it!

The Tree Cathedral is another hidden gem of Milton Keynes. I walked in the area back in March when…read morethe trees were all bare but even then it looked insanely cool. I've looked up photos of the tree cathedral in full bloom and it's just beautiful. Constructed in 1986 to look like Norwich Cathedral, I'm sure it's a great spot for small ceremonies. It's divided into various sections all meticulously planned which you can read about on the plaque right in front of the cathedral. It has a nice stone path down the center for easy navigation. Upon reading a bit more on the Tree Cathedral when I got home - you can now scatter ashes there. Peaceful and creepy at the same time. The Tree Cathedral can be found opposite of Willen Lake.

This idyllic rural spot was, for over four hundred years, a bustling Roman town at a crossroads on…read morethe road from London to the West Country. The location was the earlier tribal capital of the Atrebates, a Celtic tribe whose territory covered much of present day Berkshire, and parts of Hampshire and Wiltshire. Soon after the Roman conquest in 43AD, a Roman town was established on the same site, called Calleva Atrebates. The town was established within the current walls. These were originally made just of earth with a wooden palisade, but were faced with stone around 280 AD, enclosing around 100 acres. The town had a forum, baths, an inn, several temples and latterly a Christian Church. Evidence is that the town declined gradually after the withdrawal of the Roman Legions in 410AD, but unlike many other locations, it was eventually abandoned. Excavations have identified the street plan and the details described above, but most of the remains have since been covered over. The principal sight is therefore the impressive walls, which form an almost complete circuit. You can walk along the top of the bank above the walls around the site, a distance of around three miles. Close to the modern hamlet near the medieval Church but outside the walls, is the amphitheatre, which is well preserved. This has earthen banks on which wooden seating would have been erected. There is a car park on the north western corner. The walls are not suitable for wheelchairs (the access paths have stiles) , although a section is clearly visible from the road on its eastern side. The path to the amphitheatre is relatively level but the surface is uneven.

Originally a tribal centre of the Iron Age Atrebates, Silchester became the large and important…read moreRoman town of Calleva Atrebatum. Unfortunately there is not a great deal left of the original Roman Silchester as it was never re-occupied or built over after its abandonment in the 5th century. As a result of this it is apparently an archaeoligical haven as it gives an unusually complete picture of its development. It is however a very nice day out (in better weather), as there is a lovely 8 mile walk around the old city walls which remain in some form or another. There is also the remains of an impressive amphitheatre which is a must to view during the walk. The amphitheatre is just outside the old city walls, but its location is made apparrent when viewing the information boards. There is parking available by the city walls. Sign posts are not great, but if you keep driving around the wall you will come accross it eventually. Plenty of areas for pickniking in nice weather and plenty of lovely pubs to stop in and get a drink and bite to eat in the local area.

Knebworth house, gardens and park is a brilliant family day out. The grounds are huge, the gardens…read moreare interesting, and the house is beautiful. You can park the car by the house and gardens, and also at the bottom of the park. For the kids, there is a huge adventure playground (best to do this on the way out as it's right at the bottom of the park, miles from the house and gardens), which has a good range of play equipment for pretty much any age range. In the summer they have a free bouncy castle too. The gardens are seperated into different areas, and it is all very well signposted so you won't get lost. The dinosaur garden is really good, and the kitchen garden smells heavenly in the right seasons. There is a fun maze too. The house itself is really beautiful, and you can pay extra to have tours. I could go on forever explaining everything here, but I won't. Rest assured it is well worth the entrance fee. The cafe is really expensive so take a picnic!

I love Richmond! I had to walk along the Thames to get here which was just so scenic and serene.read more

If you're walking along the riverside in beautiful Richmond, continue until you come to Old Palace…read moreLane. Turn-in, keep alert, and after a few paces, on the right-hand side, you'll notice an understated pale plaque on the wall. In pale lettering it informs you that this is the site of the former Richmond Palace, where Queen Elizabeth I spent many of her days and where she died in 1603. Sadly, most of the Palace was demolished after Charles I was executed and the plans for its later rebuilding, designed by Sir William Chambers, never came to fruition. However, if you wander up to the top of the very pretty lane you'll see some remaining walls together with a smaller, light-blue plaque commemorating the site. I stop here on most occasions when I'm in the area. It never fails to move me and to transport my imagination to how people lived then; to envisage late Tudor times and the experiences - sad and joyous - of the 'Virgin Queen'.

Actually quite good for a fiver, much bigger than you think. Just glad I wasn't around 300 years…read moreago, or a women, or innocent (quite a fun back story of the caves). Also worth a walk up to the mausoleum above. Ps- lots of places to hide and jump out and scare family/friends :)

My children were very scared by the caves and their heinous contents, though they did enjoy a nice…read moresausage roll afterwards. Despite many attempts, my friend was unable to park her car because of the slope, so please don't bring a car if you're a terrible driver or if you're female. Otherwise, a lovely day out, apart from the lingering nightmares.

Built to defend an important port on the River Adur, Bramber Castle was constructed as a motte and…read morebailey castle around 1073 by William De Braose, who fought alongside William the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings in 1066. Apart from a period of confiscation during the reign of King John, it remained in the ownership of the De Braose family until themale line died out in 1324. Thereafter, it passed via the Mowbray and Howard families into the estate of the Dukes of Norfolk, who held it until it until 1926. It was given to the National Trust in 1946. Very little survives of the original castle, thanks to a gradual decline over the years, damage during the Civil War in 1642 and looting of the stones as a quarry for building by the locals. The most prominent feature is the tall and unsteady-looking fragment of the Gatehouse tower, still standing to almost its full original height. In the centre of the grounds is the impressive original motte, its earthen mound rising some 30ft (10m). A short distance away is a section of the curtain wall which survives up to 10ft (3m) in places. Around the perimeter are also the remains of the castle's impressive moat. (NB be careful with small children, as there are some sheer drops in places). Although the ruins are rather fragmentary, the grounds are beautifully kept by the National Trust, and make a wonderful place for a picnic, as well as affording excellent views of the surrounding countryside.

This place is a bit of a let down. There seems to be no effort to make it obvious where/what parts…read moreof the ruins were. They have a lame sign at the entrance but little else. It just seems like an enclosed play field.

Southwick is now firmly part of the suburban sprawl running from Brighton and Shoreham, and is…read moreknown to most people for the power station that dominates the far side of Shoreham Harbour. But there was a community here in Saxon times, and its church is surprisingly ancient. In fact, the walk from the station crosses the Green, an attractive and villagey stretch of tree-lined common which splits Southwick into two halves. There are some handsome cottages surrounded by well appointed semi-detached suburban homes, and a rather less appealing row of post-war shops. St Michael and All Angels was, until the 18th century, dedicated to St Margaret, and sits among a very pretty churchyard, thickly studded with trees. Although there was probably a church here in Saxon times, it first recorded in 1086, and in 1206 the right to appoint the rector was granted to the Templars, and then to the Hospitallers, although much of the early mediaeval period was taken up with disputes over these rights with the monks of Sele Priory. The ownership passed from Sele Priory to Magdelene College at the Dissolution, and patronage thereafter passed to the Crown until the 20th century. Fire in the 19th Century damaged the nave and an unexploded bomb (and the subsequent excavation to remove it) damaged the tower in 1941. The church itself is built of flint, and is essentially in three parts: the tower, nave and chancel. The tower is by far the most impressive part: its foundations and lower walls are said to be Saxon, although it mostly dates from the late 12th and 13th centuries. It is an attractive composition, with paired round-headed arches with narrow openings surmounted by paired gothic lancets and, above that, a shingle broach spire. The west door is also attractive, but a modern addition: the tower was carefully taken down and faithfully rebuilt in 1950 after the bomb damage, with vestries built either side. The chancel is mostly 13th century, with two original lancets, framed by a 14th century chancel arch. There are two round headed arches to the south, although the central column probably dates from the Victorian rebuilding. A 14th wooden screen with narrow lancets also survives in the south aisle. The nave burned down in the 1830s and was rebuilt with narrow lean-to aisles in 1834, with round-headed arcades and lancet windows. Pevsner's Buildings of England described the nave as a 'loveless cover for pew-space', which I think is a bit harsh, although there's no doubt it doesn't match the quality of the tower. The furnishings other than the south aisle screen - are limited in interest to what appears to be a mediaeval aumbry, some 18th and 19th century tombs and memorials, and a sturdy, square font, probably from the 13th century. The church is today the centre of large and busy parish, and has a vibrant church life, with services daily through the week.

Tucked away at the far north of Wandsworth Common, behind the Fitzhugh housing estate, is one of…read moreSouth London's most remarkable buildings: on the scale - and in the style - of a baronial castle, it has variously been a school, hospital, interrogation centre and a college, and was nearly pulled down. It is now a Grade II-star Listed Building. History The building was paid for by the Royal Victoria Patriotic Fund, established to provide for the widows and orphans of soldiers killed in the Crimean War. The building was intended as a girls' school and opened in 1859. A boys' school was built to the rear in 1872. The original building - designed by Rhode Hawkins - incorporated a number of innovative building techniques, that nearly caused its later downfall. Life for the orphans was extraordinarily hard: from pumping water to the roof cisterns to having their heads shaved to counter lice, they were assembled to be hosed down with cold water every morning in the courtyard. Scandals which involved physical and sexual abuse by staff - and the death of an orphan - nearly resulted in the institution being closed down. The innovative heating system didn't work, so conventional fireplaces were provided for the staff - but not the orphans. Things had improved somewhat by the First World War (for example, central heating had been installed), when it was used as a hospital for injured troops, who arrived at a specially-built temporary railway station close by. After the end of hostilities, it resumed life as a girls' school under 1939. During World War II, it became the London Reception Centre, used by MI5 to process non-British aliens entering the country. After the war it became a teacher training college, and then a comprehensive school, before the decaying fabric - many problems arising as a result of the techniques used to build it - forced them out. The building was sold and gradually restored by its present owners, who had to endure, among other things, a fire in the Great Hall just before it was handed over. Building works took 7 years. The building now contains flats, studios and workshops for businesses in the creative industries, a drama school and a wine bar. The building The main building is built in a Scottish Baronial Gothic style, with Gothic, Jacobean and French elements, in yellow brick with stone dressings. The main façade has an imposing central tower, with matching smaller corner towers. The plan includes two central courtyards, a separate Chapel and various outbuildings, but the main feature is the huge Great Hall, with a hammer-beam ceiling decorated with the coats of arms of towns across Britain and the Empire which contributed to the original funds. The whole edifice really is an astonishing sight, especially as it has now been surrounded on the north side by comfortable suburban housing. Practicalities There is pedestrian access from Fitzhugh Grove, but vehicular access is via Windmill Lane and John Archer Way. Unless you are visiting a business or a resident in the one of the flats, the only public access inside is to the wine bar (the restaurant in the cafe recently closed down).