|
 London is the place to start. Nowhere in the country can match the
scope and innovation of the metropolis, a colossal, frenetic city,
perhaps not as immediately attractive as its European counterparts, but
with so much variety that the only obstacle to a great time is the
shockingly high cost of everything. It's here that you'll find Britain's
best spread of nightlife, cultural events, museums, galleries, pubs and
restaurants. The other large cities, such as Birmingham, Newcastle,
Leeds or Liverpool each have their strengths: Birmingham has a resurgent
arts scene, for example, while people travel for miles to sample
Newcastle's nightlife. These days Manchester can match the capital for
glamour in cafιs and clubs, and also boasts the inimitable draw of the
world's best-known football team.
England's ancient cathedral cities, such as Lincoln, York, Salisbury,
Durham and Winchester , cannot be equalled for sheer physical beauty.
Wherever you're based, you're never more than a few miles from a ruined
castle, a majestic country house, a secluded chapel or a monastery. In
the southwest there are remnants of a Celtic culture that was all but
eradicated elsewhere by the Romans, and everywhere you can find traces
of prehistoric settlers - most famously the megalithic circles of
Stonehenge and Avebury .
Most beguiling of all are the long-established villages of England,
hundreds of which amount to nothing more than a pub, a shop, a gaggle of
cottages and a farmhouse offering bed and breakfast. Devon, Cornwall ,
the Cotswolds and the Yorkshire Dales harbour some especially
picturesque specimens, but every county can boast a decent showing. Then,
of course, there's the English countryside, an extraordinarily diverse
terrain from which Constable, Turner, Wordsworth, Emily Brontλ and a
host of other writers and artists took inspiration. Exmoor, Dartmoor,
Bodmin Moor , the North York Moors and the Lake District are the most
dramatic and best known of the national parks, each offering an array of
landscapes crisscrossed with walking routes. |
