Great Things to See and Do in Great Britain, Including Spectacular Parks and Nature

March 2, 2021 Jim Byers

Travellers know Great Britain for its amazing cities, colourful history and tremendous culture. But it also happens to have tons of natural beauty and amazing national parks where visitors can spread out and be as safe as they want to be.

This week marks Visit Britain’s annual trade show, which is being run virtually this year under the banner ExploreGB Virtual 2021.

“It’s our flagship event, and it allows us to showcase Great Britain and Northern Ireland as world-class destinations,” said Sally Balcombe, Chief Executive, Visit Britain/Visit England.

Balcombe said there’s a timetable in place for Great Britain and Northern Ireland to re-open for domestic tourism, and that the British government next month will report back on when the country might open to international travel.

“Clearly we hope we will be opening safely soon,” Balcombe said.

One thing in Great Britain’s favour is that they’ve inoculated a remarkable 31.3 per cent of the population against COVID-19

Gavin Landry, Director, The Americas for Visit Britain said one highlight for 2021 is the The Royal Horticultural Society’s RHS Garden Bridgewater, which will open around May 11 outside Manchester. It’s billed as the largest gardening project in Europe, a 154-acre property with historic buildings and all kinds of things to see and do.

Scotland is celebrating The Year of Coasts and Waters, he said, and there certainly is plenty of both on offer. Landry also said this year marks the opening of the English Coastal Path, a 2,800 mile path that allows hikers to circumnavigate the entirety of England. Talk about your physical distancing.

Top nature areas in Great Britain include the Scottish Highlands, the Lake District and Peaks District in England and the Wales Coastal Path, launched nine years ago. The path is 870 miles long and has been called the first dedicated footpath in the world to cover the entire length of a country’s coastline.

Visitors this year also can look for sleek new hotels such as the Londoner in Leicester Square, as well as the Johnnie Walker Experience and Visitor Centre in Edinburgh, Landry said.

If you’re looking for something offbeat, and the British do that well, try the World Snail Racing Championships in Norfolk this summer, where more than 300 snails are expected to slug it out for the title of “Fastest Snail in the World.” Anyone with a snail can enter and a number of heats are held before the final. The winner receives a silver tankard stuffed with lettuce.

Visit Britain’s Maria Sykes said Great Britain has 32 UNESCO sites and 800,000 years of history. Visitors can spend the night in Balmoral or Sandringham Castle, she said.

She also touted the North Coast 500 driving route in Scotland, a 516-mile affair that she called “ridiculously Instragrammable” and “Scotland’s version of Route 66.”

Here are a few other tidbits to keep you thinking of Great Britain:

• Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice
• Portmeirion is a magical seaside town in Wales with colourful buildings that look like something out of Italy’s Cinque Terre
• There are 40,000 interlocking columns of stone at the Giant’s Causeway, a famous sight in Northern Ireland
• Coventry is England’s City of Culture for 2021
• Liverpool is famous for its music scene, but Glasgow is a UNESCO city of music.

Another big draw for Great Britain is the chance for TV and movie fans to see where there favourite films or TV shows take place, including Bridgerton, The Crown, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Harry Potter, and coming soon to television, a round Scotland tour called Men in Kilts, starring TV and films been big: Bridgerton sensation, Downton Abbey, the Crown, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Harry Potter and coming soon to TV, Men in Kilts with actors Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish.

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