Places: United Kingdom

This page is about places in the United Kingdom, that aren't covered anywhere else (e.g. in Counties or Towns and Cities).  It includes such diverse entities as National Parks, beauty spots, tourist attractions, suburbs and streets.

See also Places: Rest of the World.

National Parks

Britain's first ten national parks were created in the 1950s:

		Name		Established	km2	mi2
1		Peak District	(England)	17 April 1951	1,438	555
2		Lake District	(England)	9 May 1951	2,292	885
3		Snowdonia	(Wales)	18 October 1951	956	369
4		Dartmoor	(England)	30 October 1951	956	369
5		Pembrokeshire Coast	(Wales)	29 February 1952	620	240
6		North York Moors	(England)	28 November 1952	1,436	554
7		Yorkshire Dales	(England)	16 November 1954	1,769	683
8		Exmoor	(England)	19 October 1954	693	268
9		Northumberland	(England)	6 April 1956	1,049	405
10		Brecon Beacons	(Wales)	17 April 1957	1,351	522

Later creations:

11		The Broads	(England)	1 April 1989	303	117
12		Loch Lomond and the Trossachs	(Scotland)	19 July 2002	1,865	720
13		Cairngorms	(Scotland)	25 March 2003	4,528	1,748
14		New Forest	(England)	1 March 2005	580	220
15		South Downs	(England)	12 November 2009	1,641	634

As the above table shows, the Cairngorms is by far Britain's largest national park – very nearly twice the size of the previous largest, which was the Lake District. The smallest is the Broads, which was the first of the later creations – less than half the size of the Pembrokeshire Coast, which was the previous smallest.

Lake District Passes

Links the Duddon Valley (a.k.a. Dunnerdale) to Eskdale; gives its name to a Roman fort, built on a rocky spur on its Eskdale (western) side in the early 2nd century AD		Hardknott
Links Seatoller (Borrowdale) to Gatesgarth (at the southern end of Buttermere)		Honister
Links Ambleside to Patterdale; at 1,489 feet (454 metres), the highest Lake District pass to carry a road; gives its name to an inn at its summit		Kirkstone
Links Braithwaite (near Keswick) to High Lorton (near Cockermouth)		Whinlatter
Links the Duddon Valley (a.k.a. Dunnerdale) to Little Langdale		Wrynose

Other

Garden and watermill at Temple Sowerby, near Penrith, Cumbria: noted for its herb garden and orchard		Acorn Bank
Berkshire village that gave its name to the UK's Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (established in 1950); CND organised a series of marches from Trafalgar Square, London, to it (sometimes vice versa), from 1958		Aldermaston
Low–lying part of North Lincolnshire to the west of the River Trent, south west of Scunthorpe		Axholme (Isle of)
Name given to the canals of Cambridge		The Backs
Dinas Oleu – the first land to be owned by the National Trust – is near (Welsh coastal town)		Barmouth
North of England Open Air Museum – near Stanley, Co. Durham – featuring detailed reproductions of a town, farm and colliery village of 1913; other exhibits include a working replica of Stephenson's Locomotion No. 1 (the original of which is in Darlington Railway Centre and Museum); established in 1970, opened in 1972 on the present site (named after the nearby village)		Beamish
Amusement complex in Manchester, opened in 1836: included a zoo, exhibition hall, greyhound stadium (from 1926) and speedway stadium (from 1928); all closed between 1977 and 1987 – the greyhound and speedway stadium were replaced, the latter being the UK's National Speedway Stadium and still home to the Aces; name shared with (among others) areas of Doncaster and Wakefield, which give their names to the stadia used by the respective football and rugby league clubs (Doncaster Rovers moved to a new stadium in 2006)		Belle Vue
English municipal park on which New York's Central Park was based		Birkenhead Park
Heavily industrialised area, bordering Birmingham to the west		Black Country
Britain's most–visited theme park, and Europe's second – over twice as many visitors as Alton Towers (2007)		Blackpool Pleasure Beach
The two Greater Manchester boroughs that don't border the City of Manchester		Bolton
		Wigan
Birmingham's 'factory in a garden village', founded in 1879 by George and Richard Cadbury; Cadbury World, a chocolate–themed visitor attraction, opened there in 1990		Bourneville
Popular beauty spot in the North Downs of Surrey: featured in the 2012 Olympic road cycling race		Box Hill
England and Wales's first new National Park since the 1950s – established 1989		The Broads
Scotland's second national park; Britain's largest and most northerly (established 2003)		Cairngorms
Historic county in the extreme north–east of Scotland, with shores on the North Sea and the Pentland Firth: gave its name to the glassware manufacturing company (founded in 1961) that provides the trophy for the BBC's Mastermind quiz programme		Caithness
"Resort" in Newport, Monmouthshire: has hosted the Ryder Cup (2010) and a NATO summit meeting (2014)		Celtic Manor
Country park in Failsworth, Greater Manchester: named after a fictional location in a work by the local dialect writer Benjamin Brierley; hosts an annual Easter Fair, which was painted by L. S. Lowry		Daisy Nook
Manchester suburb (since 1974 part of Trafford Metropolitan Borough): gave its name to one of Europe's largest sewage works, where the global standard Activated Sludge Process was invented in 1914		Davyhulme
UNESCO World Heritage Site (designated in 2001) centred on Richard Arkwright's cotton spinning mill at Cromford, Derbyshire – named after the river that powers the mills		Derwent Valley Mills
Town in north–east Scotland: Rocco, son of Madonna and Guy Ritchie, was christened in its cathedral in 2000 on the day before their wedding in nearby Skibo Castle		Dornoch
Area of Nottinghamshire, near Worksop, named for the four or five ducal seats that it contained, in close proximity to each other		The Dukeries
Visitor attraction near St. Austell, Cornwall, conceived by Tim Smit and opened in 2001: several domes, each emulating a different natural environment and housing plants from around the world		Eden Project
Naval base on the Firth of Clyde: the Royal Navy's headquarters in Scotland and the home of the submarines that carry Britain's nuclear weapons		Faslane
One of Scotland's 32 modern 'council areas' – between the Firths of Tay and Forth: widely held to have been one of the major Pictish kingdoms, and still commonly known in Scotland as the Kingdom of ...		Fife
Estate in Windsor Home Park, which includes Queen Victoria's Mausoleum, and the Royal Burial Ground alongside it, as well as a House (used by the Royal Family for entertaining – including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding reception in 2018) and a Cottage which became the UK home of the aforesaid Duke & Duchess in 2019		Frogmore
Peninsula (and its surrounding area), now part of Cumbria – an exclave of Lancashire, prior to 1974		Furness
The only UNESCO world heritage site in Northern Ireland (designated in 1986)		Giant's Causeway
Scattered community on the Sound of Sleat, in the Highlands of Scotland; includes the village of Kirkton; best known to outsiders for the world's last hand–operated turntable ferry, serving Kylerhea on the Isle of Skye		Glenelg
The highest point on England's south coast (191m, 627ft); between Bridport and Charmouth, Dorset – part of the Jurassic Coast		Golden Cap
Sussex estate of the Dukes of Richmond, where Rolls–Royce cars have been built since 2003 when BMW bought the rights to the Rolls–Royce Cars name		Goodwood
Greater Manchester's largest park, and the largest municipal park in Western Europe; sold to Manchester City Council in 1902 by the Earl of Wilton; Pope John Paul II held a mass there in 1982		Heaton Park
Estate near Megavissey, Cornwall, where the Tremayne family created extensive gardens from the mid–18th century; neglected after the First World War, the gardens were restored in the 1990s on the initiative of Dutch–born businessman Tim Smit, who later conceived and created the Eden Project. The restoration was covered in several popular television programmes and books		Heligan
Castle in (East) Sussex near which the Royal Greenwich Observatory was sited from 1948 until 1990 (when it moved to Cambridge; it closed in 1998)		Herstmonceux
Royal park in the centre of Edinburgh: features include Arthur's Seat, Salisbury Crags, Samson's Ribs (a formation of columnar basalt, reminiscent of the Giant's Causeway) and St. Margaret's Loch (formed artificially in 1856 as part of Prince Albert's plans for improving the area surrounding the royal palace); a.k.a. King's Park or Queen's Park (depending on the gender of the reigning monarch)		Holyrood Park
Street that runs between Liverpool's two cathedrals		Hope Street
UNESCO World Heritage Site in Shropshire: recognised as one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution; includes the villages of Coalport, famous for its porcelain, and Coalbrookdale, where Abraham Darby built the first blast furnace in 1708		Ironbridge Gorge
Self–governing dependency in the British Isles: not a member of the UK, EU or Commonwealth; divided into six Sheadings		Isle of Man
Zoo set up by Gerald Durrell to help conserve endangered species		Jersey
England's only natural UNESCO World Heritage Site: coastline from Orcombe Point (near Exmouth, Devon) to Old Harry Rocks (near Swanage, Dorset)		Jurassic Coast
Europe's largest man–made woodland (Northumberland)		Kielder Forest
Area of Liverpool, associated with Ken Dodd		Knotty Ash
Wiltshire village owned almost entirely by the National Trust; includes an Abbey, founded 1232, home to the photographic pioneer William Fox Talbot (b. 1800)		Lacock
Britain's largest National Park, until the Cairngorms became one (still the largest in England, and bigger than any in Wales)		Lake District
Known 'in ancient geography' as Bolerium		Land's End
Commercially–based theme park near Windsor, Berkshire (also in Denmark, Germany and USA); 'Discovery Centre' opened in Manchester in 2010		Legoland
Island in the Bristol Channel, Britain's first Marine Nature Reserve (1986)		Lundy Island
Scotland's first national park (established 2002)		Loch Lomond and the Trossachs
UNESCO World Heritage Site in east London, on the south bank of the Thames, recognised in 1997 for the concentration and quality of its buildings of historic and architectural interest; includes the Queens House and the Old Royal Naval College, designed by Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren respectively		Maritime Greenwich
Wetland nature reserve on the Lancashire coastal plain (near Burscough): opened to the public in 1975 by Sir Peter Scott		Martin Mere
Shopping complex between Sheffield and Rotherham – opened 1990		Meadowhall
Mixed–use property development at Salford Quays, Greater Manchester (on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal) – principal tenant is the BBC, others include Granada TV		MediaCityUK
Not a national park, but granted equivalent status by act of Parliament in 1988		Norfolk (Suffolk) Broads
AONB that includes Cross Fell – the highest mountain in England, outside the Lake District National Park		North Pennines
High security prison on the Isle of Wight		Parkhurst
Britain's first National Park (1951)		Peak District
The smallest of Britain's original ten National Parks (those created in the 1950s); the Broads (created in 1988, but not strictly a National Park) and New Forest (2002) are smaller; the only one designated primarily because of its coastline		Pembrokeshire Coast
Site of the UK's Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (Wiltshire)		Porton Down
Model town on the Wirral, founded 1888 by Lord Leverhulme		Port Sunlight
Main street in Edinburgh, overlooked by the Sir Walter Scott memorial		Princes Street
Name given to the area of West Yorkshire between Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield – or, more specifically, between Wakefield, Morley and Rothwell – after its most famous specialised agricultural product		Rhubarb Triangle
South–west London suburb (traditionally in Surrey): The Priory clinic, headquarters of the International Tennis Federation (since 1998) and the Lawn Tennis Association (since 2007) and Rosslyn Park RUFC		Roehampton
Name given to a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of Edinburgh's Old Town, from the Castle to Holyrood Palace		Royal Mile
Castlehill, the Lawnmarket, the High Street, the Canongate and Abbey Strand, together make up the
Memorials to John F. Kennedy and the men and women of Commonwealth air forces who died during World War II (as well as Magna Carta) can be found at		Runnymede
Civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester – belonged to the West Riding of Yorkshire until local government reorganisation of 1974; includes the villages of Diggle, Delph, Uppermill, Greenfield		Saddleworth
The only Merseyside borough that doesn't adjoin the City of Liverpool		St. Helens
Area of woods and parkland on the western edge of the New Forest, just within the National Park: includes a holiday village of the same name, which refers to a number of dome–shaped outcrops on the western boundary of the site, and makes it a popular source for ribald comedy		Sandy Balls
Junction between the A1 and the A66 (North Yorkshire)		Scotch Corner
"Unrecognised micronation" occupying HM Fort Roughs (a.k.a. Roughs Tower), a WWII defensive facility off the Suffolk coast: established in 1967 by pirate broadcaster Patrick Roy Bates, and still administered by his family 55 years later		Sealand
Garden near Tunbridge Wells, in Kent, created by (husband and wife) Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville–West		Sissinghurst
National Park spanning parts of Hampshire and Sussex – including Beachy Head – established in 2009		South Downs
Business estate in the London Borough of Hillingdon: the location of the English Premier League's Video Assistant Referee (VAR) hub		Stockley Park
Village near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, that gave its name to the hospital that includes the National Spinal Injuries Centre; pioneering rehabilitation work carried out there by Sir Ludwig Guttmann led to the development of the Paralympic Games; the National Centre for Disability Sport – an extensive sports complex – is adjacent		Stoke Mandeville
Estate near the town of Mere, in south–west Wiltshire, named after its location at the source of a river that enters the sea at Bournmeouth: features the Palladian Bridge, the Pantheon, and the Temple of Apollo – all Grade I listed		Stourhead
Popular beauty spot straddling the river Wye, named after a 17th–century sheriff of Herefordshire		Symonds Yat
Place in the Peak District National Park where Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire meet		Three Shire Heads
Scenic area of the Achray Forest, Perthshire, between Lochs Achray and Katrine – now part of a national park, along with Loch Lomond		The Trossachs
Gravitational centre of the United Kingdom (including offshore islands) – according to the Ordnance Survey (cited by Wikipedia): near Brennand Farm, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the village of Dunsop Bridge, Lancashire		Whitendale Hanging Stones
The nuclear processing site at Sellafield, Cumbria, was known from 1947 to 1981 as (Sellafield was the name of the Royal Ordnance Factory that previously occupied the site; the nearest village is Seascale)		Windscale
Small, scattered settlement at the head of the Longdendale valley in Derbyshire (formerly Cheshire): gives its name to a reservoir, the tunnel that carried the original railway line from Manchester to Sheffield, and the pass by which the A628 road crosses the Pennines		Woodhead
Michael Eavis's farm, on which Glastonbury Festival is held (between the villages of Pilton and Pylle, six miles east of Glastonbury)		Worthy Farm
Historically in Cheshire, but part of the City of Manchester since 1931: once Europe's largest council estate; its Forum, a diverse leisure facility in the Civic Centre, was the last venue to hold the final of the World Snooker Championships, before they moved to the Crucible in Sheffield		Wythenshawe

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23