British wonders: 10 Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Location: Hampshire, south coast
What’s the damage? Unlimited admission £17.50
The brawny port of Portsmouth is the principal base of Britain's Royal Navy, and its historic dockyard is one of England's most enthralling military centres.
You can hop aboard Lord Nelson's triumphant flagship HMS Victory, which won the day at Trafalgar in 1805 and was the scene for his “Kiss me, Hardy ...” dying words. Then skip next door to see what remains of Henry VIII's beloved 16th-century warship the Mary Rose, which sank off Portsmouth in 1545. Its vast bulk was salvaged from its watery grave in 1982 and is now kept in a ghostly mist of seawater to prevent disintegration.
Other highlights of the dockyard are the handsome 19th-century HMS Warrior and an interactive wargames museum to inspire young recruits.

British wonders: 11 Ironbridge Gorge

Location: Shropshire, the Marches
What’s the damage? £14.95 for all 10 museums
Though it is hard to imagine today, the Industrial Revolution was dramatically jump-started in this sleepy river gorge 300 years ago. The story began modestly in 1709 when a young Abraham Darby set himself the challenge of smelting iron ore using coke. His success was a breakthrough that would irreversibly change the world by allowing mass-production of iron. Innovative forging methods swiftly followed, allowing Abraham Darby III to dumbfound the world with its very first cast iron bridge, built here in 1779 and still standing to this day.
Ten superb museums tell the Ironbridge story and aim to inspire the younger generation with an interactive science museum, an astonishingly faithful reconstructed Victorian town and more.

British wonders: 12 Westminster

Location: Central London
What’s the damage? Adult £12
Swamped by more than 1,000 years of history, Westminster Abbey has seen the coronation of almost every sovereign since 1066 and is the final resting place of 17 of them – not to mention a sizeable population of other national luminaries, from poets to prime ministers and scientists to soldiers.
The present church, rebuilt by Henry III in 1245, is one of the finest examples of Early English Gothic in existence. Together with nearby Westminster Palace and St Margaret’s Church, it forms one of three World Heritage sites in the capital.
If that’s not already enough to earn an elevated position in our countdown, the ever-popular tourist attractions of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament lie alongside, plus the London Eye is a short hop across the river.