British wonders: 19 Bath

Location: Bath, Somerset, south-west England
What’s the damage? Adult £10.50
The whole of this genteel, and ever-so-English, city falls within a designated World Heritage site. It claims more listed buildings than almost anywhere else in Britain, with honey-coloured town houses and parades in every direction.
Of particular fame is the glorious half-moon of Georgian houses named the Royal Crescent and – highlight of the whole city and principal reason for its high position on our countdown – its ancient Roman bathhouse. This extravagant building, which sits within splashing distance of the medieval abbey, is one of the best-preserved Roman spas in the world.

British wonders: 20 Snowdonia National Park

Location: Northern Wales
What’s the damage? Free
In a country brimming with mountainous beauty spots, this national park surely takes the crown. Snowdonia has the highest mountains and steepest valleys of anywhere in Wales, England or Northern Ireland. It’s a delight for anyone with a half-decent pair of hiking boots to explore.
Mt Snowdon itself is 1,085m high (its peak accessible on foot or by mountain railway), and numerous other jagged peaks invite ascent. The rock-climbing, white-water rafting, mountain biking and pony trekking are also excellent.
And when you have had it with physical exertion, the surrounding coastline features a string of World-Heritage listed medieval castles, vintage mining railways and beautiful sandy beaches to collapse upon.

British wonders: 21 Neolithic Orkney

Location: Orkney Islands, northern Scotland
What’s the damage? Varied
If you thought the Pyramids were inconceivably old, you might be surprised to learn that the wild and windswept Orkney Islands - off the north coast of Scotland – are home to prehistoric wonders that predate them. Now a World Heritage site, the heart of neolithic Orkney in the West Mainland encompasses several thrilling sites of tremendous archaeological significance.
For starters, the bulbous, 5,000-year-old burial bound of Maes Howe is the finest chambered tomb in Western Europe. During the winter solstice, the sun sets along its stone passageway, striking a cairn in the central chamber with astonishing precision. Nearby are the standing stones of Stenness, erected around 2500BC, and the Ring of Brodgar, a stone circle of 20 monoliths, some over 5m high. And then there is Skara Brae, a staggeringly well-preserved 4,500-year-old prehistoric village, complete with stone furniture.