British wonders: 25 St Michael’s Mount

Location: Mount’s Bay, Cornwall
What’s the damage? £6.60
This island-abbey forms Cornwall’s best-known landmark, marooned on its own rocky islet with only a low-tide causeway to connect it to the mainland. It is the Cornish counterpart of the renowned fort of Mont Saint Michel in France and served as a fortress during the English civil war.
Time your visit right and you can make your way 366m across the slippery man-made causeway on foot or, less perilously, catch a boat at high tide.

British wonders: 26 Rosslyn Chapel

Location: Near Edinburgh, Scotland
What’s the damage? Adults £7.50
Da Vinci Code fever may have shone a spotlight on Rosslyn Chapel in recent years, but this uniquely beautiful and fascinating little church has been a highlight of Edinburgh’s hinterland for centuries.
What really marks the chapel out is its collection of painstakingly executed decorative carvings, which are loaded with the kind of obscure symbolism that could – and has – kept scholars happy for a lifetime.
These carvings include ancient pagan symbols and mysterious “musical boxes” - a string of 213 patterned cubes protruding from the stonework that some believe may represent a coded message or a musical score.
Founded in 1456, the chapel is linked to the medieval religious order the Knights Templar.

British wonders: 27 Loch Ness

Location: Scottish Highlands
What’s the damage? Free
Forget Nessie for a moment and consider Scotland’s most famous lake for what it is: a breathtakingly lovely expanse that is not only Britain’s longest body of water, at over 23 miles, but also the country’s deepest, to the tune of some 129 fathoms. Plenty of murky water for the legendary beast to lurk in.
Outdoor enthusiasts will be in their element here, with superb walking and horse-riding trails, sailing and fishing opportunities, beaches and wildlife. History lovers can make for the picturesque loch-side ruin of Urquhart Castle, blown up in 1692, and the Caledonian Canal, a vast 19th-century construction bearing ships through the country’s heartlands.