British wonders: 37 Blackpool Pleasure Beach

Location: Lancashire, North-West England
What’s the damage? £15
The disarming seaside resort of Blackpool claims to be England’s second most-visited town after London, and a large part of its appeal is down to the giddy, nostalgia-riddled delights of its 112-year-old funfair.  Opened way back in 1896 and still boasting many of its age-old rides (nicknamed the “woodies”), the pleasure park nonetheless has its fair share of the latest pulse-juddering rides, too.
It represents the kind of unselfconscious, unadulterated fun that even the most cynical of Brits finds hard to resist – as evidenced by the astonishing 5.5 million visitors it received last year.
If that’s not enough of a nostalgia fix for you, catch a tram or a donkey ride or stroll along the beachside promenade to Blackpool Tower, where you can indulge Strictly Come Dancing fantasies in the ornate Victorian ballroom.

British wonders: 38 Whitby Abbey

Location: Whitby, Yorkshire, North-East England
What’s the damage? Adult £5
In an impressive case of split identity, Whitby manages to be both a Goth’s dream and a delightfully quaint little seaside resort. Lying on Yorkshire’s scenic coastline, its main claim to fame is its eerily imposing abbey, which features so prominently in Bram Stoker’s classic horror story Dracula.
The abbey, glowering over the town from its clifftop perch and founded in 657, has also served as a kings’ burial place and was home to the saintly poet Caedmon. The town as a whole is a tangle of narrow medieval lanes leading down to a busy little harbour and – reputedly – some of the best fish and chips shops in Britain.

British wonders: 39 Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

Location: Pembrokeshire, Western Wales
What’s the damage? No charge
Stretching out along the far-flung southwest coast of Wales, the Pembrokeshire coastline does not court or get the attention of other British national parks – but that makes its wild, untamed beauty all the rarer.
Its wave-battered shoreline of soaring cliffs and secluded golden beaches makes for irresistible walking, not to mention rock-climbing, kayaking, surfing, coasteering and diving. Boat trips run to offshore islands alive with squawking seabirds – including puffins – and grey seal. Also keep an eye out for dolphins and minke whale.
Pretty seaside towns including St Davids – Britain’s smallest “city” – pepper the coastline. St Davids’ fragile cathedral is among Wales’s holiest sites.