Location: Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
What’s the damage? Free
The windswept island of Lewis off the west coast of Scotland is home to one of Britain’s most-complete stone circles: the Callanish Standing Stones, which date back to the time of the pyramids some 3,800-5,000 years ago.
While it may not get the press of its brawnier southern cousins Stonehenge or Avebury, this ring of 13 monoliths and a central block is their equal for mystery; it also claims an especially atmospheric location on a wild, secluded promontory. Around 40 smaller stones radiate outward in ceremonial avenues.
There are many other megalithic sites in the vicinity, as well as Iron Age brochs –round stone towers.
British wonders: 44 Cheddar Gorge
Location: Somerset, south-west England
What’s the damage? Caves & gorge £15; gorge only, £4
The largest ravine in Britain, Cheddar Gorge is a spectacular rift through the Mendip Hills of Somerset. The area is also riddled with colourful limestone caves bristling with stalactites and stalagmites. Excavators found Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, 9,000-year-old Cheddar Man, here in 1903.
You can drive through the gorge or investigate the 5km-long walking circuit around its sheer cliffs – which reach 113m high – with views to Glastonbury Tor and Exmoor.
Location: Dorset, south-west England
What’s the damage? Free
The scandalously well-endowed Cerne Giant (aka the “Rude Man”) stands to attention on a hillside outside Dorchester, in Dorset. This 55m-high hill figure is one of the largest in Britain and certainly the most instantly recognisable.
He is carved from the underlying chalk bedrock and carries a huge knobbled club that has led many people to theorise that he represents Hercules and dates from the days of Roman occupation. The true age of the giant is uncertain, however, as little evidence remains earlier than the 17th century. Some even argue that he was dug as a parody of Oliver Cromwell in the English civil war.
The giant is one of only two human hillside figures in Britain, the other being the more respectable Long Man of Wilmington in East Sussex.
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