Location: Brighton, South-East England
What’s the damage? Adult £8.50
If you thought all of England’s stately homes were dry and dusty, a visit to Brighton's outlandish Royal Pavilion is overdue. This flamboyantly exotic palace, built between 1787 and 1815, was the seaside playpad of the young King George IV before he ascended to the throne.
One of the country’s most self-indulgent buildings, its exterior is thick with Mogul-style domes and minarets, while the interior is slathered with vivid colour and lavish oriental-themed decor. Golden dragons coil around elephantine chandeliers, while bejewelled snakes slither down columns and every inch of wall and ceiling is alive with gilt, crystal or exotic hues.
The Prince Regent was notorious for entertaining his aristocratic mates and their floosies with wildly hedonistic parties here.
British wonders: 47 Xscape
Location: Milton Keynes, central England
What’s the damage? Varies
Then again, if history isn’t your bag, how about some indoor real-snow skiing and simulated skydiving to liven things up?
According to research by VisitBritain, the Xscape entertainment complex in Milton Keynes was one of the nation’s most-visited attractions last year, drawing 6.9m people – that’s over three times as many as the Tower of London.
A striking modern building, the second-tallest in Milton Keynes, Xscape contains a real-snow ski slope, a climbing wall and even a new wind tunnel that imitates the experience of freefall skydiving, as well as the obligatory cinemas, shops and restaurants.
There are two more Xscape complexes in Castleford, Yorkshire and Braehead, near Glasgow.
British wonders: 48 Conwy
Location: Conwy, Snowdonia, Northern Wales
What’s the damage? £4.70
Conwy is one of Wales’s most impressive castles – and a World Heritage site to boot – yet many young Brits have never heard of it.
Its exterior is dramatic to the point of theatricality, with eight vast drum towers, chunky battlements and an epic mountain backdrop to Snowdonia. And the well-preserved walled town below is filled with a pretty mix of medieval and Victorian buildings.
The castle, built in the late 13th century, formed part of Edward I's plan to surround Wales with an iron ring of castles to subdue the unruly populace.
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