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.

British wonders: 16 Lincoln Cathedral

Location: Lincolnshire, eastern England
What’s the damage? £4
Of all of England’s stunning Gothic cathedrals, Lincoln has to be one of the finest. Grotesque and roguish carvings adorn the exterior and interior, with maniacal devils, kings, dragons and hunters leering over the Great West Door and quirky characters hiding out in the choir screen and rafters of the interior.
The Norman cathedral was largely reconstructed during the 12th and 13th-centuries. It’s perched smugly atop a hill steep enough to challenge the most ardent pilgrim, amid a tangle of cobbled Tudor streets thick with half-timbered buildings. Opposite it is an unusual Norman castle – the site of ferocious civil war battles and home to a rare copy of the Magna Carta.

British wonders: 17 Greenwich

Location: south-east London
What’s the damage? Free
You can actually hop between hemispheres in this charming, village-like little enclave of London. For this fascinating World Heritage site has played a pivotal role in how we make sense of the world today: specifically, in how the world at large perceives time and place. It was here in the Royal Observatory that the riddle of longitude was solved, the universal measurement of standard time Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was born and, yes - the Meridian Line that splits eastern and western hemispheres was fixed.
Greenwich is also home to one of the capital’s loveliest parks and some exceptionally grandiose architecture by Sir Christopher Wren at the Old Royal Naval College – not to mention cosy pubs, a bustling market and the melancholy remains of the Cutty Sark, once the fastest ship in the world – now being rebuilt following a devastating fire.

British wonders: 18 Cambridge University

Location: Cambridgeshire, Eastern England
What’s the damage? Varied
This venerable 800-year-old brains trust is a must not only for its academic history but its all-round beauty – packed as it is with exquisite architecture, serene gardens and beautiful river “backs” along which punters wobble and glide.
But what makes Cambridge such an irresistible national treasure, so deserving of its place in our list, is its incredible wealth of stories – recalling everything from the discovery of DNA in a local pub to the birth of the childhood favourite Winnie the Pooh. The university has spawned 83 Nobel Prize winners (more than any other academic institution), 13 British prime ministers and a who’s who of British writers.

British wonders: 13 Canterbury Cathedral

Location: Kent, south-east England
What’s the damage? Adult £7
It is hard to conceive of a more majestic mother church for Anglicanism than this splendid early Gothic cathedral. A reservoir of more than a 1,000 years of Christian history, it resonates with spellbinding stories and is crammed with imposing architecture – although its walls also whisper audibly of warfare and bloodshed.
One of England's most notorious warmongers, Edward the Black Prince, was buried here in 1376. And as every schoolchild knows, the gruesome murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket happened right here at the altar – propelling him to sainthood and converting the cathedral into one of Europe's top pilgrimage sites.
The cathedral is the centrepiece of the city's World Heritage site, but there’s plenty more to see beyond its walls – not least the 1,400-year-old remains of St Augustine's Abbey and some of the region’s finest pubs.

British wonders: 14 St Paul’s Cathedral

Location: Central London
What’s the damage? Adult £10
With a dome second only in magnitude to St Peters in Rome, St Paul’s Cathedral is not only one of London’s most striking architectural gems but also one of the most enduring symbols of Great British grit.
Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt it from the ashes of its predecessor in 1675, following the Great Fire of 1666. Then it miraculously dodged the bombs of the WWII blitz, making it a national icon of resilience.
Climb to the dome for fabulous views outside, and while inside test out the so-called Whispering Gallery, where if you talk to the wall on one side, your words should carry 32m to the opposite side.

British wonders: 15 National Gallery

Location: Central London
What’s the damage? Free
With more than 2,300 European masterpieces, dating back around 800 years, the National Gallery must fall near the top of every art-lover’s list. Situated in the heart of London’s tourist district, above Trafalgar Square and a short walk from Buckingham Palace, its star attractions include works by da Vinci, Van Gogh, Turner, Monet, Seurat, Botticelli, Constable, Cézanne, Raphael, Rembrandt and Michelangelo …  the list goes on and on.

British wonders: 10 Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Location: Hampshire, south coast
What’s the damage? Unlimited admission £17.50
The brawny port of Portsmouth is the principal base of Britain's Royal Navy, and its historic dockyard is one of England's most enthralling military centres.
You can hop aboard Lord Nelson's triumphant flagship HMS Victory, which won the day at Trafalgar in 1805 and was the scene for his “Kiss me, Hardy ...” dying words. Then skip next door to see what remains of Henry VIII's beloved 16th-century warship the Mary Rose, which sank off Portsmouth in 1545. Its vast bulk was salvaged from its watery grave in 1982 and is now kept in a ghostly mist of seawater to prevent disintegration.
Other highlights of the dockyard are the handsome 19th-century HMS Warrior and an interactive wargames museum to inspire young recruits.

British wonders: 11 Ironbridge Gorge

Location: Shropshire, the Marches
What’s the damage? £14.95 for all 10 museums
Though it is hard to imagine today, the Industrial Revolution was dramatically jump-started in this sleepy river gorge 300 years ago. The story began modestly in 1709 when a young Abraham Darby set himself the challenge of smelting iron ore using coke. His success was a breakthrough that would irreversibly change the world by allowing mass-production of iron. Innovative forging methods swiftly followed, allowing Abraham Darby III to dumbfound the world with its very first cast iron bridge, built here in 1779 and still standing to this day.
Ten superb museums tell the Ironbridge story and aim to inspire the younger generation with an interactive science museum, an astonishingly faithful reconstructed Victorian town and more.

British wonders: 12 Westminster

Location: Central London
What’s the damage? Adult £12
Swamped by more than 1,000 years of history, Westminster Abbey has seen the coronation of almost every sovereign since 1066 and is the final resting place of 17 of them – not to mention a sizeable population of other national luminaries, from poets to prime ministers and scientists to soldiers.
The present church, rebuilt by Henry III in 1245, is one of the finest examples of Early English Gothic in existence. Together with nearby Westminster Palace and St Margaret’s Church, it forms one of three World Heritage sites in the capital.
If that’s not already enough to earn an elevated position in our countdown, the ever-popular tourist attractions of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament lie alongside, plus the London Eye is a short hop across the river.

British wonders: 7 Giants Causeway

Location: North Antrim, Northern Ireland
What’s the damage? Free
Another World Heritage site, the Giants Causeway on Northern Ireland’s Atlantic coastline is one of Britain’s most distinctive sights. A geological freak, it is formed of tens of thousands of great hexagonal columns of volcanic rock that fit together in unnerving symmetry. The tallest are 12m high and the solidified lava in the cliffs is up to 28m thick.
The more romantic explanation for this quirk of nature is that it is the work of the ancient Irish giant Finn McCool, who fell in love with a lady giant living on a Hebridean island, and thus he built a causeway to bring her back to Ulster.
The surrounding cliffs also afford dramatic views, and long walks beckon along the surrounding coastline.

British wonders: 8 Hadrian’s Wall

Location: Cumbria-Tyne & Wear, northern England
What’s the damage? Free
An astounding, 73-mile testament to ambition and sheer bloody-minded tenacity, Hadrian’s Wall is Britain’s biggest Roman monument– and the largest ancient monument in northern Europe.
Running from the western Solway Firth almost to the mouth of the Tyne in the east, this 1,900-year-old World Heritage site is estimated to have been about 5m high and 3m thick and took at least three legions more than six years to build – including an accompanying string of 16 forts. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t built to keep the hairy Scottish barbarians out: rather it was a down-to-earth territorial marker and handy customs post.
But whatever its backstory, Hadrian’s Wall is one of northern England’s great hikes, through lush hills and over windswept basalt ridges to Northumberland National Park and Newcastle.

British wonders:  9 The Tate Galleries of London

Location: Central London
What’s the damage? Free
We have the inventor of the sugar cube – Henry Tate – to thank for two of our nation’s top free-entry treasures: Tate Britain, and its upstart sibling, Tate Modern. If we are sticking strictly to British treasures, then the original gallery is our winner: founded in 1897, it is now devoted entirely to national art, from the likes of Blake, the Hogarths, Bacon, Gainsborough, Whistler, Spencer and Turner right up to his namesake modern art competition, the Turner Prize.
But the tremendous Tate Modern can claim the crown as the largest modern art gallery in the world – and one of the most outstanding. Expect to see work by international superstars such as Monet, Picasso, Dalí, Warhol and Pollock for starters – and to be awestruck by this former power station’s cavernous Turbine Hall, thought to be the world’s largest indoor sculpture space.

British wonders: 4 Lake District

Location: Cumbria, north-east England
What’s the damage? Free
This is the closest thing England has to the breathtaking landscapes of the Alps – a sweeping panorama of bulging mountains, razor-sharp crags, scree-covered slopes and huge, glassy lakes. Few places in England can rival it for sheer scenic charm. It is also home to rare wildlife including England’s only golden eagles and the endangered red squirrel.
Little surprise, then, that the Lake District is one of Britain’s favourite spots to enjoy the great outdoors, but there are also plenty of historical and cultural attractions for rainy days - from slate mines and a ruined abbey to the homes of the famous scribblers William Wordworth and Beatrix Potter.

British wonders: 5 British Museum

Location: central London
What’s the damage? Free
Nowhere in Britain can rival the British Museum for sheer cultural clout. One of the nation’s top free attractions, it is also Britain’s biggest museum and one of the world’s oldest collections, boasting immense Egyptian, Greek, Oriental and Roman galleries among other booty. Such wonders as the Rosetta stone, the Parthenon sculptures and treasures of the Sutton Hoo burial ship reside here.
But before you even reach the exhibitions, prepare to be awestruck by the luminescent Great Court, revamped in a spectacle of glass and steel by Norman Foster for the new millennium. In its heart is the Central Reading Room, in which Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto.

British wonders: 6 Tower Hill

Location: Central London
What’s the damage? Tower of London admission £16.50
There is simply no more storied building in Britain than the infamous Tower of London. This World Heritage site has never been far from the bloody heart of English history since William the Conqueror laid its first stones in 1078. A former royal residence, treasury, mint, prison and arsenal, it is quite simply saturated by national history.
The site of many a royal decapitation, murder and imprisonment – it’s also home to the Crown Jewels, London’s oldest church, the famous ravens and a small army of Tudor-costumed Beefeaters. And of course, the tower’s famous neighbour is the suitably pompous but comparatively modern Tower Bridge, built in 1894.

British wonders: 1 Stonehenge

Location: Wiltshire, Wessex
What’s the damage? £6.50
We expected some heated debate over which of Britain’s myriad national wonders should top our list. But when it came down to it, one name was never far from anybody’s lips.
One of the world’s most unforgettable and fascinating prehistoric sites, Stonehenge continues to awe today, just as it has for the past 5,000 years. This ancient ring of monolithic stones has attracted more pilgrims, poets and philosophers than any other national treasure. And it still maintains a mystical, haunting aura despite being inundated with visitors and a short hop from a busy road.
But far from being an isolated wonder, Stonehenge forms part of an extraordinary prehistoric landscape criss-crossed by ceremonial avenues, ancient tombs and other, equally intriguing stone circles – not least the one at Avebury, which forms part of the same World Heritage site as Stonehenge itself.
So, having read our countdown of Britain’s unmissable national attractions – tell us what you think.  Do you agree with our selection? Would you add anywhere – and if so, which would you substitute? Let us know here.

British wonders: 2 Eden Project

Location: Near St Austell, Cornwall, south-west England
What’s the damage? Adult £15
It might seem rash to rate this extraordinary series of space-age bubbles a position above attractions several hundred times older (the project is a mere eight  years old), but its name was crowed time and time again in our hunt for Britain’s most enchanting places. Clearly, this is a modern wonder so close to our hearts it deserved to be up there with the world-beaters.
The project’s gargantuan greenhouses – or biomes – are the largest in the world. Squatting in a 50m-deep derelict clay pit in the rolling Cornish countryside, they are made of eco-friendly, Teflon-coated, hexagonal panels – described by their creators as “cling film with attitude”.
The project showcases the planet’s utterly diverse plant life, replicating climatic zones from the steaming rainforests of South America to the parched deserts of Africa. Equally impressive are the stunningly landscaped external grounds, cloaked in vivid flowerbeds and crops.

British wonders: 3 The Great Glen

Location: eastern Scotland
What’s the damage? Free
When it came to sheer scenic splendour, Scotland was at the top of almost everyone’s list – travel expert and public alike. And the Highlands region most often name-checked?  The Great Glen.
This spectacular chain of silvery lochs, heather-clad hillsides and precipitous mountains stretching from Inverness to Fort William is home to Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain at 1,343m, Loch Ness and the achingly beautiful and equally poignant Glen Coe. Besieged on all sides by staggering mountains, this was the scene of the infamous Massacre of Glencoe in 1692 and the bloody battle of Culloden in 1746.
Fort William is arguably outdoor capital of the UK, backed by the mighty Ben Nevis and end point of the 73-mile Great Glen Way hike. Meanwhile Glen Nevis is the heart of the local ski scene.