W is for World Heritage Sites

FAcross Britain there are a host of UNESCO World Heritage Sites which provide groups with a great option for a fascinating visit. UNESCO - which stands for The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation - only bestows the status of World Heritage Sites to those places deemed of cultural and natural heritage across the globe and considered to be of outstanding value to humanity, whether for their historical significance to their outstanding beauty. London boasts some of the most iconic sites in the world, many of which are protected by World Heritage status.

They include Tower of London, home to the Crown Jewels; Westminster Abbey, the burial place of many great Britons from Charles Darwin to Charles Dickens; Maritime Greenwich, home to Christopher Wren's baroque masterpiece, the Old Royal Naval College and the Cutty Sark - the world's last surviving tea clipper ship, plus Kew Gardens, home to 300 acres of greenery, ancient trees, palm houses and treetop walkway. Canterbury, in Kent, has been the seat of the spiritual head of the Church of England for almost five centuries. Canterbury's other important monuments are the modest Church of St Martin, the oldest church in England; the ruins of the Abbey of St Augustine, a reminder of the saint's evangelizing role in the Heptarchy from 597; and Christ Church Cathedral, a breathtaking mixture of Romanesque and Perpendicular Gothic, where Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170.

One of the UK's most famous UNESCO sites is Stonehenge, the famous megalithic monument dating back 50,000 years and has drawn visitors for centuries. The city of Bath is a wonderful place to visit, with chance to see the ancient Roman Baths, the elegant Pulteney Bridge, stunning Georgian architecture and Bath Abbey. Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, is a superb preserved 18thcentury stately home set in a 2,100-acre park landscaped by 'Capability' Brown. The Dorset and East Devon Coast is known as The Jurassic Coast and was the first ever site to be inscribed as a 'natural' World Heritage Site.

It spans 95 miles of dramatic coastline and has been exposed to provide an almost continuous geological 'walk through time' spanning 185 million years of history. In the North West of England you will find the Jodrell Bank Observatory. One of the world’s leading radio astronomy observatories. Since 1945, it has been at the forefront of scientific discovery and modern astrophysics.

Saltaire In Bradford takes its name from its founder, Sir Titus Salt and the River Aire, which runs through the village. Thanks to its preservation as a model village, Saltaire was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001 and will celebrate the 25th anniversary of this designation in 2026. There is world class art on display at Salts Mill with a large collection of works by David Hockney, and surrounded by countryside & moors.