The UK packs an extraordinary range of landscapes, cities and history into a relatively small area. These are some of the essential places.
London is one of the world's great cities — dense, diverse and relentlessly absorbing. The British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, Victoria & Albert Museum and Natural History Museum are all free. So is most of the South Bank. Give yourself at least three or four days.
Edinburgh is arguably the most dramatically situated city in Britain, with a medieval Old Town and Georgian New Town separated by a volcanic crag topped by a castle. The city is at its most intense in August during the Festival season, but is worth visiting at any time of year.
The Scottish Highlands offer genuine wilderness on a European scale — mountains, sea lochs, empty glens and some of the most dramatic coastline on the continent. The NC500 route around the north of Scotland has become deservedly famous as a road trip. Allow a week to do it justice.
Stonehenge and Avebury (Wiltshire) are the UK's most famous prehistoric monuments. Stonehenge is heavily managed and crowded; Avebury's stone circle is larger, almost as impressive, and you can walk among the stones freely. The surrounding landscape has Neolithic sites at every turn.
The Cotswolds is a region of honey-coloured limestone villages, market towns and rolling hills in the heart of England. Bourton-on-the-Water, Burford and Chipping Campden are the classic postcards, but the lesser-known villages are where you'll escape the crowds.
Bath is an 18th-century city built in pale limestone with Roman foundations. The Roman Baths are a genuine wonder; the Georgian terraces and crescents are among the finest urban architecture in Britain. It's small enough to walk around in a day but rich enough to justify two.
The Lake District (Cumbria) is England's largest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Windermere, Grasmere and Coniston are the most visited lakes; for the best walking, head to the fells around Scafell Pike or Helvellyn.
Snowdonia / Eryri (Wales) has serious mountain terrain within easy reach of the English border. The Snowdon summit can be reached by mountain railway or on foot via several routes; the wider national park has superb walking and cycling.
Giant's Causeway (Northern Ireland) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns meet the sea on the Antrim coast. The coastal road between Belfast and Portrush passes through some of Northern Ireland's most striking scenery.
York is the best-preserved medieval city in England, with walls largely intact, a Gothic Minster of staggering size, and streets — particularly The Shambles — that have changed little in centuries.