While London and the UK‘s other urban areas packed with historical and cultural sights receive frequent visits from foreign tourists, Britain also hides a number of less known secrets, natural gems which are only seldom chosen as holiday destinations by travellers from abroad. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Coastal attractions

©irishdaytours.de

Thanks to the length of Britain’s coastline (11,073 miles or 17,820 km), there are numerous spectacular geologic formations worth seeing everywhere along the coasts of the UK.  One of the most popular, located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is the Giant’s Causeway. It is a structure made up of 40,000 basalt columns, and it was formed as a result of volcanic activity in the area 50,000 to 60,000 million years ago. The legend says that the causeway was built by the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill so that he and the Scottish giant Benandonner, who had challenged him to a fight, could meet. According to this legend, the causeway used to go as far out into the North Channel as the Scottish isle of Staffa, where a geologic formation similar to that in Northern Ireland still exists. The Giant’s Causeway is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The White Cliffs of Dover are another example of Britain’s beautiful coastal sights. Located in the South of England, they face the European continent. The cliffs are made of soft white chalk and are the result of ice-age floods.

©whitecliffsofdover.co.uk

Mountainous regions

Less than two hours away from the city of Manchester, the Lake District amazes travellers with its peaks and glacial lakes. One of Britain’s favourite hiking spots, it covers a surface area of 2,362 square kilometres and it includes England’s highest peak, as well as its deepest and longest lakes. Here, it is possible to walk or cycle along the 3,105 km of paths, as well as to canoe on some of the park’s lakes. Important English authors such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were among the so-called Lake Poets, a group of writers who lived and wrote in and were inspired by the Lake District in the 19th century.

©andicampbelljones.com

Another national park which offers hiking, cycling and canoeing facilities is the Peak District, located in the county of Derbyshire, further south of the Lake District. It is also famous for its mineral water resources, and it is easily accessible by road from one of the main cities in the area.

Britain’s touristic appeal is not all about history and culture, so find a place in your itinerary for at least one of these unique natural wonders when you plan your next trip to the UK.

 

English – German glossary

urban areas = Stadtgebiete

packed with sth = voller etw

sights = Sehenswürdigkeiten

gems = Juwele

seldom = selten

holiday destinations = Urlaubsziele

from abroad = aus dem Ausland

coastal = Küsten-

length =Länge, Strecke

coastline = Küstenlinie

worth seeing = sehenswert

coasts =Küsten

county = (hier ) Grafschaft

causeway = Damm

basalt columns = Basaltsäulen

giant = der Riese

to challenge  = herausfordern

isle = Insel

UNESCO World Heritage Site = UNESCO Weltkulturerbe

cliffs = Klippen

to face = gegenüberstehen

continent = (hier) Festland

chalk = Kreide

ice-age = eiszeitlich

floods = Fluten

mountainous = gebirgig

less than two hours away = weniger als zwei Stunden entfert

to amaze = verwundern

peaks = Spitzen

glacial lakes = Gletscherseen

hiking = Wandern

spots = (hier) Stellen, Orten

to cover = (hier) (sich über ein Gebiet) erstrecken

surface area = die Fläche

square kilometres = Quadratkilometer

to cycle = radfahren

paths = Wege, Pfade

to canoe = paddeln, Kanu fahren

facilities = (hier) Möglichkeiten

accessible = zu erreichen

area = Gegend

to appeal = (hier) wirken

itinerary = Reiseplan