Discover England

England is the largest and most populous of the four countries of the United Kingdom: 56.5 million people at the 2021 census, 84 per cent of the UK, on about 62 per cent of the island of Great Britain, with nine million of them in London and over fifteen million in its metropolitan area. It is where the English language, the common law, association football, the Anglican church, the parliamentary system and the Industrial Revolution began, and it has been a single state since Æthelstan united the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in 927 -- longer, continuously, than almost any other in Europe -- though it has had no government of its own since the union with Scotland on 1 May 1707. Its landscape is small-scale and old: chalk downs and white cliffs in the south, the Cotswold limestone belt, the drained Fens, the Pennine spine and the Lake District fells in the north, where Scafell Pike at 978 metres is the highest point, and a coast never more than about seventy miles from anywhere.

What it offers a visitor is density. Seventeen World Heritage Sites: Stonehenge and Avebury, Bath, Hadrian's Wall, Durham Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey with the Houses of Parliament, Blenheim Palace, Ironbridge Gorge, Fountains Abbey, Maritime Greenwich, Saltaire, the Jurassic Coast and the Lake District among them. Ten national parks, from the Peak District, the first in Britain in 1951, to the South Downs of 2010, visited by 110 million people a year across England and Wales. More than 1,600 museums, the national ones free, the British Museum's eight million objects the largest collection in the world. Cathedrals of 597 and castles of 1066, university towns founded in 1096 and 1209, the pub that Pepys called the heart of England, the Premier League, Wimbledon and Glastonbury.

The weather is mild, wet and changeable -- Cfb, rarely below −5 °C or above 30 °C, though 40.3 °C was reached in July 2022 -- the railway is the oldest in the world and still dense, London's buses cost £1.75 a ride with a £5.25 daily cap, an ETA costs £20 and admits most visitors for six months, and 999 is the number for everything. This page covers England; its ten city pages, from Bath to Sandwich, take the detail.

Do I need a visa?

Most visitors need an ETA (£20, up to six months, applied for online before travel); some nationalities need a Standard Visitor visa (£135). Check GOV.UK, not a look-alike site.

Do I need a car?

No for the cities and most of the sights, which the railway reaches; yes for the deep countryside -- the Dales, the moors, the Cornish coves -- unless you walk and bus. Drive on the left, and never into central London.

How do I pay for London transport?

Touch a contactless bank card or phone in and out; buses are £1.75 with a £5.25 daily cap and take no cash. A Visitor Oyster card (£10.50) does the same for those who prefer it.

What is free?

The national museums and galleries, the parks, the footpaths and open access land, Hexham Abbey, Lullingstone's open days, and most cathedrals by donation; Stonehenge, Westminster Abbey, the Roman Baths and the Tower charge.

When is the best time?

May, June and September: long light, fewer crowds, the countryside at its best. July and August are warmest and fullest; winter is for cities, pubs and theatres.

Is the health service free for visitors?

Emergency-room treatment, GP visits as a temporary patient and infectious-disease care are; hospital admission is charged unless you are resident or hold an EU EHIC. Bring insurance.

What is the emergency number?

999 (or 112); 111 for urgent but non-emergency medical advice.