United Kingdom things to see and do

Southwest Scotland was home to the nation’s bard, Robert Burns. Explore his birthplace cottage and adjacent state-of-the-art museum in Alloway, Ayrshire. Also open to visitors are Ellisland Farm and the Robert Burns House, his former homes in Dumfries and Galloway. In Dumfries itself, you can sit in his old chair at The Globe Inn.

Located in the Wye Valley in picturesque South Wales, the Chepstow Castle occupies a commanding position on the banks of the River Wye guarding what was once a strategically important crossing point on the river. Construction of the castle began in 1066 just after the Battle of Hastings for William the Conqueror, and was the first castle in Britain to be built entirely of stone. The two towers were later added by the Earl of Pembroke around 1200 and his sons added a gatehouse and barbican. During the 16th century, Richard Bigod III added more comfortable living quarters and the place became more like a palace than a castle. It was to later serve as a prison for Henry Marten, a signatory to the death warrant of King Charles I, following the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. The castle opened its doors to tourists for the first time in 1953 and today welcomes guests with life-size models of its former inhabitants and rulers. The award-winning Chepstow Museum is in the 18th-centurey Town House located opposite the castle car park and tells the long history of the region.

The Royal Horticultural Society ranked these gardens as among the finest in the Channel Islands. The gardens are open every day from the beginning of April to the end of October.

Sample Scotland's favourite export, whisky. Between Inverness and Aberdeen you can follow the malt whisky trail (www.maltwhiskytrail.com) and visit working distilleries to learn about this national icon. You can also watch whisky barrels being crafted at the UK’s only working cooperage in Dufftown. You might need to draw straws to decide who’s driving.

Take a ride in a reclaimed London Underground carriage with the Alderney Railway (www.alderneyrailway.com). It's the only railway on the Channel Islands.

Yacht and boats lovers are drawn to Sark and Herm Island for the splendid sailing. Moorings are located at Havre Gosselin on the west coast of Sark, and at La Gréve de la Ville bay on the east coast.

Erected between 3000 and 1600 BC, Stonehenge is a giant stone circle that stands on Salisbury Plain and is considered today to be one of the most famous surviving sites from the ancient world. The stones, which are up to 6.7m (22ft) high, attract hundreds of visitors every day, who come to marvel at the ingenuity of those who engineered the construction of the site and the techniques used to move and position the stones. There are also many burial mounds nearby, as well as long barrows from the Neolithic Age, the most famous of which is West Kennet Long Barrow.