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England
England covers about 62% of the island of Great Britain. Its 2021 census population was 56,490,048, about nine million of them in London, its largest city.
Below: every Britlens guide in England, its national parks, World Heritage Sites, islands and protected landscapes, and which ones we have not covered yet. For what differs between the four nations (health care, bank holidays, banknotes), see the four nations.
- Share of Great BritainAbout 62%
- Population (2021 census)56,490,048
- Largest cityLondon
- BordersScotland to the north, Wales to the west
- Guides (41)
- National parks (10)
- World Heritage (20)
- Islands (3)
- Landscapes (16)
- Ceremonial counties (48)
Our guides in England
41 destination guides, each with area mini-guides, things to do, places to eat and stay, and how to get there.
- Bath4 area guides · A Roman spa town of honey-coloured Georgian terraces in Somerset
- Birmingham4 area guides · Canals, workshops and Victorian civic squares in England's second city
- Blackpool and the Lancashire coast2 area guides · Blackpool's Tower, piers and tramway, and Lancaster and Morecambe on the bay to the north
- Brighton & Hove4 area guides · A seaside city on the Sussex coast, with a Regency palace, two piers and a pebble beach
- Bristol8 area guides · A working harbour, Brunel's engineering, Georgian Clifton and a street-art scene
- Cambridge4 area guides · A university city of colleges, bridges and riverside meadows on the River Cam
- Canterbury & Kent5 area guides · A cathedral city, oyster harbours, Thanet's sandy bays and the castles and white cliffs of the Channel coast
- Cornwall6 area guides · Harbour towns, art galleries, tidal castles and Atlantic beaches at the end of the line
- Coventry1 area guide · Two cathedrals side by side, Lady Godiva and the UK's big road transport collection
- Devon6 area guides · Two cities, the English Riviera, the Dart estuary and the moors of Dartmoor and Exmoor
- Gloucester1 area guide · A Norman abbey turned cathedral, Victorian docks and a Roman street plan on the Severn
- Hereford1 area guide · The Mappa Mundi, a chained library and cider country on the River Wye
- Ironbridge Gorge0 area guides · The Iron Bridge of 1779, Blists Hill Victorian Town and the museums of a Shropshire World Heritage Site
- Isles of Scilly2 area guides · Five inhabited islands and around 140 rocks and islets 28 miles off Land's End
- Leeds3 area guides · Victorian arcades, Kirkgate Market, the Royal Armouries and Headingley
- Leicester1 area guide · Roman walls, Richard III's grave and a medieval Guildhall in the East Midlands' largest city
- Lincoln1 area guide · A Norman cathedral and castle above Steep Hill, and the Roman Brayford Pool below
- Lindisfarne (Holy Island)2 area guides · A tidal island off Northumberland, cut off by the sea twice a day
- Liverpool9 area guides · Docks, the Beatles, two cathedrals and football on the Mersey
- London22 area guides
- Lundy2 area guides · An island in the Bristol Channel, reached by ferry from north Devon
- Manchester9 area guides · Cotton mills, canals, museums and football in a compact city centre
- Newcastle and Gateshead4 area guides · Tyne bridges, Grainger Town, the Ouseburn and the coast at Tynemouth
- Norfolk and the Broads5 area guides · Norwich, the rivers and broads of the Broads National Park, the north Norfolk coast and the Sandringham estate
- Nottingham3 area guides · A castle on a sandstone rock, the old lace quarter and the city of Robin Hood's sheriff
- Oxford4 area guides · A university city of colleges, libraries and museums on the Thames and the Cherwell
- Portsmouth and Southampton3 area guides · Two Solent port cities: Nelson's flagship and the Mary Rose, a seaside castle, and Southampton's medieval walls
- Salisbury & Stonehenge3 area guides · Salisbury Cathedral and Magna Carta, Stonehenge, and the stone circles of Avebury
- Sheffield3 area guides · The steel city in the Pennine foothills, with free museums and the Peak District on the doorstep
- Shrewsbury1 area guide · A medieval street plan in a loop of the Severn, timber-framed houses and Darwin's birthplace
- Stratford & Warwickshire4 area guides · Shakespeare's home town, Warwick and Kenilworth castles and the spa town of Leamington
- The Cotswolds6 area guides · Honey-coloured villages, wool-merchant churches and rolling limestone hills
- The Jurassic Coast6 area guides · Fossil beaches, chalk and limestone cliffs and harbour towns along the Dorset and East Devon World Heritage coast
- The Lake District6 area guides · Lakes, fells and market towns in Cumbria, with a National Park and World Heritage Site to explore on foot, by boat and by bus
- The New Forest2 area guides · Ponies on open heath, ancient woodland, Beaulieu and Buckler's Hard, and the Solent coast at Lymington
- The Peak District6 area guides · England's first national park: limestone dales, gritstone edges, spa towns and mill villages in Derbyshire and its neighbours
- The South Downs2 area guides · Chalk downland from Lewes to the Seven Sisters, and the country houses and gardens around Midhurst and Petworth
- Windsor2 area guides · A royal castle town on the Thames, with Eton and Eton College across the bridge
- Worcester1 area guide · A riverside cathedral, Civil War history and Royal Worcester porcelain on the Severn
- York5 area guides · A walled cathedral city of medieval streets, Roman and Viking layers, and the railways
- Yorkshire5 area guides · The North York Moors, the Yorkshire Dales, the coast at Whitby and Scarborough, and spa-town Harrogate
Planned next in England: The Isle of Wight, Newcastle, Northumberland and Hadrian's Wall. See what we cover and what comes next.
National parks
| Park | Status | Our pages |
|---|---|---|
| Peak District National Park | Guide available | The Peak District guide |
| Lake District National Park | Guide available | The Lake District guide |
| Dartmoor National Park | Guide available | Dartmoor, Devon, Devon guide |
| North York Moors National Park | Guide available | North York Moors, Yorkshire, Yorkshire guide |
| Yorkshire Dales National Park | Guide available | Yorkshire Dales, Yorkshire, Yorkshire guide |
| Exmoor National Park | Guide available | Exmoor & Lynmouth, Devon, Devon guide |
| Northumberland National Park | Guide planned | Planned: Newcastle, Northumberland and Hadrian's Wall |
| The Broads | Guide available | Wroxham, Hoveton & the northern Broads, Norfolk and the Broads |
| New Forest National Park | Guide available | The New Forest guide, Lyndhurst and Brockenhurst, The New Forest, Beaulieu and Lymington, The New Forest |
| South Downs National Park | Guide available | The South Downs guide, Lewes and the Seven Sisters, The South Downs, Midhurst and Petworth, The South Downs |
World Heritage Sites
Islands
Island groups visitors ask about, and whether we cover them yet.
Isle of Wight
Guide plannedNearest guide: Portsmouth and Southampton, about 17 km in a straight line.
Isles of Scilly
Guide availableLindisfarne (Holy Island)
Guide available
National Landscapes
From our selection of 21; the full list is on the National Landscapes Association site.
- CotswoldsGuide available
- ChilternsNo guide yet
- CornwallGuide available
- DorsetGuide available
- Kent DownsGuide available
- Surrey HillsNo guide yet
- Wye Valley / Dyffryn GwyNo guide yet
- Malvern HillsNo guide yet
- Shropshire HillsNo guide yet
- Forest of BowlandNo guide yet
- Solway CoastNo guide yet
- North PenninesNo guide yet
- Norfolk CoastGuide available
- Suffolk & Essex Coast & HeathsNo guide yet
- Isle of WightGuide planned
- Quantock HillsNo guide yet
Ceremonial counties
England has 48 ceremonial counties. 33 overlap a Britlens guide. The county directory shows the nearest guide for each.
Sources
Guide counts and coverage are generated from the guides on this site; facts about England come from the sources below, read on 2026-11-01.
- Wikipedia: England (opens in new tab). Share of Great Britain, 2021 census population, largest city, borders. Checked on 2026-11-01.
- VisitEngland (opens in new tab). Official tourism site for England (page loaded). Checked on 2026-11-01.
- Wikipedia: National parks of the United Kingdom (opens in new tab). National parks by nation. Checked on 2026-11-01.
- Wikipedia: List of World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom (opens in new tab). World Heritage Sites by nation. Checked on 2026-11-01.
- National Parks UK (opens in new tab). The 15 national parks are across England, Scotland and Wales. Checked on 2026-11-01.
Photo credits
- Bath: Andy Li, CC0, source
- Birmingham: Bill Boaden, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Blackpool and the Lancashire coast: Michael D Beckwith, CC0, source
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits