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As you travel around the UK, one thing that you’re going to run into again and again is an abundance of lovely parks, green spaces and parklands. Indeed, it seems like a bit of green space has been set aside in nearly every nook and cranny in this vast nation – and exploring those parks is a whole lot of fun. If you’d like to experience a few of the very best parks that the UK has to offer, the following list of the five best ones is a great place to start.

Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow – Located in the West End of Glasgow, Kelvingrove Park is situated where the River Kelvin meets the River Clyde and is an immensely scenic place. The park is a veritable haven for a dizzying array of different species of birds, and is quite popular with dog walkers and those who simply want to escape the hectic pace of big city life for a minute or two.

Mowbray Park, Sunderland – With its prime location in the centre of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, Mowbray Park is a natural place to include on any tour of North East England. As one of the oldest parks in this part of the country, Mowbray Park has long been a favourite of local residents.

Castle Park, Colchester – Since being given to the town of Colchester in Essex back in 1892, Castle Park – which includes Colchester Castle and the surrounding parklands – has offered a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of daily life for many people. Well-manicured lawns and broad expanses of greenery make this a soothing, idyllic place for a picnic or a stroll.

Garth Park, Bicester – Gorgeous trees, colorful flowers and plenty of wide, open spaces make Garth Park a perfect spot for couples, families and outdoors enthusiasts to spend time. A topnotch gardening team has helped the park earn several awards through the years, too, highlighting the scenic nature of the place.

Bute Park, Cardiff – Hotel deals are easy to come by in Cardiff, which is wonderful for those who want to explore Bute Park. By booking nearby, topsecret hotels, you can explore this mature parkland and find out why it is so popular – and why it has won so many awards. Located in the heart of Cardiff, Bute Park is a genuine treasure and a must-see for anyone visiting the city.

Liverpool may get a great deal of attention in terms of tourism in the North West of England, but it’s the quaint villages and small towns of the region that really make it stand out in many visitors’ minds. If you are planning a holiday to the North West of England – whether it’s to do a bit of fellwalking or to explore the Lake District – you should make it a point to include at least a few small, out of the way villages in your journey. Any one of the following five examples will do just fine:

Patterdale – With its prime location in the centre of the impossibly lovely Lake Distrcit, Patterdale is a natural place to include during any holiday in the region. This picturesque village allows you to escape from the hectic nature of daily life, while still affording you many prime Lake District opportunities like mountain biking or sailing about on nearby Ullswater.

Clayton – Located in West Yorkshire, the small, lovely village of Clayton is a delightful place to spend a few hours when passing through the region. Many fine features, including Clayton Victoria Park and St. John’s Parish Church, help balance out the layout of this intriguing place. Thornton village – the birthplace of the Brontes – is only five minutes away.

Appleby-in-Westmorland – Eden Valley is known for its gorgeous scenery, and Appleby is located right in the centre of it all. This small village has been inhabited for more than 1,000 years, yet still manages to come across as fresh and new. Stroll along Appleby’s main street, Boroughgate, to check out a few of its more historic and interesting buildings.

Skirwith – Because it is located just outside the Lake District, the idyllic village of Skirwith is an easy place for visitors to that region to stop in at. Flowers and other greenery are prominently displayed throughout this charming place, and there are plenty of prime walking opportunities in and around the village – be sure to try one out.

Bowland Bridge – Although you may be staying in Liverpool hotels, getting out of the city to see a village like Bowland Bridge is never a bad idea. There are hardly any new buildings in the village, allowing it to retain its old-fashioned charms. Although hotels in Liverpool may provide many great accommodations, you’ll probably want to stay farther afield in order to get to know Bowland Bridge more.

From Norman Foster’s so-called ‘Gherkin’ building to the elegant if somewhat aloof Tower 42, London’s five tallest buildings are a fascinating study in the contrasting drives of contemporary architectural style versus the reserved tastes of the city.

Surprisingly, London is not known internationally for its tall buildings, nor its startlingly original architecture. Prince Charles famously railed against the construction of buildings which did not fit his particular idea of what made for good design, which excluded such world-renowned architects as Jean Nouvel. As for notably tall buildings, it was not until after 1960 that the height restrictions preventing the construction of traditional ‘skyscrapers’ were lifted. The peaks of London’s skyline are therefore a mixture of tradition and barely repressed ebullience, with more traditional towers looking somewhat dubiously over the shoulder of playful multi-colored cylinders.
The tallest building in London is the Canary Wharf Tower, the flagship of a series of stately tall steel and glass towers with a pyramid-shaped peak and regularly punched windows. At 235 meters in height, it looks out over a section of the Thames, including warehouses, discount hotels, and busy roads.

The BT tower, at 191 meters, is the second tallest free standing building in London. A slender concrete cylinder glad in glass, the BT tower was originally designed primarily as a telecommunications tower. A happy mix of purpose and design, the BT tower has three visual sections; several stories of offices, extending from the group up; a section of satellite dishes and other telecommunications equipment, capped off by several sections of multi-story rounded discs, like a series of hats piled on top of each other.

At 183 meters, Tower 42 is the third tallest building in London. Its cantilevered flooring, while structurally radical at the time of its construction, decreases the amount of available office space. Located in the city of London, Tower 42 looks out onto London’s fourth-tallest building, affectionately known as the ‘Gherkin.’ Designed by Norman Foster, the Gherkin is the most colorful and memorable building on the skyline, with a total height of 180 meters. Easily glimpsed from numerous cheap hotels, the Gherkin’s elegant curvature and multi-colored triangular glass windows make it look less like a building and more like a piece of candy. The Broadgate Tower, at 164 meters, closes out the top five tallest buildings in London with an innovative glass wings on either side of a solid concrete core.