[title]
At Time Out, we’re suckers for beautiful things. More specifically, we can’t resist a beautiful place. And in the UK, we’re genuinely spoiled for choice.
Beauty, of course, comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be found in a modern building with pioneering design, a national park with gently rolling hills, a city centre full of ancient architecture or a coastal retreat lined with dramatic cliffs. All of those and more can be found on Time Out’s new list of the most beautiful places in the country.
Within London, two buildings made the cut: Neasden Temple and the Barbican Centre. But you don’t have to travel too far out of the city to bless your eyes with even more beauty. Here are four of the UK’s best-looking places within easy reach of London.
The most beautiful day trips from London
Charleston House, Lewes
Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant’s old country retreat is now a beautifully cluttered museum. From the outside, it looks no different to your average twee cottage but inside is where the magic is. Preserved as the couple left it, the house features hand-painted geometric motifs, flowers, fish, playful patterns and upholstery fill every corner of every room. Nude figures frame the fireplace, fish adorn the kitchen sink and dancing ladies are painted onto the doors. Even the bathtub has been used as a canvas.
How to get there: A one-hour, 15-minute train from London Victoria to Lewes, then bus 25 to Charleston.
Seven Sisters, Seaford
The beauty of the bright white chalk cliffs at Seven Sisters is no secret. They’ve been luring in Londoners for centuries. The cliffs between Seaford and Birling Gap are part of the South Downs National Park and sit along one of the longest stretches of undeveloped shore on the south coast. They host a remarkably diverse ecosystem, so depending on the time of year keep an eye out for skylarks, yellowhammers and 20 different species of butterflies.
How to get there: A one-hour, 25-minute train journey from London Victoria to Seaford (change at Lewes).
Central Oxford
The Bodleian Library, the Bridge of Sighs, the Radcliffe Camera and the Ashmolean are just a handful of the spectacular works of architecture you’ll see in central Oxford. Beyond the honey-hued university buildings, gothic spires and grand cultural establishments, the area is awash with medieval lanes, olde-worlde cottages, charming pubs and sprawling bookshops. There’s a picture-perfect scene practically everywhere you turn.
How to get there: 45 minutes by train or around an hour and a half on the Oxford Tube coach.
Royal Pavilion, Brighton
There’s nothing in the UK quite like Brighton’s Royal Pavilion. The exterior is a marvel in itself, a collage of huge ornate domes and chhatri-topped minarets inspired by Indo-Islamic and Chinese architecture. But its beauty extends to its interiors, too. Inside, gaze upon a humongous chandelier hung from the claws of a silver dragon, mahogany handrails carved to look like bamboo, a ceiling made out of hundreds of plaster cockleshells and kaleidoscopic carpets.
How to get there: Roughly an hour’s train journey from London Victoria to Brighton.
Discover more of the most beautiful places in the UK here.
And check out all of Time Out’s favourite day trips from London.
Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.