Google Earth-Viewing British Icons
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I've only lived in Texas. No where else.
In fact, I've lived within about a 20 mile radius of where I am right now all my life.
So, when I had an opportunity, not once, but twice, to visit England, I jumped on it.
But, what if you don't have that opportunity? What if you're living paycheck to paycheck? What if you feel you've grown too old to travel that far? What if you fear the 10-hr flight to London?
Does that mean the end of a dream? Do you quietly let a tear slide down your cheek as you mark "England" off your bucket list?
No.
It's time to load up Google Earth and let's go have some fun!
Some Ideas of Placing That Would Be Cool to See in Great Britain via Google Earth
Lots of these iconic places will come to the mind of most, but it'll be easier if you open this hub while you have Google Earth up. Some of these have incredible clarity. My daughter and I spent hours looking each of these up tonight and had a wonderful time. Our favorites were some of the theme parks towards the end of this list.
- Tower Bridge
- Big Ben
- Westminster Palace
- Westminster Abbey
- Buckingham Palace
- City Hall, The Queens Walk, London (love this unique building! Check out its shadow)
- The London Eye
- White Horses (see the video below for ideas)
- St. Paul's Cathedral, Millbank, London
- Stonehenge (you'll know you've found it when all you can see on your Google Earth screen is a sea of green fields and a million blue photo squares....zoom in into the middle of the photo squares and there it is)
- The Eden Project, Cornwall
- Windsor Castle, Castle Hill
- Hadrian's Wall, Carlisle (sometimes hard to pick up, but look for blue photo blocks)
- Minack Theatre (You HAVE to go to their website and check out their 360 degree camera interactives-click on the link)
- St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall
- Blackpool Tower & Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool UK
- Brighton UK Pier (great detail, look at the people!)
- Don't forget crop circles (see my link below for my hub about English crop circles that has a great video)
- Raj Pavillion or Brighton Royal Pavillon Brighton UK
- Cerne Abbas Giant, Giant Hill
- Hampton Court Maze in Richmond, UK (nice circle, oval and rectangle of water areas)
- Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol UK
- SS Great Britain built by Brunel Bristol, UK
- Thousands of Cars to be Exported near Avonmouth Bridge (51 degrees 29' 53.43"N : 2 degrees 42' 27.18" W)
- Leeds Castle, Maidstone, Kent UK
- Harewood House Trust, Leeds, West Yorkshire (impressive lawns)
- Drayton Manor Theme Park near Tamworth UK
- Adventure Island Amusement Park, Southend-on-Sea, Essex
- Alton Towers Theme Park, Alton, Stroke-on-Trent (hard to see much because of trees)
- Fantasy Island, Ingoldmells UK (I could spend hours in this area. There is so much to see here. Lots of mobile homes for holiday camping, weird configurations, some look like dominoes set up to knock over!)
- Gulliver's Land, Milton Keynes UK
- Sherborne Old Castle, Castleton, Dorset UK (I love the moat and drawbridge!)
- Milky Way Adventure Park, Clovelly, North Devon (see if you can go thru the maze and check out the Crazy Golf course (like our Putt-Putt))
- Pleasure Beach, Great Yarmouth UK
Video of Hill Figure Horses in England
KCC Big Country's other Google Earth Hubs
- Monopoly-Google Earth Style
According to a number of news reports on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009, Hasbro, makers of the 74-year old Monopoly game, announced that they have teamed up with Google Earth to develop an online version of the... - Exploring the Sky, Moon and Mars with Google Earth
If you're old enough, at least a baby boomer, then perhaps you remember when we landed on the moon in 1969. I can't say that I remember it, but I remember being aware of it during that time, if that makes... - Google Earth-Viewing American Icons
I'm a huge fan of Google Earth. I have written quite a few articles about all the neat things you can see with Google Earth. I have provided links to my other related hubs below. One of my favorite uses of... - Google Earth-Let's See Texas!
I've lived in Texas all my life and I have only seen a fraction of the state. There is just so much to see here. To get in the car and drive Texas, you'd spend forever seeing it. One way to help, is to... - Google Earth-Baseball Stadiums
If you're in to baseball, have you looked up all your favorite baseball stadiums on Google Earth? Below I've provided some great links to tons of baseball information, along with a list of stadium names for... - Google Earth-My Hobby
I admit it. I'm hooked. I'm hooked on virtual traveling with Google Earth. I could spend hours picking out places to visit and zooming in to see all the intricacies of each city. My first hub about Google... - More Google Earth Fun
If you haven't downloaded Google Earth yet, then you're missing out on all the fun! I have written several other hubs about Google Earth that I know you'll enjoy. Links to all of them can be found below. Be... - Google Earth for NASCAR Fans
There was a time when I followed NASCAR racing a bit when I was married to my first husband. He was a Ford man. Back then, not too many years ago really, Ford sponsored a free meet and greet type party in the... - Google Earth-The Latest Fun in Traveling
If you're old enough, you may remember the days when seeing the wonders of the world meant sitting on the floor cross-legged looking through the Funk & Wagnalls. By the way, for the remainder of this hub I... - Crop Circle Crazy
Close your eyes. Ok, maybe you can't close your eyes for this. At least try to imagine waking up, wiping the sleep from your eyes, stretching and you look out the window above the kitchen sink, and there it...
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Rick Steves' England 2009
Price: $0.99
List Price: $21.95 |
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Video Visits: Discovering England
Price: $5.33
List Price: $14.99 |
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Frommer's England 2010 (Frommer's Complete)
Price: $13.12
List Price: $24.99 |
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Passport to Europe: England, Ireland and Scotland
Price: $7.35
List Price: $14.99 |
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Frommer's Best Day Trips from London: 25 Great Escapes by Train, Bus or Car
Price: $8.95
List Price: $16.99 |
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Visions of England
Price: $13.85
List Price: $24.99 |
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USAopoly New England Patriots Yahtzee
Price: $12.24
List Price: $16.99 |
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Yankee Magazines Travel Guide to New England
Price: $6.94
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New England Patriots 16-Ounce Stainless Steel Travel Mug
Price: $18.98
List Price: $24.95 |
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Umbro England Travel Beanie (2 Pack)
Price: $10.88
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B is for Big Ben: An England Alphabet (Discover the World)
Price: $10.75
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The Madness of King George
Price: $2.99
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Resources for Other Great Places in England & Great Britain to Look Up on Google Earth
- Scenery of Scotland by Fellow Hubber BlissAngel
Scotland has much to offer intrepid tourists from abroad, or just those wishing to experience breathtaking beauty. Here is a small sample of my personal favourites and who knows, perhaps it will inspire you to delve deeper... - List of amusement parks in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia
- UK Theme Parks, Amusement Parks, and Zoos
Theme and Amusement Parks in the United Kingdom. A great list with links! - Link to National Trust List of Places to see in England
About halfway down this page is a link that says 'attachments' and it will open up in Google Earth and show you all the National Trust locations in England. Pretty awesome. - Google Earth Cool Places - famous constructions
Browse through all the cool Google Earth placemarks of constructions and buildings found at the site. - Historic Buildings in England
England Historic Buildings at PicturesOfEngland.com - Heritage & culture: England's historic places : Enjoy England
enjoyEngland - the official website for tourism in England. Englands endlessly fascinating history is brought to life wherever you look, in its ruins and carvings, cities and towns, and throughout its remarkable landscape. - OnTheMatrix.com
Satellite and aerial photos of the some of the world's most spectacular landmarks. - Aerial Images of historical sites in England & Wales - Adrian Warren Photo library
Aerial Images (photos, pictures) of historical sites (places) in UK (England and Wales) from Adrian Warren photo library of wildlife, nature, landscapes, aerials, peoples and environments. - Welcome to the official website of the British Monarchy
The official website of the British Monarchy. Information on the history of the Monarchy, today's royal family and the Royal Art and Residences. - The London Eye's Official Website
Welcome to the official website for the London Eye. Book your tickets online for the best discounts and find out about our inclusive deals for the world's tallest observation wheel. - Stonehenge - Salisbury, England - Great Buildings Online
Stonehenge by unknown architect, at Salisbury, England, -2750 to -1500, in the Great Buildings Online. - List of English Places With Castles
- BBC News | ENGLAND | Long Man gains 'fertility' glory
A vandal adds an appendage to an ancient Sussex landmark leaving it rather well-endowed. - Angel of the North Newcastle Upon Tyne
Angel of the North Newcastle Upon Tyne. Euro Hostels in Scotland & England is one of the best budget hostels in the UK, providing cheap city centre backpacker hostel accommodation in Glasgow, Edinburgh Scotland and Newcastle England. - Culture UK - Celtic chalk hill figures, white horses, giants
Celtic chalk hill figures, white horses, giants in the English countryside - The Cerne Abbas Giant | Mysterious Britain & Ireland
The Cerne Abbas Giant or the 'Rude Man' is one of the largest hillfigures in Britain, he (the figure's gender is beyond doubt) is one of two representations of the human form, the other being the Long Man of Wilmington in East Sussex. - Uffington White Horse - Wikipedia
- LondonTown.com | London Events | London Bridge Festival London
Discounts on leading London hotel and bed and breakfast accommodation. Sightseeing, attractions and other tourist information. Theatre tickets, dinner and theatre packages and more. - Stonehenge
The internet's most comprehensive information resource for the times, places, events and people of British history.
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Comments
Nice one. It must be a place to be.
Thanks Bristol Boy and Philipo! England is a wonderful place to explore, in person if you can, if not, Google Earth is the next best thing.
Ooh. This looks awesome. I can see why so many people get addicted to viewing Google Earth. I did have a chance to go to London and Stratford (Shakespeare home) one semester while in college and didn't go. I still think about it to this day :(
We Brits take most of this for granted and always think that we have nothing to offer. Thanks for the reminder. I bet there are some great American sights on google earth also though. The grand canyon is the first to spring to mind :)
Thanks for stopping by Dohn! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I bet you are kicking yourself for not going! You really need to go. It's not as expensive to fly over there as one might think. I flew non-stop from DFW to Gatwick for less than $400 the first time and $525 the second time.
Thanks Ethel! This is just a tip of the iceberg for what Great Britain has to offer. I tried to find things that are interesting to look at from an aerial view. A few places have so many trees around them, that it doesn't allow for good overhead viewing. All of those show above, I personally looked at last night on Google Earth. FYI, I am working on a similar hub for the United States, and yes, the Grand Canyon is on it.
Thanks guys/gals!
I never thought about Google Earth for that type of thing...I will try this sometime when I am not so tired...wish I had thought of that!
Thanks AsherKade! Glad you figured out a new use for Google Earth!
Thanks KCC, I'll check all these out as time allows. When I go on Google Earth I'm sure to write off several hours!
Cheers, Peter.
Hey there, Peter! I haven't seen you in a while! Yeah, I know what you mean. Time goes out the window when I turn on Google Earth. It's quite addictive though! Thanks so much for stopping by!
We Brits take most of this for granted and always think that we have nothing to offer. Thanks for the reminder. I bet there are some great American sights on google earth also though. The grand canyon is the first to spring to mind :)
Wow, thanks ninglie! I don't think Ethel Smith could have said that better if she said it herself.....oh wait...Ethel Smith did say it! (scroll up folks)
Great hub KCC, Glad to see England made a good impression on you. Loved the fact you went all around the country. Most people just stick to London. Blackpool tower and Clifton Bridge are classics. Carry on enjoying Googleearth, its great fun. I used it to make an alphbet from shapes in the landscape. That was fun too.
OMG...that is so cool! Thanks for sharing the link! I am very much in love with England. I can't wait to go back. I've been twice and STILL haven't seen London. I keep thinking I really should try to see some of it...LOL
Great info however i don't see ONE mention of anything Scottish!!!! Great Britain isn't just England, we have stunning scenery, beautiful castles and architecture, lochs, famous distilleries, etc up here you know!!! Perhaps i should start a visit Scotland Hub.....now there's a thought.....
I hang my head in shame! You are so right, BlissAngel and I do apologize! I have only been a few miles into Scotland and I know virtually nothing about it. I would love it if you'd write a hub about Scotland! I'll put a link to it here on my hub!
Well, BlissAngel has written a hub you must see! I've provided a link up in the links on this hub. Scotland is absolutely gorgeous!



















BristolBoy says:
4 months ago
Nice to see Bristol and Cornwall playing such a big part in your list!