Top 10 places to visit in the UK

It started, for me, when I was 11. The very first Harry Potter movie emerged and it was my goal to visit London. I wanted to be British and I was going to be a Harry Potter movie star. While my dreams of being a British Harry Potter movie star, sadly, did not come true, my dream to go to London did. I found myself studying abroad my Junior year of college. After my summer I fully believe London is a must see in the country.

It is full of history, heritage, old and new, tall and small. There is something for everyone. If you are interested in history, the city is thousands of years old. There is an old pub in Old London that Shakespeare used to sit in. If you go to Old London you'll find yourself visiting a dragon, rumored to come to life if anyone without pure of heart is trying to enter the city. The Tower of London is there, full of history and interest to anyone who has ever read about the English court. There is also the London Eye, which sits just across the river from Big Ben and London's Parliament building. If history isn't your thing, there are parks, night clubs, museums of old and new, musicals, and so much more. If you're on your way to the United Kingdom, London is a must see.

Edinburgh, Scotland was the first place I visited on my travels. It was a city that took me by surprise. It is full of life and culture. You must walk is The Royal Mile. It ends with the Queen's Castle in Scotland and along the entire way is shops and culture. The buildings are old and majestic and everything has a story. The entire time you have Edinburgh Castle looming over you. It is worth a visit, a visit you would not soon forget.

My personal favorite part of the city? Over many buildings and said many times, 'Vivendo Discimisus'. It is latin for, by living we learn. I took a lot from that city, but that is probably the number one thing I would take over everything else.

I can talk about the beauty of the Scottish Highlands and, I think, you will believe me. Yet, without visiting the Scottish Highlands, it's impossible to truly understand. When you are surrounded by the rich greens and rolling hills of the legendary Scottish Highlands, then you will know what I'm talking about. I have never seen something so breathtaking. It is a beautiful site to be standing in the midst of. If you do anything in Scotland, I would tell you to do this first.

I know it's just a massive body of water with a hidden monster... but seriously. It's really cool. You can't even see an inch into the water it's so black. It's eerie but it's beautiful. Way up in the Highlands you will find the loch and it is a worthwhile experience. Make sure you join the cruise of the loch and ask the captain about the Loch Ness Monster. I left there a believer that there is something in that loch that cannot be explained.

I wasn't able to explore Ireland as much as I wanted too, but the day I spent in it's countryside was one of my favorites. It has rolling hills and fertile grounds. The heritage of Ireland was beautiful to see and definitely a recommendation of mine. If I could go back, I would in a heartbeat. It's a beautiful country and worth the visit. I took a tour out of Dublin and I really think bus tours are a great way to explore the country. They take you to places you wouldn't have even realized existed, it's definitely a worthwhile event.

It's a mysterious place. You leave all civilization behind and are traveling the English countryside, which really is beautiful on it's own, when you come upon Stonehenge. Literally, surrounding it is nothing but fields. In the middle of the fields there is a pile of strategically placed rocks. I, personally, cannot fathom the strategy behind the placing of these rocks, but it is really enchanting to look at them and wonder. I actually was able to visit Stonehenge twice in my time over in the United Kingdom and I encourage anyone and everything to do the same.

Being American, I don't see castles every day, so it might be part of my fascination with them. I also have a slight obsession with the old English court. I love learning about it, so to be able to go to visit a castle that was built in the 11th century? It was a fantastic day. It's beautiful and the architecture is phenomenal. Really everyone, do yourself a favor, go check it out.

I didn't really think much of Bath before going. It wasn't on my places I needed to go or anything of the sorts. It just happened to be an option on one of the bus tours, so we decided it didn't hurt to see as much of England as we could. So we headed to Bath for part of the day, and it was totally worth it. The Roman Baths are beautiful and I got to see one of Johnny Depp's houses. Also, as a college English major, seeing the town that so many Jane Austen based so many books off of was really just cool. It was an adorable little town and the history was incredible, definitely worth the visit.

The town of Cambridge has more than just a school. It has architecture I had never seen before and so much to see. I loved being able to go into all of the colleges, but I also loved the character of the place. It had adorable cobble stoned sidewalks and narrow streets that led to great places to shop. It was a place of life and history.

Again, not just a town with a school. Oxford was really neat and I really enjoyed being able to explore the city. It's worth a visit. England in general just has so much history and so much architecture. Even if you aren't big on either, you'll find yourself immersed and interested in it all. It's worth visiting and if you're a Harry Potter fan, like I am, many sets were designed after Oxford school, including the Great Hall!

Thank you for reading! I hope you found some of this useful and interesting! If you think there is somewhere I missed please let me know! I never made it to Liverpool or Stratford Upon Avon or the Cliffs of Moher to be able to tell someone they need to go there. They're on my list for next time! Thanks again!