The Atlas Obscura Guide To England

2,212 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in England

Updated May 21, 2025

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Unusual Attractions in England

London, England

Leadenhall Market

This ornate Victorian marketplace was the setting for Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron in the Harry Potter films.

London, England

Highgate Cemetery

London's creepiest cemetery was once the site of dueling magicians and mobs of stake-carrying vampire hunters.

London, England

The Ruins of St. Dunstan-in-the-East

One of the few remaining casualties of the London Blitz, this destroyed church has become an enchanting public garden.

London, England

God's Own Junkyard

A kaleidoscopic warehouse-maze of handmade neon signs.

London, England

Twinings Tea Shop

A 300-year-old tea shop that brought tea to the English people, not to mention the Queen herself.

London, England

The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & Natural History

This shop and gallery is a modern-day cabinet of curiosities, unassumingly positioned along an urban thoroughfare.

London, England

Cecil Court

A charming 17th-century alley is lined with secondhand bookstores and antiquarian shops.

Coleford, England

Puzzlewood

The mysterious, fantastical woodland inspiration for "The Lord of the Rings."

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in England

London, England

Twinings Tea Shop

A 300-year-old tea shop that brought tea to the English people, not to mention the Queen herself.

London, England

Café in the Crypt

This coffee shop lies hidden beneath a historic church.

Nottingham, England

The Lost Caves

Hidden in a grotto 26 feet below Nottingham's oldest hotel, this stylish subterranean drinking den is notoriously hard to find.

London, England

The Mayflower Pub

The London pub overlooks where the Mayflower was moored before setting sail for the New World.

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Atlas Obscura Itineraries

Gastro Obscura’s 10 Essential Stops on an Alternative London Pub Crawl

Think London, and it’s likely you’ll picture a cozy pub. The word is a 17th-century abbreviation of the term “public house,” a concept originally inspired by Roman-era taverns, but the pub as we know it today is one of the most quintessentially British and Irish cultural icons, with its own unique aesthetic and culture. Much has been written about the fact that pubs in the U.K. and Ireland are dying; a 2023 government report shared that every day in England and Wales, two pubs close their doors. Even the pubs in a modern, ever-evolving city like London can feel like a glimpse into a disappearing past. Much has also been written about London’s oldest pubs, but we wanted to share a collection of pubs with links to contemporary music, British food, literature, interior design, architecture and, of course, great beer, rather than just age.

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