Top 15 Best Literary Places To Visit In The UK

The UK is a great place to visit for lovers of books and literature. There are so many amazing authors from here and English literature books set across the country.

It can be a real treat for book lovers to visit the locations that their favourite books are set in or even just the ones that inspired their favourite novels.

There are so many amazing literary places in the UK it can be hard to know where to start.

I know that I always wanted to get closer to my favourite novels but never knew which book places to visit and what I should do when I was there. I always wished I had a handy guide, so I decided to make one.

I’m here to help you figure out exactly where to go to discover the locations linked to your favourite books and authors. Here are the best literary places in the UK.

What makes certain literary locations so significant?

You might be wondering what certain spots around literary England have to do with certain books and why we should care.

Well, many of these locations can give an insight into the writers and why they created the works that they did.

For instance, many writers enjoy walking, and the places they walk can inspire the works they create.

If you visit these beautiful locations too, maybe they can inspire in you the same feelings as they inspired in the writer, allowing you a special insight into their mind and their creations.

Many of the locations are places where certain authors lived or grew up. Visiting these literary places in the UK can help us to understand the life they lived and how that influenced their works.

Why should you visit these amazing literary locations?

Visiting the locations and English landmarks where your favourite books are set or where their writers lived can be a really special experience.

As a book lover myself, I have had some really special experiences visiting amazing literary places in the UK.

As a Jane Austen fan, the first time I visited Bath felt really special. I could imagine her and her characters strolling the beautiful Bath streets.

I suddenly felt closer to my favourite stories and their creators. Truly, I felt like I understood her a little more, that I knew her a little closer.

For lovers of books and literature, our favourite books can be some of our closest companions. The opportunity to get a little closer to the stories that live in our hearts can be a really profound and special experience.

Top 15 Best Literary Places To Visit In The UK

Here is the meat of your post. You’ll break down the problem into a list of easy-to-accomplish steps to help your reader.

1. Bath

• Bath is linked especially to Jane Austen. She lived here for a while and both Persuasion and Northanger Abbey are set here.
• If you want to learn more about Jane Austen’s life, then you can visit the Jane Austen Centre.
• The Jane Austen festival takes place in September each year and hosts actual regency balls.
• Bath was also home to Mary Shelley for some time, and she spent much time here as she wrote Frankenstein.
• Additionally, Dickens’ Pickwick Papers featured the Bath social society and satirised it.
• Anna Sewell also lived here for a time and it is featured in her novel Black Beauty.

2. Stratford-upon-Avon

• Stratford-upon-Avon is famously home to William Shakespeare, the most famous writer born in Stratford-upon-Avon.
• In order to learn about Shakespeare’s upbringing, you are able to visit his childhood home.
• Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, lived in a lovely cottage here called Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, which is also available to tour.
• The local Royal Shakespeare Company stages Shakespeare’s plays throughout the year, and it is one of the most esteemed Shakespeare companies in the world.
• A popular literary festival takes place each spring, making this a great time to visit.

3. Lake District

• The amazing landscapes found in the Lake District, like Grasmere, have inspired many England famous poets, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, William Wordsworth, and his sister Dorothy Wordsworth.
• For example, Wordsworth’s famous “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud” was inspired by the Lake District.
• Greta Hall was home to both Coleridge and Southey during their times here, and Dove Cottage was the home of Wordsworth.
• Also, Beatrix Potter resided at Hill Top and was inspired to write many of her famous stories here.
• The Brantwood Estate was home to John Ruskin and is now open for visitors.
• Sedbergh is a must-visit for any book lover, as it’s known as one of the book towns in the UK.

Check Out The Literary Locations Of The Lake District

Get an insight into the beautiful literary locations of the Lake District with this great video.

4. London

• One of the most famous literary locations in London is 221B Baker Street, the home of Sherlock Holmes. You can visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum here – one of the best literary things to do in London.
• Keats lived at Wentworth Place and wrote many of his famous poems here.
• There is a statue of Winnie the Pooh in Kensington Gardens, as they were a big inspiration to A.A. Milne when he was writing it.
• The George pub is supposedly where not only Charles Dickens used to drink, but also William Shakespeare. Read my post on historic London pubs to find out more.
• The British Library is the second oldest library in the world and contains many first editions of very old and famous books making it one of the best bookish things to do in London.
• One of the best literary places to visit in London is Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey is the resting site of many of the most famous writers in the world, including Kipling, Tennyson and Hardy.
• The Globe Theatre is a reconstruction of the original theatre where many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed, and another one of the best literary places in London.
• London is full of bookish things to do and is one of the top literary places to visit in England.

5. Oxford

• Lewis Carroll came up with Alice In Wonderland during his time teaching at Oxford University. He started to tell the story whilst punting down the river.
• Head to Alice’s Shop on St. Aldgate’s for a variety of Alice Oxford memorabilia.
• The Eagle And Child pub was a popular Oxford haunt of both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
• There is a door on St Mary’s Passage that is the inspiration for the wardrobe door that leads to Narnia.
• Oxford was also an enormous inspiration for Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series.
• Therefore, at Oxford Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, you can see Lyra and Will’s bench from Pullman’s popular series.

6. Great Malvern

• Great Malvern is home to another pub in which C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien spent time, named the unicorn.
• These writers used to walk the hills extensively, and the gas streetlamps found here were the inspiration for the lamps in The Chronicles of Narnia.
• Auden taught at a school here and wrote many of his most famous works during this time.
• George Bernard Shaw was the central figure of the Malvern Theatre Festival in the early 20th Century, with many of his famous plays debuting here.
• Radclyffe Hall spent much time here, and her novel The Well of Loneliness is partially set here. It is now considered one of the most significant novels in LGBTQ+ literary history.
• Additionally, A.E. Houseman wrote one of his most famous poems about nearby Bredon Hill.

7. Whitby

• Whitby is home to the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
• It is said that Whitby Abbey is the inspiration for the Count’s iconic and creepy castle.
• The town is now home to a rich, gothic culture thanks to its literary links.
• It is said that Lewis Carroll’s Walrus and the Carpenter was written during one of his stays here.
• Charles Dickens also visited Whitby extensively, and many of his novels draw inspiration from North Yorkshire in general.

8. Peak District

• Haworth was home to the Brontë sisters, and you can now visit the Brontë Parsonage Museum.
• Hathersage is the start of the Jane Eyre Walk, which is said to be the route that inspired Charlotte Brontë.
• Chatsworth House features as Mr Darcy’s Pemberly from the popular 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
• It is also believed that Austen’s Lambton is based on Derbyshire’s town of Bakewell.
• Lud’s Church is believed to be the chapel in the Arthurian classic Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

9. Chawton

• Chawton House is located in Hampshire near Winchester and was where Jane Austen spent the last 8 years of her life.
• She is said to have written many of her finest works at this location
• You are able to see Austen’s writing desk, as well as the first editions of her novels.
• There are many different events and exhibitions hosted here to celebrate Austen’s life and work.
• This is the best place outside of Bath that any Austen fan could possibly visit. She was certainly happier here than she was in Bath!

10. Broadstairs

• Broadstairs in Kent is another location linked to a specific author – Charles Dickens.
• Dickens visited Broadstairs regularly from the age of 25 onwards.
• The Charles Dickens House Museum is a great place to learn about the history of this classic author.
• It is also home to the annual Dickens Festival, celebrating the author’s work.
• Popular novels such as Nicholas Nickleby, Barnaby Ridge and David Copperfield were all partially written during Dicken’s time in Broadstairs.
• Our English Watering Place is said to have been directly inspired by Broadstairs.

11. Dorset

• Dorset is most famously the home of Thomas Hardy.
• He wrote many of his novels while at home here, and novels such as Far From The Madding Crowd would have been influenced by the location.
• You are able to visit Hardy’s Cottage in Higher Bockhampton to get an insight into the authors life here.
• Enid Blyton derived much inspiration from locations in Dorset, especially Brownsea Island and Corfe Castle.
• Austen’s Persuasion was set partially in Lyme Regis – another of the many locations linked to this beloved writer.

12. Greenway

• Greenway in Devon is linked closely to crime author Agatha Christie.
• You are able to visit Greenway House, Christie’s holiday home, to get an insight into her life here.
• The house was used as inspiration for her books, such as The ABC Murders, Five Little Pigs, and Towards Zero.
• There was even an episode of ITV’s Poirot filmed here.
• There are often Christie-inspired events and educational talks hosted at the house

13. Cornwall

• Tintagel Castle is known as the birthplace of King Arthur and was the setting for Tennyson’s Idylls of the King.
• Cornwall’s Jamaica Inn was the inspiration for the setting of the same name in Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca.
• She also stayed at the Inn after getting lost on her horse, and it is said this is what inspired her as she wrote the novel.
• Frenchman’s Creek is another location which is known to have inspired Daphne Du Maurier.
• Lovely Lerryn is known to be Kenneth Grahame’s inspiration for The Wind in the Willows.

Explore Tintagel Castle

Check out CJ Explores amazing video of Tintagel Castle – the birthplace of King Arthur.

14. Snowdonia

• Snowdonia is more linked to legends that have inspired literature rather than direct literature itself.
• Many of the stories of King Arthur and Merlin have their origins in Snowdonia. Albion is a literary name for ancient Britain or England used in these legends.
• Mount Snowdon, Dinas Emrys, Llyn Lydaw, and the Isle of Anglesey are all linked to the stories.
• These myth and legends have gone on to inspired works such as Mallory’s Le Morte D’Arthur, White’s The Sword In The Stone, and Stewart’s Crystal Cave series.
• Thanks to these legends, Merlin now appears in many works as a Welshman.

Learn more by reading my post on The Myths and Legends of Snowdonia.

15. Hay-on-Wye

• Hay-on-Wye is one of the greatest literary places in the UK, although it is not linked to a particular novel or author but rather books in general.
• This small town has more bookshops in one area than any other town in the UK, making it one of the top booktowns in the UK.
• It specialises in antiquities and rare books, and it has bookshops with a particular specialism, such as the crime bookshop.
• This is a wonderful place to visit for any book lover to stock up on special and affordable books.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are so many literary places in the UK that are linked to beloved authors and novels.

Visiting literary places in the UK can be a really exciting way to get closer to your favourite literary works and their creators.

Not only this but exploring literary England can also be a wonderful way to explore some parts of the country that you may not have visited.

So, I hope that whether you’re an Austen fan or a Romantic poetry fan, I’ve managed to find you the perfect place to take your next trip.

Do you want to combine your love of books and travel? Then there’s nothing better than a travel book! Follow this link to check out my round up of the top UK travel books of 2022.

Thank you so much for reading my post, and I hope to see you here again soon.

Ta-ta for now! x

• Each summer you are able to attend the Hay Literature Festival. This is the most significant literary festival in the UK, attracting some of the most famous authors from across the world.