Nearest Things To Do UK and Ireland
Heading to UK and Ireland and looking for something to do or a place to visit nearby. Coast Radar is not just a list of beaches but we bring you the whole UK and Ireland coast including castles, lighthouses, piers, museums, beautiful gardens, seaside towns, National Trust and other heritage properties.
When on an information page you can also use our tools to search for nearby UK and Ireland seaside towns, and the surrounding coast for the best beaches and places to stay and eat.
Finding the best things to see and do on a UK and Ireland day out with your family or friends is easy – simply explore the links below, to find the closest hit the jump to my location compass or use the search bar to plan where your next UK and Ireland activity could be.
- The GlenDronach Distiller was founded in 1826, located in the valley of Forgue in Aberdeenshire, takes its name from the Dronac burn which is the distillery’s water source. The GlenDronach Distillery has a Visitor Centre and gift shop, with guided tours running regularly throughout the day. Opening times vary during the year and during August the distillery is silent but this allows access to some areas not allowed when operational.
- Castle Tioram, meaning “dry castle”, is a ruined castle that sits on the tidal island of Eilean Tioram in Loch Moidart, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. The castle can be reached on foot across the tidal causeway, but there is no access to the interior because of the risk of falling masonry.
- Needles Lighthouse is set in the western approaches to the Isle of Wight, the Needles form a narrow chalky peninsula which rises from jagged rocks to 120m cliffs. These rocks have always been a hazard to ships making their way up the Solent to Portsmouth and Southampton Water.
- Dover’s lifeboat has had several different locations over the years. The first lifeboat station was under the clock tower at the Prince of Wales Pier. Now sits beside a new station at Crosswall Quay in Dover’s Western Docks.
- Hilbre Island Lighthouse provides a port land mark for the Hilbre swash in the River Dee estuary. This small automatic lighthouse came under the full jurisdiction of Trinity House in 1973, before this it was operated by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Authority.
- Battle Abbey and 1066 Battle of Hastings Battlefield for a fantastic family day out! The exhibitions and the interactive displays bring the battle to life and gives you a really vivid idea of what happened in England at the time of the conquest. There is an audio tour which is complete with battle sounds and voices to create the atmosphere of this epic war as you roam the abbey ruins and stand where King Harold died. The Battle of Hastings took place in October 1066. Duke William of Normandy defeated the British King Harold and it is known as the most famous battle ever fought in the country. William of Normandy was then crowned as King William I which meant the end of Anglo Saxon England! This marked the advent of Common Law in England which still affects us today 1000 years later. The abbey was built in 1070 by King William then known as ‘the conqueror’. It was a symbol of his victory and served as a memorial to the dead whose corpses covered the fields for over 100 acres of the battle site. It stands today as a symbol of Norman triumph over England and its said that the high altar in the church itself stands on the spot that King Harold died on. Abbey museum explores the history of the abbey and contains a selection of historical items found during excavations of the site. Children will also enjoy the Discovery Centre which is open at weekends during the season and throughout the school holidays.Parking (charged) Cafe Picnic area Shop Toilets Disabled access Dogs on leads Museum Gardens Audio Tours (foreign language) Family Friendly Baby change Bottle and food warmers Play areas Pushchairs allowedSee the 1066: The Battle for England exhibition.
- North Elmham Chapel, also known as North Elmham Bishops Castle and North Elmham Bishops Chapel, is a castle ruin in the village of North Elmham. The structure started out as a cathedral in the 11th century. In 1387 Henry le Despenser, Bishop of Norwich, obtained license to crenellate the church. He then fortified the structure into a double-moated castle. The castle fell into disrepair during the 16th century, and by the 19th century nothing was visible above ground. The site has been excavated and you can now see earthworks and ruins. Remains of a kitchen hearth, arches, cathedral towers, and walls are all visible.
- Birnbeck Pier is unusual in that it links the mainland with Birnbeck Island, a 1.2 hectares (12,000 m2) rocky island. The pier has been closed to the public since 1994. The grade II* listed pier was designed by Eugenius Birch and opened in 1867. The gothic toll house and pierhead buildings were designed by local architect Hans Price. The main pier is 1,150 feet (351 m) long and 20 feet (6 m) wide. As it has abutments at either end, one on the mainland and one on Birnbeck Island. The construction is more like a bridge than other traditional pleasure piers. A landing jetty extended on the west side of the island to allow steamers to bring day trippers to Weston-super-Mare from ports on both the English and Welsh side of the Bristol Channel. The pier opened on 6 June 1867, Cecil Hugh Pigot-Smyth again being the host of the ceremony, the town taking a holiday and holding a banquet in the Town Hall. The toll to walk on the pier was 1d, but this was quickly raised to 2d, the maximum allowed by Act of Parliament; 120,000 people paid the toll in the first three months. A new wooden northern jetty was added in 1872 which allowed the removal of the original western landing place. Another jetty was added on the south west corner in 1898 which reached deep water even at low tide, thus allowing steamers to use the pier at all states of the tide. This was damaged in a gale in 1903, rebuilt in 1909 but closed in 1916. It was finally removed in 1923. The northern jetty had also been damaged in the 1903 storm but was replaced by the present steel structure in 1905. Article taken from wikipedia.
- Bayham Abbey, ruins of an abbey of Premonstratensian ‘white canons’, on the Kent-Sussex border. They include much of the 13th to 15th-century church, the chapter house, and a picturesque 14th-century gatehouse.
- The Old Custom House is a grade II listed building at the waterfront in Ipswich, Suffolk. First opened in 1845, the Old Custom House is a reminder of how important river trade was to Ipswich. The impressive Victorian dockside building, designed in the classical style, is now the home of the Ipswich Port Authority.
