# Favourite Historical Site



## Esioul

My favourite historical/archaeological sites to visit have to be Bamburgh castle and Rievaulx and Jervaulx Abbeys. A lot of it's to do with the amazing settings, I think! Bamburgh is right by the North Sea. So... what's your favourite site?


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## Somni

Don't really have a favourite but I'd really like to visit Vindolanda.  I've fancied the trip since I saw it on telly but it is a bit far away for an easy trip.


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## Severus

As for sites I've actually been to, the Coliseum and Pompeii were fairly impressive. Italy and Rome in general are treasure troves of stunning historical sites and sights.

I'd love to visit Petra though. That'd kick ass.


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## GrownUp

Somni said:


> Don't really have a favourite but I'd really like to visit Vindolanda.  I've fancied the trip since I saw it on telly but it is a bit far away for an easy trip.



Vindolanda. Is. Amazing. 

And while you're in Northumberland you can see Newcastle Castle Keep! which is so much more _explorable_ than you'd think from the outside. I wish I'd been 10 when I first found it. 

Oh, historical sites are so much fun.

Caerphilly Castle. A slighly broken-down, slightly restored masterpiece, with a wonky tower and no guard rails, and no no-entry signs.


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## Somni

> Vindolanda. Is. Amazing.


Nice to hear another recommendation, really must organise to go, maybe next year.


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## Rosemary

Stonehenge is my favourite, followed by Old Sarum.


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## The Judge

Durham Cathedral, particularly in the snow, for its magnificence and grandeur.  The setting is incomparable - try arriving on the train for a first visit.

Michelham Priory in East Sussex for its sense of peace and timelessness.


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## Mouse

Glastonbury Abbey. Olympia was also pretty damn good when I went there.


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## mosaix

The Acropolis, Athens. Followed by Stone Henge.


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## Allegra

mosaix said:


> The Acropolis, Athens. Followed by Stone Henge.


 
I'm so looking forward to Acropolis but everytime when I make serious plans they start a new riot!  

My favourite - the infinite Palatine Hill and Roman Forum.


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## Pyan

Castlerigg Stone Circle, between Skiddaw, Blencathra and Helvellyn in the Lake District.

Just a simple stone circle in itself - but oh, the _setting_...


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## mosaix

Allegra said:


> I'm so looking forward to Acropolis but everytime when I make serious plans they start a new riot!
> 
> My favourite - the infinite Palatine Hill and Roman Forum.



Still not managed at Allegra? 

If you wait for things to settle down you may never get there.


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## Ursa major

I've only seen the Coliseum from the outside, at night and through the rain; but it was still impressive. (The rest of our time in Rome, 36+ hours, was spent in a hotel preparing presentations and at the customer's site giving them: not at all historic.)

But I have been lucky enough to see Petra (stunning) and Egypt (various places between Cairo and Abu Simbel).

Apart from the history oozing from the stones, there's the huge scale of the sites (such as the three pyramids at Giza and the simply vast temple at Karnak); there are the massive carvings and statues. And most of all, there's the setting: the Nile flowing through rich farmland, barrent deserts close on either side**. It feels like a land of magic, even when you know how it came to be.

Truly a land of wonder.

My favourite site is Giza and, in particular, the Great Pyramid (that of Khufu). Even with its outer casing removed, I found it hard not to marvel at what comparatively few people, with simple tools, managed to create. Both impressive and (when inside) surprisingly intimate, it is - there is no doubt about it - a folly; and yet it's also a monument to the human desire - another folly, perhaps - to find its place in the universe, whatever the cost.



** - The transition to desert is abrupt, only ten or so metres as the grass gives way to sand and rock.


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## Allegra

mosaix said:


> Still not managed at Allegra?
> 
> If you wait for things to settle down you may never get there.


 
You are right, mo. I think I'm just waiting for the revolution!


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## The Ace

I've a soft spot for Ardoch fort, near Braco.

It's one of the largest Roman forts in Europe and both armies at Bannockburn could've fitted in there comfortably.

The site of Bannockburn itself, of course........


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## Esioul

All great suggestions  

I visited Vindolanda, they were digging at the time, I saw someone find a Roman leather shoe!


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## nj1

I was lucky enough to have several school excursions to CAERLEON in Newport, South Wales during my youth, A Roman legion base with a nice museum and some good remains, they also claim it may be the site of Arthur's Camelot. 

Caerleon Past Present And Future, Roman Isca, Camelot of King Arthur

I also want to visit York one day, due to it's strong Viking history

JORVIK Viking Centre


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## Peter Graham

Oooh!  So many to choose from...

I'd go for Lincoln Cathedral for sheer impressiveness, Stokesay Castle in Shropshire for sheer bucolic loveliness, Viroconium, Whitby parish church (built by boatbuilders and it shows) for oddity value, Snelland parish church for _real_ oddity value, Saltaire (for some muscular industrial altruism and a pint) and Kenmure Castle.

Regards,

Peter


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## svalbard

Dunbeg fort on the Slea Head in Kerry is one of those places I love going back to. It is an ancient ringfort on the cliffs facing out into the Atlantic. There is nothing really spectacular about it, except for the scenery which allows the imagination to run riot.


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## The Ace

I have to admit, nj1, I've been to Carlaeon on two occasions when we were guests of the Ermine Street Guard.

Being a Roman Soldier in the arena is an experience beyond description.


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## gurneyman

Gettysburg, Pa....that may change if I ever get to Greece to visit Thermopylae....


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## digs

That I've visited:

- the Acropolis of Athens (yeah, I teared up a bit as I walked up the steps, _so what!?_)
- the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion







That I've not visited:

- Abu Simbel (I am incredibly desperate to go to Egypt)
- Petra


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## paranoid marvin

Can't get enough of castles ; British castles especially. You can keep your Colliseum , Pyramids and Italian Cathedrals , castles are where its at. Warwick is a particular favourite , but there are many , many fascinating fortresses still standing in Scotland and especially Wales, Conwy and Caernarvon being especially cool


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## River Boy

paranoid marvin said:


> Can't get enough of castles ; British castles especially. You can keep your Colliseum , Pyramids and Italian Cathedrals , castles are where its at. Warwick is a particular favourite , but there are many , many fascinating fortresses still standing in Scotland and especially Wales, Conwy and Caernarvon being especially cool


 
Warwick's great but I prefer Tamworth, far more spooky and built on the site of the ancient capital of Mercia.


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## Somni

I have now been to Vindolanda and it was good.  They were digging then too, and what was nice is they don't mind stopping to talk to you about what they are doing!


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## Jo Zebedee

I'll put a punt in for the only thing interesting in my town: Carrickfergus Castle.  Pretty much intact Norman castle, one of the best preserved in the UK, stronghold of John de Courcy when he took Ulster for Strongbow and cracking views over the lough.


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## Abernovo

Back in Scotland, it would be Dunottar Castle, South of Aberdeen, perched on a cliff above the North Sea. It's a ruin now, but still impressive.

Here in Bulgaria though, it would have to be the fortress of Tsarevets. It too is no longer in its fullest glory, but is still absolutely magnificent, not to mention, huge.


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## Alex The G and T

Teotihuacan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teotihuacan

Time felt very _thin_ there. The right gesture just might brush aside a veil and allow one to step back 2000 years into a bustling, _very_ different world.


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## Foxbat

My two favourites are both on Orkney - 
Skara Brae and Maes Howe. Incredible places


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## Morbius

Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory in Greenfield Village, Dearborn, MI. 

Henry Ford relocated it to his museum in the 1920's. _All_ of it: the long brick building, the equipment and apparatus, classic laboratory glassware, tools & chemicals & even the power plant that provided it electricity. All in their original physical state & position. You can go up and gaze all around as long as you want but you can't cross the barrier and go into the laboratory itself. 

From lab notebooks to chemical jars with original manufacture labels dating back to the early 20th century, everything remains as it was. Undisturbed. A haunting, amazing thing to see up close.


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## Mouse

Mouse said:


> Glastonbury Abbey. Olympia was also pretty damn good when I went there.



I said Glastonbury Abbey two years ago? Hm. Well, it's nice but not massively exciting. If I can change it to just Glastonbury in general then I might agree with my past self.

Still agree with Olympia though. And I've been to both Olympia and the Acropolis and Olympia was _way_ better. 

Oh, Kutna Hora in the Czech Republic is awesome too.


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## Venusian Broon

Mouse said:


> Oh, Kutna Hora in the Czech Republic is awesome too.


 
I really oved that place too, not far from Prague at all. Brilliant cathedral (is it a cathedral or just a really big, big church?) Flying buttresses to die for though.

High point was when we were looking down into the crystal clear waters of the flooded lower levels of the mine to be told that we're on level 1 and there was something like seven levels of medieval mine workings going down into the earth. Pretty awesome. Industrious lot those Czech miners.


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## Mouse

Oh yeah the cathedral was _amazing_. I didn't see the mines! Did you see the ossuary?


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## Venusian Broon

Mouse said:


> Oh yeah the cathedral was _amazing_. I didn't see the mines! Did you see the ossuary?


 
Was that the skulls and bones one! - (I think) because someone had brought back some soil from Jerusalem and planted it about the place, so it really became the _in _place to put your bones - Really weird! (Prague tends to have alot of that sort of stuff - I like the mummified arm of a thief that a statue of the virgin mary caught - but today stapled to the ceiling of another church near the city centre) 

The mines were brilliant to visit - I went (from memory) at about 1999 and there was a guide who was an old retired miner. Not from the medieveal period of course 

I have to say though despite how wonderful Prague was, in terms of historical treasures and traditional streets, I had been a few years before and I was a little dismayed when I went the 2nd time to find it really 'Amsterdamised' i.e. boozed-, sexed- and partied- up. Dread to think what it's like now...


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## Mouse

I went in 2010 and didn't really see any of that side of it! I know it's big with stag-parties but I didn't see any. Maybe cos I didn't go out partying and whatnot.


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## Venusian Broon

Mouse said:


> I went in 2010 and didn't really see any of that side of it! I know it's big with stag-parties but I didn't see any. Maybe cos I didn't go out partying and whatnot.


 
Perhaps because the last time I was there we may have been in a hotel that was in the Prague equivalent of Soho.

But really love the 'feel' of the city centre though despite the modern crap, got a lovely kind of ye olde 16th century look and street plan still. And so much stuff -golems, Kafka, Doctor Dee and alchemists, the birthplace of robots*...

(Too far away for British Bomber Command to pound it into desolation in WW2 thankfully.) 

* Literary of course, not where they made the machines that now make cars.


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## Mouse

Yeah I loved it. Took a million photos! Something to see everywhere you look.


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## Allegra

Yes Kutna Hora is really one of a kind. Funny it doesn't really have the bone chilling effect, rather comic and crafty. Prague is truly a magnificent historical city.



mosaix said:


> Still not managed at Allegra?
> 
> If you wait for things to settle down you may never get there.


 
I'm again seriously planning to go to Athens in November. Hope there won't be another riot considering they are probably leaving the eurozone in a few months. Poor Greece.


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## Mouse

If you do get to Athens, make sure you take a little day cruise out to the islands Hydra, Aegina and Poros cos they're super pretty. I love Greece.


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## Allegra

Yes I will. Thanks, Mouse.


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## Gordian Knot

Palmyra in Syria. Ruled by Queen Zenobia in the 3rd century A.D. Once one of the greatest cities because of its location between east and west trade routes. Many of the ruins remain to this day.


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## Montero

In the UK - 

Castle Bolton in Yorkshire.  Saw it some years ago, it is a square keep/fortified tower, still in the ownership of the family.  Has a wonderful notice at the front door about how the family had been there for all the major events in history, always on the losing side.
They supported Richard III and Charles I (and I've forgotten who else).
It was very much done on a budget - so you walk into the banqueting hall and the first impression is of a long grand table hung with a posh table cloth - look closer and it is curtains over planks.  Friendly and quirky.

A NT owned fortified house near Hexham whose name I have forgotten.  One of the most peaceful places I've visited.  Up on cliffs above a river - the windows of the house open over the gorge.  There is still a lot of the medieval house to be seen, such as the central screen dividing the kitchens from the posher bits.

Silchester - a Roman town that was excavated a while back.  Not much visited.  Just wander round it - its enormous.

Exeter Cathedral - the nave in sunshine is just so beautiful.  The close around it is lovely too with a couple of tea shops in nearby medieval buildings where you can sit and eat and look at the cathedral.

And outside the UK
Not seen that much but have seen the Acropolis and Delphi.  The Acropolis is impressive but crowded and city surrounded with rising smog.  Delphi is magical.  So peaceful you can hear all the bees buzzing.  Look out from the stadium at the top of the hill and there is almost nothing modern to be seen.


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## Allegra

How could I forget to bring up my three most favourite places in Malta:

Mdina - the medieval capital:







You get a real sense of time travel in those silent narrow streets:






St. John's Co-Cathedral - built by the Knights of Malta in 1570's. Caravaggio's masterpiece _The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist _is housed here:   






The magnificent Mnajdra - a megalithic temple complex built in 4th millennium BC, one of the oldest (pagan?) worship site on earth:


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## Brian G Turner

How on earth did I miss this thread?!



The Ace said:


> I've a soft spot for Ardoch fort, near Braco.



Superb site, certainly my favourite Roman fort site, not least for the fact that there are three different forts there. Being near Stirling, it is surrounded by amazing views, not least of the Breadlebane mountains and Ochils.




Gordian Knot said:


> Palmyra in Syria.



It's on my shopping list - unfortunately, I don't think I'll get there anytime soon because of the political turmoil. Similar for other major ancient sites in Tunisia, Libya, and Iraq. Persepolis in Iran might be doable, though for how long remains to be seen. 



Allegra said:


> How could I forget to bring up my three most favourite places in Malta



Those are amazing pictures - never knew there was so much to the island! Will put it on my list. 


As for favourite historical places: to be honest, my favourite ever place is Wharram Percy mediaeval village in North Yorkshire. There's not much there aside from earthworks and a now ruined church - but it had a _feeling_.

Rievaulx Abbey was pretty good, too - lots of ruins, and you can practically _hear _the long-gone monks chanting.

Karnak was good, but Western Thebes and the mass of ruins there I found more atmospheric.

Drinking coffee on the lawns between Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul recently was interesting - both buildings look quite spectacular from the outside, though surprisingly less so inside.

Hoping to do Rhodes very soon.


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## Interversus

The most impressive site I've been to was Machu Picchu, but I also get a lot of pleasure from the more modest historic places I find while hiking the in UK. The grassy lumps in the middle of no where which turn out to be barrows, or sunken ancient roads or abandoned villages on a Scottish cliff, I just love. A drizzly feet up sitting on my own, drinking my coffee and wondering what went on in the landscape in front of me, I find it hard to repeat that feeling in the more crowded but spectacular historic sites.

Love Rome too, but I get overwhelmed there.


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## Starbeast

*The Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids*

I'd love to go there, and even help with the current excavations.


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## Allegra

Mouse said:


> If you do get to Athens, make sure you take a little day cruise out to the islands Hydra, Aegina and Poros cos they're super pretty. I love Greece.


 
Finally, been there, done that, loved it. To see the magnificent ruins of Parthenon, Ancient Agora, Temple of Olympian Zeus etc etc and imagine the sceneries and the people's life around them 2500 years ago was like a dream. The National Archaeological Museum is simply a treasure. 

When go to Rome, Paris, or Barcelona, you get what you expected, but Athens was a wonderful surprise for me, especially since the country's economy is in ruins with nearly 25% unemployment rate. If not for the too many graffiti, everywhere seemed peaceful in our tourists eyes. Greeks are truly a lovely people with sunny Mediterranean character, but mellower, friendlier and humbler than their neighbours. The service is generally excellent. They smile the genuine smile so easily! And the delicious Greek food, wines and coffee have distinct flavours from other Mediterranean regions.

Mouse, we took a boat trip to the three islands unfortunately Hydra had to be cancelled due to wind/wave conditions at the port. The other two are very pretty indeed! We got lots of pistachios from Aegina - now I know where all the pistachio trees are.  

I have to say Athens has to be the most underrated great ancient city in Europe. At this time of the year the weather is still pleasant but you don't see as many tourists as you should. All the local people we talked to complained that media's overly exaggerated exposure on the protests and general strikes have harmed tourism badly. What a shame. I, for one, will go there again because I'm already miss the place and the people.


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## Mouse

Yay! Glad you got there, Allegra. The Greeks are really lovely people. Did you get lots of freebies? I even got given a necklace, which was nice. 

The book I just finished reading had one of the characters go to one of those three islands (I think it was Poros) and the descriptions took me back there.

Things were pretty cheap in Athens when I went... I remember buying a huuuuuge bag of cherries for one euro. 

Did you just do Athens or did you venture elsewhere? I toured the whole Peloponnese so got to visit Olympia and Delphi too (amongst others - I've probably said all this already in this thread!). 

The only thing I didn't like about Greece was the food! I really don't like the flavour of it - I'm not into olives or all the oily stuff. The best meal I had when I was there was when I went to an Italian restaurant.

I love the shops too! I walked into one and the woman who worked there said 'Hola!' and when I replied 'Hiya!' she was surprised I was English and said she'd thought I was Spanish. (I'm extremely pale, but I got mistaken for a Spaniard and a Greek several times!)


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## Allegra

That's another reason I must go back again because I really wanted to go to Delphi but couldn't. We only had enough time for Athens and the two islands. Yes the Greeks are generous people. We did get quite some freebies mainly in restaurants, free drinks and deserts and stuff. I shopped some clothes too, I think the prices are more or less the same as other major cities in European mainland.

Food wise, I liked their souvlaki - a bit like Turkish kebabs but with a touch of Mediterranean, sadziki and salad with goat cheese (actually we do that a lot at home but somehow theirs just tasted more authentic!) Their grilled seafood are also decent. And yes, I love olives! 

One thing I really didn't like is seeing so many stray dogs. They are mostly medium sized, many are even German shepherds. Though they look content and well fed, still a sad scene to see them curling up in a corner of the street. What will happen to them when winter comes? We also had the honour to acquaint the local cats community in Poros, they seemed very hospitable.


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## Mouse

Oh yeah, stray dogs and cats all over the place! I went to one of the beaches in a little town and a couple of strays were on the beach - a Lab kept play biting my legs (didn't _actually_ break my skin or anything, thank god!).


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## stormcrow

_*Pembroke Castle, Dyffed, Wales*_

Repeated childhood holidays staying in _The Flemish Cottage -_ a tiny cottage opposite the Barbican complex and within the old town walls, reputedly the gatekeepers' in earlier times. Back then, admission was free or later very cheap. My parents allowed me to explore for hours - and I did! Sometimes we watched Shakespearian plays on the ruins.

Pembroke Castle is firmly my favourite of this type of castle, and was once the seat of the Tudor dynasty; much later besieged by Cromwells troops during the English Civil War - often overlooked for it's significance.

It has towering walls set on cliff-tops above a river estuary, impressive towers, massive circular keep (80' I think) and a cave - _The Wogan Cavern _- beneath (perfect for dragons!?).


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## jasminevincent

I've visited Petra in Arabah, Jordan that was become popular by the 3rd Indiana Jones film. I believe that this is the world's largest and coolest attraction. Really a nice place to visit!


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## MontyCircus

The Great Wall is the only wonder I've been to.  I think it would be better as seen from the air, from a helicopter, but they don't offer that unfortunately.

I'd like to visit England some day, and see the pyramids, Colosseum, Parthenon...


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## Mirannan

Of world sites, I'd like to offer one not so far mentioned; the Zimbabwe ruins. A bit difficult and dangerous to get to right now, unfortunately.

Of UK historical sites, my favourite is probably the old parts of Cambridge - particularly the street holding most of the ancient colleges. It's also quite nice seeing them from the back, during a punt ride along the Cam.


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## doglim

Too many to pick just one, but the first that came to mind were the Welsh Castles of Edward I (OK, so not one place, but a collection).

Each of them are special, but when you consider them all together, and their proximity, they are incredible. Caernarfon, Harlech, Beaumaris, Conwy. Just amazing stuff.


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## Harpo

From where I'm sitting right now, I can see the venue where Led Leppelin's reunion gig took place.  If that's not historical enough, I can see (If I stand up) the Greenwich Observatory.  The room I am in is my favourite historical site.


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## Gramm838

GrownUp said:


> Vindolanda. Is. Amazing.
> 
> And while you're in Northumberland you can see Newcastle Castle Keep! which is so much more _explorable_ than you'd think from the outside. I wish I'd been 10 when I first found it.
> 
> I grew up in Newcastle and never once visited the castle, lol!
> 
> As for Bamburgh Castle, keep your hands off it, it's mine if I ever win the Euromillions lottery...


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## Allegra

Magnificent Melk Abby in Austria. Its library is like fantasy film setting. I'd do anything if they could let me touch and open those books!


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## Gramm838

Another nice site is El Jem in Tunisia, the Roman Amphitheater where Gladiator was filmed; however the place is covered in graffiti scratched into the sandstone walls, some of it dating back quite a long time


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## Mith

While not my favourite historical place, I did enjoy a trip to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight a few years back. I'd not heard of the place before setting foot on the island, even though Charles the 1st was imprisoned there for a few months before he lost his head.


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## BenSt

I had a chance to live in Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex a long time ago for a few months and that was spectacular.  Apart from this, so far top 5 places that are my favs are:

Portchester Castle
The City of Chester (including the Rows and Cathedral)
The main downtown core of Canterbury
The Pavilion in Brighton (well Brighton it's self I fell in love with)
Stratford-Upon-Avon


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