We wanted to uncover the types of attractions that us Brits prefer to explore, and so we polled 1,000 people and discovered that we really are a nation of nature lovers! Almost half of UK adults (48%) told us that their favourite places to explore were in the great outdoors, and the most chosen days out included many of the country’s free attractions (such as beaches, woodland and national parks) – and we can see why!

We also learnt that castles and historical sites (38%), nature and wildlife attractions such as zoos and aquariums (35%) and free to visit museums, art galleries and similar indoor experiences (31%), were also all firm favourites. 

So much to do, so much to see

Whether you’re a shopaholic or you’re a history buff, a film fanatic or a great outdoors adventurer, (or like some of us, you just like a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake), we want to showcase some of the wonderful days out that you can have when travelling with us. 

As well as polling some of the Grand Central team, we carefully examined TripAdvisor ratings for each destination, pulling together a list of each of the attractions located within a 20-minute walk of the stations we stop at, categorising each of them into:

To do so, we’ve created a series of handy guides which outline some of the attractions, places of interest, and lovely things to do that are within just 20 minutes’ walk of some of our key stops.

The locations we’ve explored include Halifax, Bradford, Sunderland, York, Doncaster, and London, all of which have plenty to keep you busy should you choose to visit! Whether you’re travelling solo, with a friend, a group, or even with children, we hope you’ll see there is something to suit everyone.