Torture Your Friends with Instagram Pictures of Your Holiday in the UK ...

Watergate Bay boasts two miles of golden, sandy beaches lined by towering cliffs. It's a surfer's paradise, for here the Atlantic swells supply surfers with a reliable quantity of respectable waves. Watch peregrine falcons, fulmars and gulls wheel in blue skies while you're sunbathing or explore rock pools filled with crabs and bright red anemones. Let a steady sea breeze ruffle your hair on cliff top walks before eating a healthy meal at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Cornwall. Surfing, traction kiting, sailing and walking are the main leisure activities at Watergate Bay.

The remote and rugged southwest coast of the Isle of Man (which lies in the Irish Sea about midway between the Irish island and the GB island) is definitely worthy of photos to put on Instagram. Taking its name from the “tail” of rocks that dominates the beach, Niarbyl Bay is dramatic and picturesque. It’s definitely worth visiting for the gorgeous sunsets that have the Irish coast as a backdrop. The village is quaint and there’s an 8th century chapel to visit.

Atlantic rollers thunder and roar before hitting the vast beach at Saunton Sands. Follow the 3-mile long, wild and windy stretch of land and eventually you'll reach Braunton Burrows, one of Britain's largest sand-dune systems. It is home to an abundance of butterflies and rare plants.

The ancient city of York has not only a lovely minster to offer for happy snappers, but also medieval walled fortifications, castle ruins, a fabulous Viking museum complete with Saxon village, where you can take selfies with museum staff dressed as Saxon peasants or snap away at Vikings in full battle gear. Torture your friends with Instagram-worthy pictures of medieval houses simply oozing with romance and historic flair.

Step onto the ferry at Portsmouth and 15 minutes later you are in 19th century Britain, beloved by Queen Victoria and her consort Prince Albert who used to holiday here. Compton Bay offers families and those in urgent need of relaxation an unspoiled stretch of coast within easy walking distance of Brook Bay to the south (accessible at low tide), where dinosaurs left their tracks in the foreshore mud millions of years ago. Spot fossils in the crumbling white cliffs or join guided fossil walks. Eat in Freshwater Bay at the Cafe at Dimbola Lodge, which is part of an enchanting photographic museum and serves delicious teas and lunches.

The lakes and hills have stirred many a heart and inspired countless artists, writers and poets. Stunningly beautiful the Lake District is truly one of the UK’s most gorgeous scenic areas. The views will make your heart soar and your fingers will itch for a packet of watercolors or a pen to express your thoughts. villages are welcoming and the walking tracks are numerous and the lakes themselves offer playtimes in boats, on boards, and in and on the water.

Canterbury's ancient cathedral represents the cradle of Christianity in Britain and is one of the most visited tourist attractions outside of London. It ancient grey walls have seen more pilgrims in need of spiritual guidance and celestial forgiveness than any other religious monument anywhere in the country over the last 1,000 years. The ancient town still preserves its early medieval layout in the center, where several fine 16th century houses line the High Street, including the Weaver's House from the mid-1500s. Take a boat tour, munch your way through Canterbury's pubs and bistros or sit quietly in an ancient pew and listen to the angelic voices of Canterbury Cathedral's choir rehearsing their latest program. Visit the medieval Chaucer museum for an unforgettable step into the past and great selfie-opportunities with museum's staff dressed in medieval garb.

Leave your car and head out for a half-mile walk to this stunning National Trust-managed beach. From crystal clear turquoise waters to dramatic sandstone cliffs facing offshore islands where seals laze about in the sun, Marloes Sands offers surfers and water sport-loving families a fabulous beach destination. Go fossil hunting, explore rock pools or simply sit down for a meal at the Lobster Pot Inn and enjoy local seafood.

There are many what we call “chocolate box villages” all around the UK but nowhere in such abundance as in the rolling countryside of the Cotswolds. Characterized by their honey colored local stone and thatched roofs and cute cottage gardens, to me nowhere exemplifies this unique British style than Lower Slaughter. (There’s an Upper Slaughter too.) There’s a babbling brook running through the village and a favorite spot for photos is on the little stone bridge that crosses over it.

Studland Bay offers sunbathers 4 miles of pristine white sands which slope down gently to meet pale blue waters. Set against a backdrop of heath land and dunes, the beach has a desert-island feel, especially at its northern end, which can be reached by a chain ferry. The southern end, Knoll Beach, is very popular with families, so less quiet. There’s also a large area designated as a naturist beach.

The historic city of Derry sits snugly in a broad sweep of the River Foyle and still boasts its original 17th century walled fortifications, the only ones surviving in Ireland. Walking the length of these walled fortifications is a highlight on a trip to Britain. Derry's other historic treasures are its lively music scene and pubs. Clear next day hangovers with a walk across Peace Bridge, a visit to the Bogside People's Gallery Murals - 12 murals decorating the gable ends of houses along Rossville Street - and visit St. Columb's Cathedral (built between 1628 and 1633), before stopping off at the award-winning Tower Museum.

This stretch of the Kent coast is totally photogenic. A 660 ft curve of sand flanked by white cliffs that are topped with wild orchids, silver ragwort, hoary stock, valerian and wild carrot offers families safe swimming, reliable winds for surfing and a serious amount of rock pools to investigate and catch local seafood. During Broadstairs Folk Week in August and the Dickens Festival in June, however, you'll have to share this idyllic spot with around 100,000 other visitors. Afternoon tea with all the sweet trimmings is served at Charles Dickens' former holiday home, Bleak House, which overlooks Broadstairs’ little harbour jetty and main sands.

The former playground of Vikings offers a wonderful stretch of beach that is hidden at the very end of a winding road along the breezy north-west coast of the Isle of Harris. Overlooking dazzlingly blue water that is nicely shallow for swimming - you'll need a wetsuit or you'll freeze your toes off - the beach offers stunning views of windswept, uninhabited islets. Take a picnic for there are no tourist beach facilities like cafes or restaurants anywhere within walking distance.

There’s a style of British holiday town that seems to be stigmatized. It is believed that all guest houses are run by formidable landladies, men sit on deckchairs with knotted hankies on their head, postcards are smutty and everyone eats fish and chips. Skegness. Margate, Clacton are lumped in this category. In truth, they are towns built around great beaches and fun and entertainment. But nowhere says British holiday town like Blackpool – the UK’s Las Vegas. Huge swathes of golden sands, the pleasure beach (fun fair), motorized trams and of course, the Golden Mile which is lit to excess during the “Blackpool Illuminations” are all part of this town’s charm.

Apart from Gordon's Restaurant at Inverkeilor, a place foodies flock to when visiting this part of Scotland's east coast, the area has a stunning 2-mile beach to offer that sweeps the Angus coastline with impressive dunes. Red Castle, a ruined 12th century fortress built with local pink sandstone that matches the pink cliffs the castle sits on, is a fabulous place for bird watching. The beach is also popular with horses and their riders, surfers and beachcombers looking for semi-precious stones like jasper and agate that are often found after storms. For a romantic getaway stay at 14th century Ethie Castle , situated along the coast near Lunan Bay. It is one of Scotland's oldest inhabited castles, offering guests not only comfortable B&B accommodation but also perfect Instagram-worthy pictures in front of its red standstone ramparts and walls.

Torture your friends with Facebook-worthy pictures of you in front of magnificent Bamburgh Castle, which overlooks a stretch of wild and beautiful coastline in wind-swept Northumbria. It is one of Britain's oldest and imposing castles. The huge sands in front of it stretch all the way to Seahouses, a village located 3 miles away. On clear days you can see Lindisfarne and Farne Islands; the former is accessible via a low-tide causeway that leads to ancient Lindisfarne Priory and even more secluded and deserted beaches.

Once a royal hunting ground, today the New Forest is an outdoor leisure playground. A national park, the area is heathland, forest and wild pastures and there’s something for everyone. Whether it’s exploring cute villages and their hostelries, biking, ziplining between trees, watching the wild ponies eat grass, browsing in a museum, being pampered in a spa at a luxury hotel or simply taking a walk through the gorgeous scenery taking awesome Instagram travel photos, there’s plenty to see and do.

We’ve a mass of geographical diversity in our little islands and a long rich history that makes the UK so fascinating for overseas visitors. Why not come and enjoy some British heritage? There’s always a welcome!