A country with as much history and natural beauty as Great Britain certainly offers lots for visitors to see, but here is your chance to see some of its most iconic sights as you have never seen them before. If you have a nostalgic love of the type of 16-bit video game graphics we used to enjoy on the Super Nintendo and MegaDrive, here is what eight British scenes would have looked like in one of those games, courtesy of holidaycottages.co.uk:
White Cliffs Of Dover
Every great old singer used to do the one about bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover and it is still a sight that sums up arriving in Britain by sea from Europe. Soldiers in the wars dreamed of seeing them again when they got home and this pixellated version captures all of the majesty and beauty of them and the surrounding countryside, as well as the gently bobbing boat sitting on the tide. Do you not feel more relaxed already?
Castlefield Canals With Beetham Tower
Water has played such an important part in British history, so it is no surprise to find more of it in this scene. This time it is up in Manchester, where the canals helped it thrive as the cotton capital of the world during the Industrial Revolution, though you can also see modern Manchester in the background with the huge (for local standards anyway) Beetham Tower twinkling in the sunlight.
Borough Market
London’s place at the centre of so much trade and activity around the world is summed up well by Borough Market, which has been there since the 13th Century and still attracts thousands of people every day to sample its wares. Again, there’s a towering modern presence in the background of this scene, the even bigger Spire. Imagine one of the 13th Century visitors seeing that looming over them.
Blackpool Central Pier
Before the Brits started vacationing abroad, most of them would head to seaside towns like Blackpool in the summer to enjoy the beach, the sea, and the attractions that could be found on the pier. While its charms are a little more faded these days, it is still a popular destination, especially in the fall when the famous Illuminations take place and the sea front turns into a glittering Vegas of the North. Well, kind of, anyway.
The West Highland Line Over The Glenfinnan Viaduct
Any Harry Potter fans out there will recognize this scene immediately, as being the Hogwarts Express taking Harry and his friends off to school. In real life it is just another stunning bit of scenery from Scotland, with Loch Shiel in the background, but anyone riding it can be forgiven for feeling a bit of extra magic at this point.
Glastonbury Festival
Another bit of modern pop culture that keeps Britain famous around the world is the Glastonbury Festival. Everyone from Kanye West to Dolly Parton has played there recently and the headline sets at the Pyramid Stage are rightly iconic, with the huge flag poles waving, the lights flashing, and the thousands and thousands of fans going wild.
Angel of the North
If you are heading up the East Coast of England, you will eventually come to this statue by Antony Gormley, which has stood by the roadside for 20 years now welcoming visitors to the North. It is 20m high and has a wingspan of 54m, but thankfully has never yet actually taken off.
Snowdon
Half a million people head up Snowdon every year, making it the busiest mountain in the country as well as one of the tallest. Its mass appeal comes from being really user friendly, as you have a few options for getting to the top, from varying difficulty of climbs to just catching the train.
