travel
Weird Britain: 10 glorious oddities to visit and marvel at
Eccentric public art, strange ruins, eerie landscapes, follies … Britain has a rich store of curiosities. An enthusiast selects 10 of the quirkiest finds from his new book
TL;DR
- Britain possesses a unique national character marked by eccentricity, creativity, and inventiveness.
- The "Weird Guide" by Dave Hamilton features around 300 curiosities across Britain.
- The Yoxman in Suffolk is an 8m high bronze artwork by Laurence Edwards, representing a visitor from the past.
- Little Italy in Gwynedd is a recreation of Italian architecture in a garden by chicken farmer Mark Bourne.
- Mannakin Hall in Lincolnshire houses approximately 15,000 discarded mannequins collected by Roz Edwards.
- White Scar in Yorkshire Dales is a remarkable limestone pavement with deep fissures called grykes, housing rare plants.
- The woodland Library on the Isle of Arran is a cabin covered in drawings, poems, and messages.
- Sultan the Pit Pony in Mid-Glamorgan is a large earth sculpture honoring mining ponies.
- Painshill Follies in Surrey features an 18th-century crystal grotto created by Charles Hamilton.
- Rock-cut tombs near an eighth-century chapel stand at Heysham, Lancashire.
- Blackchurch Rock in Devon is a rock formation shaped by ancient continental collisions and tidal seas.
- The Tilted Globe in the Highlands is a dry-stone sculpture by Joe Smith located in a geologically significant area.