Top 5 unusual places to head to after lockdown

We may not have had the year we planned, with cancelled holidays, last-minute staycations, and a lot of home schooling, but all this extra time at home scrolling the internet has showed us there are plenty of places still to explore closer to home.

We’ve put together our top 5 unusual places the UK has to offer – perfect for post-lockdown life.

• The Eden Project

If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it’s that mother nature really does have the final say and we must act now to help save this blue planet. The Eden Project in Cornwall really does showcase the beauty of our planet, and highlights the importance of looking after it.

Situated in an old mine in Cornwall, the Eden Project is famed for its oversized domed Biomes housing the largest rainforest in captivity, stunning plants, and exhibitions.

• The Wellcome Collection

Situated in Euston, and easy to reach by train from Gatwick, the Wellcome Collection museum and library is one of London’s most unusual attractions. Displaying a mixture of medical artefacts and original artworks, the collection explores ideas about the connections between medicine, life, and art.

Housed in a grand Victorian building, it’s worth a visit for the architecture alone. Designed to challenge how we think and feel about health, it’s the perfect place to visit in a post-pandemic world – and provide us with some much-needed perspective.

• JORVIK Viking festival

Head to the ancient city of York for a day of living like a Viking. The annual celebration takes place every February and you can celebrate just like the Norse once did in during the 9^th century. During the day you’ll learn all about the Viking voyagers, their myths and legends, and how they lived.

Don your armour and wield your shield and join the revelry as you explore York’s rich heritage. And once you’ve finished you can head to one of York’s haunted pubs to round off a most unusual day!

• Alnwick Poison Garden

Set in the grounds of the imposing Alnwick Castle – made famous most recently by Harry Potter, you’ll find the Poison Garden. Run by the Duchess of Northumberland, Jane Percy, this garden is surrounded by imposing iron gates to keep the poisons in and the people out!

The stunning, but deadly garden can only be visited under the watchful eye of a guide to ensure no one is left behind. And visitors are strongly forbidden from touching, smelling, or tasting any of its 100 toxic species.

• Puzzlewood

Take a trip to Middle Earth when you visit Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean. This enchanted forest provided Tolkien with the inspiration he needed and has subsequently been used in many famous films and tv series’ including Merlin, Doctor Who, and Star Wars.