Have you ever been so engrossed in a book that the setting felt as real as your own home? What if you could actually walk through those described landscapes? Good news – sometimes you can! Many authors draw inspiration from real-world places, weaving them into their narratives, whether set in our world or a fantastical one. This means book lovers with a touch of wanderlust can embark on genuine adventures to explore settings from their beloved literary works.
This list presents 10 incredible UK locations from classic and modern books that you can visit. Get ready for a literary tour spanning England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. We’ve ordered them from places with a strong, sometimes loosely inspired, connection to those that are practically identical to their fictional counterparts. So, even if you’re not a die-hard bookworm, you’ll likely find a cherished story and a destination worth discovering.
10 Glamis Castle and Cawdor Castle: Macbeth (1606) by William Shakespeare
While Shakespeare’s Macbeth is rooted in the life of a real Scottish king, the Bard was known for his creative liberties, making his version highly fictionalized. Macbeth is famously titled the Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor. However, the actual castles associated with these titles weren’t constructed until about 300 years after the historical Macbeth’s reign. Despite this, both castles proudly embrace their Shakespearean connection.
Glamis Castle, resembling an ornate French chateau, features a walking trail with wooden sculptures of characters from the play and a grand hall named after King Duncan, one of Macbeth’s victims. Naturally, Glamis also has its own share of historical intrigue, including tales of murder and witchcraft, common in many Scottish castles.
Cawdor Castle, a medieval fortress, was purportedly built around a holly tree (now petrified at the old tower’s base) following a vision by the Thane of Cawdor. Legend says he was instructed in a dream to let a donkey roam and build his castle wherever it rested. Similar to Glamis, Cawdor leverages its link to Macbeth and has even hosted productions of the play.
9 Llandudno: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll
Alice Pleasance Liddell, the girl who inspired “Alice” in Wonderland, often spent her summer holidays with her family in the Welsh seaside town of Llandudno. The Liddells were close friends with Charles Dodgson, famously known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll. It’s believed that Alice’s real-life adventures in Llandudno sparked Carroll’s imagination for his fantastical tale.
This Welsh town has fully embraced its connection to Wonderland. It began with a White Rabbit statue installed in 1933 and has since expanded to include several Wonderland Town Trails. These trails guide visitors through much of the Victorian resort, which boasts the longest pier in Wales, and feature charming statues of characters from Carroll’s novel. Today, you can even explore these trails using augmented reality, making the experience even more magical.
8 Unst: Treasure Island (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson
Although there’s no definitive record of which specific island inspired Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson had plenty of options. His father was a lighthouse engineer, and Stevenson frequently joined him on visits to various Scottish islands. Scotland is surrounded by roughly 900 islands, but Unst has a particularly compelling claim as the real Treasure Island.
Stevenson visited Unst, part of the Shetland Islands and the UK’s most northerly inhabited island, with his father in 1869. Its beautiful and relatively remote landscape makes it easy to imagine how it could ignite a thrilling story about pirates. Paula Williams, a curator at the National Library of Scotland, points out that the outlines of Unst and Stevenson’s fictional island are strikingly similar, “complete with corresponding inlets and [the] small islet Skeleton Island, [as it is called in the novel], or Uya [its real name].”
7 Edinburgh: The Harry Potter Series (1997–2007) by J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling conjured the enchanting Wizarding World while residing in Edinburgh, and the city’s magnificent architecture and winding cobbled alleyways are clearly mirrored in her books. Candlemaker Row even has a plaque and mural identifying it as an inspiration for Diagon Alley. However, if you search for “Diagon Alley” on Google Maps, you’ll be directed to Victoria Street, which feels equally magical with its vibrant shops and hidden staircases.
Another intriguing link between the Scottish capital and Harry Potter can be discovered in Greyfriars Kirkyard, a 17th-century cemetery. Here, you’ll find the gravestone of Thomas Riddell, a name remarkably similar to the birth name of Lord Voldemort, Tom Riddle.
You can also visit some of the places where parts of the Harry Potter series were penned. The earlier books were largely written in The Elephant House café, while the series was completed in The J. K. Rowling Suite at the Balmoral Hotel. The suite features subtle Harry Potter-themed décor, but a stay comes with a hefty price tag, costing nearly £2000 (around $2700) for one night.
6 Haworth: Various Novels by the Brontë Sisters
This entry celebrates the literary landscapes immortalized by the Brontë sisters, primarily in Charlotte’s Jane Eyre (1847), Emily’s Wuthering Heights (1847), and Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848). The sisters lived in the Yorkshire village of Haworth, surrounded by dramatic moorland, and they richly infused their novels with the atmosphere of this area, now affectionately known as Brontë Country.
Their family home has been transformed into the Brontë Parsonage Museum, which holds the world’s largest collection of Brontë manuscripts, letters, and early editions of their poetry and novels. Dotted around the area are various properties that inspired settings in their books. Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse on the moors near Haworth, is widely believed to be the inspiration for Wuthering Heights, while Gawthorpe Hall and Wycoller Hall are thought to have influenced Ferndean Manor in Jane Eyre. For avid walkers, there’s even a 44-mile trail called the Brontë Way, connecting key locations from their lives and works.
5 Antrim Coast and County Down: The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956) by C. S. Lewis
In fiction, the magical world of Narnia is reached through a wardrobe; in reality, its inspiration lies in Northern Ireland. C. S. Lewis’s fantastical realm was profoundly influenced by the landscapes of the Antrim Coast and County Down. In a letter to his brother, he once declared, “That part of Rostrevor which overlooks Carlingford Lough is my idea of Narnia.” Furthermore, in his essay “On Stories,” he mentioned, “I have seen landscapes (notably in the Mourne Mountains) which, under a particular light, made me feel that at any moment a giant might raise his head over the next ridge.”
It’s easy to see how Northern Ireland’s rugged vistas inspired Lewis. The dramatic ruins of Dunluce Castle, precariously perched on a cliff above the sea, would fit perfectly into the world of Narnia. The hexagonal basalt columns of the Giant’s Causeway feel imbued with the sort of magic Lewis envisioned. Legend even says that the giant Finn McCool built the Causeway as a bridge to Scotland. While the Narnia movies were filmed in New Zealand, visiting Northern Ireland offers the closest experience to Lewis’s own vision of Narnia.
4 Oxford: His Dark Materials (1995–2000) by Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman’s epic trilogy, His Dark Materials, transports readers to many magical locations, but the adventure begins in an alternate version of Oxford. Pullman himself attended the University of Oxford in the 1960s, and the city clearly left a lasting impression, as his protagonist, Lyra Belacqua, grows up at the fictional Jordan College within the university. While all of Oxford’s college buildings are impressive, the primary inspiration for Jordan College was likely Pullman’s alma mater, Exeter College. Interestingly, when the story was adapted for television, New College served as the filming location for Jordan.
Many iconic Oxford landmarks feature throughout the books. You can wander through the Covered Market, which sells much more than just the fish mentioned in The Golden Compass. Explore The Pitt Rivers Museum, where Lyra has a memorable encounter in The Subtle Knife. Or visit Jericho, a neighborhood with canals where Pullman’s Gyptian characters moor their narrowboats.
3 Birmingham: The Lord of the Rings (1937–1949) by J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien, much like his friend C. S. Lewis, drew heavily from his childhood surroundings when crafting the intricate fantasy world for his novels. Although the film adaptations of his works famously showcased the landscapes of New Zealand, Tolkien grew up in and around Birmingham, and this area significantly shaped his descriptions of Middle-earth.
The Shire, the idyllic homeland of the hobbits, was based on Sarehole, Tolkien’s childhood home, which he fondly described as a “kind of lost paradise.” This peaceful English village once featured old-fashioned cottages (now gone) and an old mill (which is now a museum). Nearby lies Moseley Bog, a densely wooded area that strongly evokes the Old Forest on the Shire’s borders.
Landmarks within the city of Birmingham also fueled the author’s imagination. For instance, Perrott’s Folly and the Edgbaston Waterworks Tower are believed to have helped Tolkien conceive his Two Towers. The expanding industrialization of the Black Country near Birmingham, encroaching on his beloved countryside, is widely seen as an inspiration for the desolate, hellish landscape of Mordor.
2 Whitby: Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker extensively researched Transylvanian folklore for Dracula. However, while the novel famously begins at Dracula’s castle in Transylvania, key elements of his Gothic masterpiece didn’t crystallize until he vacationed in Whitby in 1890. He was so captivated by the English seaside town that he chose it as one of the novel’s central locations.
In the story, Dracula, disguised as a wolf-like creature, dramatically ascends the 199 steps that wind up to the haunting ruins of Whitby Abbey. St. Mary’s Churchyard, nearby, was featured as the chilling spot where Lucy Westenra is first attacked by the vampire. But Whitby’s atmospheric scenery wasn’t Stoker’s only inspiration. He learned of a Russian ship, the Dmitry, wrecked on Tate Hill Sands in 1885. This incident found its way into his novel as Dracula’s ship, the Demeter, meeting a similar fate.
It was in Whitby’s public library that Stoker encountered a book mentioning Vlad Tepes, also known as Vlad the Impaler or Dracula. He noted, “Dracula in the Wallachian language means Devil,” and thus, he found the iconic name for his Count. Before this discovery, Stoker had planned to call his vampire Count Wampyr – a name so uninspiring it might have consigned the novel to obscurity.
1 Ashdown Forest: Winnie-the-Pooh series (1925–1928) by A. A. Milne
If A. A. Milne’s timeless childhood classics, featuring Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends adventuring in the Hundred Acre Wood, captured your imagination as a child, then we have wonderful news! The Hundred Acre Wood is a real place, and it’s called Ashdown Forest. Christopher Milne, son of A. A. Milne and the inspiration for Christopher Robin, confirmed this in his autobiography, stating that “Pooh’s forest and Ashdown Forest are identical.”
In 1925, the Milne family purchased a holiday home near Ashdown Forest, located just 30 miles from London in East Sussex. Their delightful times spent among the pine trees and heathland directly inspired these beloved children’s books. You can even visit the very footbridge where Christopher Robin and Pooh famously played Poohsticks. In the nearby village of Hartfield, you’ll find Pooh Corner, the former village sweet shop that the Milne family frequented. It has now been transformed into a charming Pooh-themed tea room and museum (affectionately called the Pooh-seum).
Exploring these literary landmarks offers a unique way to connect with your favorite books, bringing the magic of their stories into the real world. Each location provides a tangible link to the authors’ imaginations and the worlds they created, making for an unforgettable journey through British literary history.
Have you visited any of these literary locations, or are there others you’d recommend? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
