The best things to do in Britain

London's national museums. The British Museum, the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert, Tate Britain and Tate Modern, the Science Museum and the Imperial War Museum all have free entry to their permanent collections. This is unusual internationally and is the single best value in British tourism. Temporary exhibitions charge; the permanent collections do not.

Edinburgh's Old Town. The medieval street plan running from the castle down the Royal Mile to Holyrood survives largely intact, and the city is compact enough to walk. Climb Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano in the middle of the city, for the best view in urban Britain. August brings the Festival and the Fringe, which is either the reason to go or the reason not to.

The Lake District and Snowdonia. Britain's mountains are small but genuinely serious in bad weather. Both are UNESCO-listed and both are best in May, June or September rather than August. Wasdale and the Ogwen Valley are more dramatic and far less crowded than the honeypot villages.

Bath and York. The two most complete historic cities in England — Bath for Georgian architecture and Roman baths, York for medieval walls, the Shambles and the largest gothic cathedral in northern Europe.

The coast. Britain has around 31,000 kilometres of coastline including islands. Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, the Northumberland coast and the Antrim coast in Northern Ireland are the standouts, and the England Coast Path is progressively opening a continuous walking route around the whole English coast.

Underrated and worth the detour: Northumberland, which has Hadrian's Wall, empty beaches, castles and the darkest skies in England; the Peak District, closer to more of the English population than anywhere else and consequently good for a short trip; the Yorkshire Dales; the Isle of Skye and the Outer Hebrides; the Brecon Beacons; and the Causeway Coast.

Overrated relative to the queue, in our view: Stonehenge, which is best seen from the road or via a Cursus and Woodhenge walk rather than the paid visitor centre; Oxford Street; and Loch Ness, which is a long loch with no monster and better lochs nearby.

In England and Wales you have a legal right to walk on public rights of way — footpaths, bridleways and byways — which cross private land and are marked on Ordnance Survey maps. There are also large areas of mapped open access land, mainly mountain, moor, heath and down, where you can walk freely under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

In Scotland the position is far more generous. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 gives a statutory right of responsible access to almost all land and inland water, including for wild camping, subject to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. This is among the most generous access regimes in Europe.

Northern Ireland has the most restricted access of the four nations, with a much smaller rights of way network.

Practical points: Ordnance Survey maps and the OS Maps app are the standard, and paper plus compass is still worth carrying on mountains where phone batteries and signal both fail. Weather changes fast and kills people every year on hills that look modest. The Mountain Weather Information Service publishes forecasts specifically for British upland areas.

Follow the Countryside Code — close gates, keep dogs under control near livestock, take litter home, and do not obstruct access. In Scotland, the Access Code sets out the responsibilities that come with the right.

Book trains well in advance. Advance tickets are dramatically cheaper than walk-up fares, released around 12 weeks ahead, and a railcard gives a third off for a wide range of groups.

The National Trust, English Heritage, Historic Scotland and Cadw between them hold most major historic properties. Annual membership pays for itself in a few visits, and the National Trust Touring Pass and English Heritage Overseas Visitor Pass exist specifically for short trips.

London is expensive and the rest of the country is not, to a degree that surprises people. Accommodation and food costs in northern England, Wales and Scotland can be less than half London prices.

Sunday opening hours are restricted in England and Wales for large shops — a maximum of six hours' continuous trading — and Scotland has no equivalent restriction. Plan around it in small towns.

The weather is not a reason to avoid Britain but it is a reason to bring waterproofs at any time of year. There is no month in which it reliably does not rain.