indexuk.com
The east front of Buckingham Palace, seen across the forecourt at dusk.

Index UK · Vol. I · September 2026

The index of the United Kingdom.

Palaces, towers and the country around them. Dexter waits in the corner.

The Elizabeth Tower, known as Big Ben, beside the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Bridge.
Edinburgh Castle on its rock, above trees, under a bright sky.

Arriving

The country begins before you land.

Places of significance

Towers, palaces, stones and a causeway.

The Elizabeth Tower, known as Big Ben, beside the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Bridge.
Elizabeth TowerLondon
The east front of Buckingham Palace, seen across the forecourt at dusk.
Buckingham PalaceLondon
Edinburgh Castle on its rock, above trees, under a bright sky.
Edinburgh CastleEdinburgh
The west front of York Minster, with its rose window and twin towers.
York MinsterYork
The Royal Crescent in Bath, a curve of Georgian stone houses above a green lawn.
The Royal CrescentBath
The standing stones of Stonehenge on open grassland under a blue sky.
StonehengeWiltshire
Cardiff Castle’s Norman keep on a green motte, flying the flag of Wales.
Cardiff CastleCardiff
The basalt columns of the Giant’s Causeway meeting the sea in County Antrim.
Giant’s CausewayCounty Antrim
The Round Tower of Windsor Castle above the walls, seen on a winter day.
Windsor CastleWindsor
The Radcliffe Camera and the spires around Radcliffe Square in Oxford.
The Radcliffe CameraOxford
Whitby Abbey in ruin on its cliff above the North Sea.
Whitby AbbeyWhitby
The white chalk cliffs at Dover, with grass on top and the sea below.
The White CliffsDover

Countryside

Fells, glens, coves and a lane of honey stone.

Snow-covered Highland mountains reflected in a loch at a pink dusk.
The HighlandsScotland
The Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye, with sheep on the green slope below.
The Old Man of StorrIsle of Skye
A Cornish cove at sunset, with a sea stack, turquoise water and cliff path.
The north coastCornwall
Sunrise over a snow-dusted ridge in Eryri, with cloud filling the valleys below.
Yr WyddfaEryri
A honey-stone Cotswold lane with roses climbing the cottage walls.
A village laneThe Cotswolds
Rows of lavender in front of stone farmhouses and green Cotswold fields.
High summerThe Cotswolds
The ridge of Mam Tor in the Peak District, with a path along the skyline.
Mam TorThe Peak District
A steam train crossing the curved Glenfinnan Viaduct, with loch and hills beyond.
The viaductGlenfinnan

Lead paper · 02

A first week that leaves London

Seven days, one base in the capital and one beyond it, for someone who wants the country rather than a checklist of queues.

7 min · Travel

Contents

14 briefings · 23 places

  1. 01How the kingdom is actually arranged
  2. 02A first week that leaves London
  3. 03The railway, without the folklore
  4. 04Parliament, the Crown, and who decides what
  5. 05Weather, coast, and when to go
  6. 06Eating in four nations
  7. 07Free museums, and what they are for
  8. 08National parks, a working index
  9. 09London without the queue
  10. 10Scotland north of Edinburgh
  11. 11Wales, in the language of the place
  12. 12Northern Ireland for a long weekend
  13. 13Walking rights, and three classic routes
  14. 14Sunday, pubs, and the shape of a day

Atlas

All places