The Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo, visited Istanbul’s Blue Mosque as part of his four-day trip to Turkiye. Officially called the Sultanahmet Mosque, it was built in the sixth century and has great significance to both Christians and Muslims.
Published On 29 Nov 202529 Nov 2025
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TIRED of visiting the same old spots? Finding new places for a day out in your area can be difficult but now the UK’s best hidden gems have been revealed, great for discovering destinations.
Visit England recently announced the UK’s best hidden gems as part of its Visitor Attraction Accolades for 2024-2025.
And there is something for everyone from museums to brewery tours – here are their best 15 across Britain, per region.
The first hidden gem can be found in Donington le Heath in the East Midlands – the 1620s House & Garden.
Formerly known as the Donington le Heath Manor House, visitors can explore the 13th century building which inside is decked out with 17th century furnishings.
There are also gardens to explore at the attraction, laid out in early 17th century style.
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Also make sure to head to The Old Barn Tearoom for a quick drink, cake or warm bowl of soup.
A second site in the East Midlands that has been named a hidden gem is Melton Carnegie Museum at Melton Mowbray.
The museum is located inside Melton Mowbray’s former Carnegie Library, which was built back in 1905.
Inside, visitors can discover the local history of Melton from the Bronze Age right to the present day.
It is also free to visit.
And finally, Mrs Smith’s Cottage in Navenby was also named a hidden gem.
The heritage house belonged to Hilda Craven, who lived there throughout the 20th century.
Now as a museum and learning centre, visitors can explore the home and daily diaries kept by Hilda.
Admission costs £3.50 per adult and £2 per child.
Heading to the East of England and the Bushey Museum & Art Gallery in Hertfordshire was named a hidden gem.
The museum and gallery is entirely run by volunteers and inside visitors can explore the local history and heritage of Bushey.
It is free to visit.
Also recognised in the East of England was a hidden gem activity called the Celtic Harmony Camp, which can be found in Brickendon.
The camp is set in around 13 acres of ancient woodland and features life-sized, reconstructed Iron Age roundhouses, a Palaeolithic Cave and a Prehistory Centre.
The experience is also free to visit.
Then, the final one in the East of England is a tour of Ipswich Town Football Club, in Suffolk.
The guided tour allows fans to explore key and iconic areas within the stadium such as the Directors Box or the Boardroom.
In the North West, Elizabeth Gaskell’s House in Manchester was named a hidden gem.
The attraction celebrates the life of Elizabeth Gaskell, one of the UK’s most important Victorian writers.
Visitors can explore the lavish interiors as well as pretty gardens.
Another spot in the North West made its way onto the list – moviESCAPE in Stockport.
This escape room has a movie theme and there are different rooms including the Haunted House II: Demon’s Curse and SAWtopsy.
For a more family-friendly option there is Merlin’s Magic Academy, where players solve puzzles and challenges.
Prices vary but the more players you have the cheaper it works out per player.
In the South East, Shepherd Neame Visitor Centre tour in Faversham has been named a hidden gem.
Located at Shepherd Neame Brewery, visitors can head on a tour to learn more about their beers and brewing process.
Next up is St Barbe Museum & Art Gallery in Lymington – a historic coastal market town.
Inside, visitors can explore the history of Lymington and the New Forest Coast.
Another hidden gem in the South East is a tour of The Hook Norton Brewery Co Ltd.
Costing £20 per person, on the tour you will wander around the five-storey Victorian Tower Brewery for an hour and a half.
The tour then ends in the cellar bar, where you of course get to try the beer.
The brewery rather unusually is also home to three shire horses.
If beer isn’t to your taste, then you can head on a tour of the Wildshark Vineyard in Harrietsham.
For £20 per person, you can head on a self-guided tour of the vineyard, thanks to a handy map that shows different walking routes.
Alternatively, for £28 per person you could head on an hour and a half guided tour with a tasting.
In the South West, one spot was named as a hidden gem – Sherborne Museum in Sherborne.
The local museum in Dorset features local history exhibits and a large archive of local records and photos.
It also is free to enter.
Over in the West Midlands, Stourbridge Glass Museum in Wordsley, visitors can explore the region’s history in glassmaking through interactive galleries.
There is even a live hot glass studio.
Last but not least, a tour of the Cotswolds Distillery in Stourton is also a hidden gem.
The tour costs £25 per person and includes tasting the spirits and liqueurs.
Alternatively for £37, you could do a tour and tasting with lunch included.
For other things to do in the UK, a popular family attraction to return to UK capital – eight years after it was scrapped.
Plus, London’s best family attraction that ‘feels like it was created for kids’ to get huge new nature playground.
After enduring others teeing off on her for two weeks, Kai Trump was finally able to set a golf ball on a tee and swing away in an LPGA Tour event.
President Trump’s eldest granddaughter shot a 13-over 83 Thursday in the first round of the Annika at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla. The high school senior and University of Miami commit bogeyed the first five holes before registering a par, totaling 42 on her front nine and 41 on the back.
Critics among and beyond her nearly nine million social media followers were relentless in noting the 18-year-old’s obvious privilege for securing a sponsor invitation. Dan Doyle Jr., owner of Pelican Golf Club, cheerfully admitted that Trump’s inclusion had little to do with ability and a lot to do with public relations.
“The idea of the exemption, when you go into the history of exemptions, is to bring attention to an event,” Doyle told reporters this week. “You got to see her live, she’s lovely to speak to.
“And she’s brought a lot of viewers through Instagram, and things like that, who normally don’t watch women’s golf. That was the hope. And we’re seeing that now.”
Trump attends the Benjamin School in Palm Beach and is ranked a distant No. 461 by the American Junior Golf Assn. She also competes on the Srixon Medalist Tour on the South Florida PGA. Her top finish was a tie for third in July.
On the eve of the Annika, Trump got a boost from a chat with Tiger Woods, who is dating her mom, Vanessa Trump. More privilege, sure, but what did he tell her?
“I mean, he is the best golfer in the entire world. I would say that. And an even better person,” Kai Trump told reporters. “He told me to go out there and have fun and just go with the flow. Whatever happens, happens.”
What happened was far from flawless. With Allan Kournikova — younger brother of tennis star Anna Kournikova and a lifelong friend — as her caddie, Trump bogeyed the first four holes before registering her first par.
She will play again Friday and is the longest of shots to make the cut for the final two rounds over the weekend after finishing the first round in 108th — and last — place.
It’s been an eventful week for Trump. She played nine holes of a pro-am round Monday with tournament host Annika Sorenstam, who empathized with the difficulty of handling an intense swirl of criticism and support.
“I just don’t know how she does it, honestly,” Sorenstam said. “To be 18 years old and hear all the comments, she must be super tough on the inside. I’m sure we can all relate what it’s like to get criticism here and there, but she gets it a thousand times.”
Sorenstam recalled her own exemption for the Bank of America Colonial in 2003 when she became the first woman to play in a men’s PGA Tour event in 58 years. She made a 14-foot putt at the 18th green to save par and end her round of 74, giving her a 36-hole total of five-over 145. She hurled her golf ball into the grandstand, wiped away tears and was hugged by her husband, David Esch.
“That was, at the time, maybe a little bit of a controversial invite,” Sorenstam said. “In the end, I certainly appreciated it. It just brings attention to the tournament, to the sport and to women’s sports, which I think is what we want.”
Attention was temporarily diverted Wednesday from Trump to WNBA star Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever teammate Sophie Cummingham at the Annika pro-am. Clark, paired with defending tournament champion Nelly Korda, went viral by sinking a long putt from off the green.
“I actually grew up playing a little bit. I remember for one of my birthdays, I got this cute little set of pink golf clubs,” Clark said. “Then, I kind of stopped playing and then during COVID, I picked it back up.”
Cunningham’s moment was less majestic. After Clark hit her tee shot on the 10th hole down the middle of the fairway, Cunningham sliced hers into the crowd. She yelled “Happy Gilmore,” drawing laughs from the gallery.
Trump, for her part, swished a basket from beyond the free-throw line of an outdoor court near the first tee while waiting to begin the pro-am.
Sponsor invitations have long been used to attract attention to a tournament through a golfer who is from a well-known family or, in recent years, has a strong social media presence. Trump qualifies on both counts.
Her nine million followers combined on Instagram, Tiktok, YouTube and X include teens, golf fans and members of her grandfather’s administration such as Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
In addition to posting what she does on and off the course, Trump creates videos of playing golf with her grandpa and chronicled their visit to the Ryder Cup. She also recently launched her own sports apparel and lifestyle brand, KT.
“Kai’s broad following and reach are helping introduce golf to new audiences, especially among younger fans,” said Ricki Lasky, the LPGA‘s chief tour business and operations officer.
Beth Ann Nichols, a senior writer a Golfweek, has gone from believing Trump receiving a sponsor into the Annika as a “terrible idea” to a supporter of it. She wrote that her first reaction was that “her game isn’t ready for this kind of spotlight; there’s too much on the line at the season’s penultimate event to have a circus break out.”
But once the week unfolded she changed her mind, believing the President’s grandaughter is good for women’s golf.
“Between the presence of Caitlin Clark in the pro-am and President Donald Trump’s granddaughter in the 108-player field, this might become one of the most talked-about LPGA events in the tour’s 75-year history,” Nichols wrote. “For those who understand how painstakingly tough it is for women’s golf to break through the golf world, let alone the sports world and beyond, these opportunities don’t come often.”
Trump will need to improve her game to become more than a novelty. She finished last among a field of 24 at 52-over par in the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in March. Her performance Thursday illustrated that while she is strong off the tee, her short game needs to develop.
“I don’t think anybody here is thinking that she will be the one holding the trophy on Sunday,” Sorenstam said. “I spoke to her a little bit yesterday. You know, just make the most out of this week. There will be lessons learned. Take them to the future and learn.”
The oldest of the president’s 11 grandchildren, Kai became known nationally when she made a speech in support of her grandfather’s campaign at the 2024 Republican National Convention. Her parents, Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump, divorced in 2018, and her mother has been dating Woods for about a year.
