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The London Underground recently celebrated its 150th birthday. The auspicious anniversary got us thinking – where else in England can one marvel at feats of Great British engineering?

The fastest car in the world – Coventry Transport Museum, Coventry

In 1997, RAF Wing Commander Andy Green smashed the land speed record in ThrustSSC (supersonic car). The twin-jet-engine car was conceived, designed and brought to fruition by a team led by the previous record holder, charismatic Englishman Richard Noble OBE. In recent years the same team has reunited in the pursuit of breaking 1,000 mph barrier with ‘Bloodhound SSC.’

The largest bell foundry in the world – John Taylor Bell Founders, Leicestershire 

John Taylor Bell Founders has been casting bells in Leicestershire since the 13th century. In 1881, John Taylors cast the largest bell in Britain, ‘Great Paul’, for St Paul’s Cathedral in London. John Taylors is now the largest bell foundry in the world. The onsite museum tells the remarkable story of one of the oldest manufacturing industries in the world. Don’t miss the room full of bells from different ages and different founders – the display has a wooden mallet enabling visitors to sound the bells for themselves.

The world’s first passenger train – Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester

MOSI is housed in the original buildings of Manchester’s Liverpool Road station, which was part of the world’s first passenger railway (the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, built in 1830). Once used to transport goods between the port of Liverpool and the industrial powerhouse of Manchester, this huge engineering feat revolutionized travel and is now the oldest surviving passenger railway station in the world. The standout activity has to be museum’s ‘Steam School’, a monthly-run four-and-a-half-hour experience where participants learn how to drive a steam locomotive (costs almost $400).

The longest, highest and deepest canal tunnel in Britain – The Standedge Tunnel, Huddersfield

The Standedge Tunnel, England’s longest, highest and deepest canal tunnel, passes under the Pennines between Diggel and Marsden. Built more than 200 years ago, the tunnel is nearly three and a half miles long and took 16 years to build. It’s one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways and visitors can explore deep into the tunnel on a family-friendly guided boat trip. Entry to the tunnel is free. Half hour boat trips cost a little more than $7 per adult and about $5.50 per child.

The oldest windmill in Britain – Pitstone Windmill, Buckinghamshire

Dating back to 1627, Pitstone Windmill is believed to be the oldest windmill in Great Britain. Having ground flour for the village of Pitstone for almost three hundred years, the windmill was forced into an early retirement when hit by a freak storm in the early 1900s. It was later donated to the National Trust and restored. Entry costs a little more than $3 per adult and a little more than $1.50 per child.

Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…

(Image: Cmglee)

About the author

Brett AckroydBrett hopes to one day reach the shores of far-flung Tristan da Cunha, the most remote of all the inhabited archipelagos on Earth…as to what he’ll do when he gets there, he hasn’t a clue. Over the last 10 years, London, New York, Cape Town and Pondicherry have all proudly been referred to as home. Now it’s Copenhagen’s turn, where he lends his travel expertise to momondo.com.

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