The National Trust

If you go a-touristing in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, especially outside the big cities, you'll no doubt come across a National Trust property in your travels. The charitable organization runs over 300 sites: castles, houses and gardens (a speciality [AmEng specialty] of theirs), museums, factories and mines, villages, dovecotes, medieval barns, mills, pubs, lighthouses, nature reserves, coastline and countryside.

In my experience, National Trust properties are usually well-maintained and worth a visit if you're interested in history and the way people used to live. One of my favourite [AmEng favorite] places is Housesteads Fort on Hadrian's Wall.

In Scotland, there's the National Trust for Scotland.