Have you ever read a book that described a location so vividly that you wished you could visit it? Well, sometimes you can. Often authors are inspired by real-world places when crafting their book settings, whether based in our world or a fantasy one. This means that readers who have been bitten by the travel bug can set off on real adventures to explore some of their favorite locations from literature.

This list rounds up 10 UK locations from classic books that you can actually visit, providing a literary tour of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. They are listed from “loosely related” to “basically identical.” So even if you aren’t a bookworm, this list likely includes a true classic or a more modern work that you love with an accompanying destination worth exploring.

Related: 10 Rude-Sounding British Places With Unbelievable Backstories

10 Glamis Castle and Cawdor Castle: Macbeth (1606) by William Shakespeare

Although Macbeth is based on the life of a real Scottish king, Shakespeare was no historian, and his version is highly fictionalized. Macbeth is described as the Thane of Glamis and the Thane of Cawdor, but these castles weren’t actually built until around 300 years after Macbeth’s death. Both castles have fostered this literary connection, though.

Glamis, which looks like an ornate French chateau, has a walking trail that features wooden carvings of the main characters from Shakespeare’s play and a grand hall named after one of Macbeth’s victims, King Duncan. Of course, it has its own history of murder and witchcraft, too (as do the majority of Scottish castles).

Cawdor is a medieval fortress built around a holly tree (now petrified at the base of the old tower) due to a vision apparently experienced by the Thane of Cawdor (the real one, not Shakespeare’s Macbeth). He was instructed in a dream to let a donkey roam and then build a castle wherever it lay down to sleep. Like Glamis, Cawdor takes advantage of the Shakespeare connection and has previously staged a production of Macbeth.^[1]

9 Llandudno: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll

Alice Pleasance Liddell (now known as the real “Alice” in Wonderland) spent summer holidays with her family in the Welsh seaside town of Llandudno. The Liddells were close friends with Charles Dodgson, better known by his pen-name, Lewis Carroll, and the story goes that he was inspired by Alice’s adventures in Llandudno.

The Welsh town has made the most of this association, beginning with a White Rabbit statue installed in 1933 and continuing with a number of Wonderland Town Trails. These trails cover much of the Victorian resort town, which has the longest pier in Wales, and feature statues of characters from Carroll’s fantastical novel. You can now even explore the trails with augmented reality.^[2]

8 Unst: Treasure Island (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson

While there is no record of exactly which island inspired Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson certainly had a few to pick from. His father was a lighthouse engineer, and Stevenson would often accompany him on visits to various islands. There are around 900 islands surrounding mainland Scotland, but Unst has a particularly strong claim.

Stevenson traveled to Unst, part of the Shetland Islands and the UK’s most northerly inhabited island, with his father in 1869. Beautiful and relatively isolated, it is easy to see why this island would spark a story about pirates. Paula Williams, the curator of the Maps, Mountaineering, and Polar Collections at the National Library of Scotland, explains that the outlines of both islands resemble each other “complete with corresponding inlets and [the] small islet Skeleton Island, [as it is called in the novel], or Uya [its real name].”^[3]

7 Edinburgh: The Harry Potter Series (1997–2007) by J. K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling created the Wizarding World while living in Edinburgh, and the city’s grand architecture and cobbled alleyways are reflected in the books. Candlemaker Row features a plaque and mural to mark it as the inspiration of Diagon Alley. But if you type “Diagon Alley” into Google Maps, it will send you to Victoria Street, which feels just as wizardly with its colorful shops and secret stairways.

Another link between the Scottish capital and Harry Potter can be found in Greyfriars Kirkyard, a 17th-century cemetery. The cemetery features the gravestone of Thomas Riddell, which only slightly differs in spelling from the birth name of Lord Voldemort, Tom Riddle.

You can also visit places where parts of Harry Potter were written. The earlier books were largely written in The Elephant House café, and the series was finished in a room (now named The J. K. Rowling Suite) at the Balmoral Hotel. The suite features subtle Harry Potter decorations, but it isn’t cheap, costing almost £2000, or $2700, for a one-night stay.^[4]

6 Haworth: Various Novels by the Brontë Sisters

This entry covers books written by the Brontë sisters, primarily Charlotte’s Jane Eyre (1847), Emily’s Wuthering Heights (1847), and Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848). The sisters lived in the Yorkshire village of Haworth, which is surrounded by dramatic moorland, and they set their novels in the area, which is now known as Brontë Country.

Their family home has been turned into the Brontë Parsonage Museum, which houses the largest collection of Brontë manuscripts, letters, and early editions of poetry and novels. Around the area are various properties which inspired buildings from the novels. Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse located on the moors near Haworth, inspired Wuthering Heights, while Gawthorpe Hall and Wycoller Hall served as Ferndean Manor in Jane Eyre. There is even a 44-mile trail called the Brontë Way, which links key locations from the books.^[5]

5 Antrim Coast and County Down: The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956) by C. S. Lewis

In fiction, the world of Narnia is accessible through a wardrobe; in reality, it is located in Northern Ireland. C. S. Lewis’s fantasy world was inspired by the landscapes of the Antrim Coast and County Down. In a letter to his brother, he declared, “That part of Rostrevor which overlooks Carlingford Lough is my idea of Narnia.” And in his essay “On Stories,” he stated, “I have seen landscapes (notably in the Mourne Mountains) which, under a particular light, made me feel that at any moment a giant might raise his head over the next ridge.”

It is easy to see how the rugged vistas of Northern Ireland inspired Lewis. The ruins of Dunluce Castle, perched on a cliff above the sea, would fit comfortably within the world of Narnia. The hexagonal basalt columns of the Giant’s Causeway feel infused with the magic which Lewis saw in the country. Legend has it that the giant Finn McCool built the Causeway as a bridge over to Scotland. Although New Zealand was the filming location for the movies, the closest you can get to Lewis’s idea of Narnia is Northern Ireland. ^[6]

4 Oxford: His Dark Materials (1995–2000) by Philip Pullman

There are many magical locations visited in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, but the story starts in an alternate version of Oxford. Pullman attended the University of Oxford during the ‘60s, and it clearly left an impact on him because his main character, Lyra, grows up at the university. All of the college buildings spread throughout the city look impressive, but the basis for the fictional Jordan College was probably Pullman’s alma mater, Exeter College. When filming the TV series, though, New College was used as a substitute for Jordan.

There are many Oxford landmarks mentioned throughout the books. You can visit the Covered Market, which sells far more than just the fish mentioned in The Golden Compass; The Pitt Rivers Museum, which Lyra explores in The Subtle Knife; and Jericho, a neighborhood with canals where Pullman’s Gyptians moor their narrowboats.^[7]

3 Birmingham: The Lord of the Rings (1937–1949) by J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien, like his friend C. S. Lewis, was inspired by where he grew up when creating the fantasy world for his novels. Though, again like C. S. Lewis, the adaptations of his works were filmed in New Zealand. Tolkien grew up in and around Birmingham, and the area inspired his descriptions of Middle Earth.

The Shire, the idyllic home of the hobbits, was based on Sarehole, Tolkien’s childhood home, which he described as a “kind of lost paradise.” The peaceful English village was composed of old-fashioned cottages (now gone) and an old mill (which is now a museum). Close by is Moseley Bog, a densely wooded area that is reminiscent of the Old Forest on the edge of the Shire.

Landmarks in the city of Birmingham also inspired the author. For instance, Perrott’s Folly and Edgbaston Waterworks Tower helped Tolkien conjure up his Two Towers. The industrialized Black Country of Birmingham was expanding into his beloved countryside and can clearly be seen as a version of the hellish Mordor.^[8]

2 Whitby: Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker

Bram Stoker drew extensively on Transylvanian folklore when he was researching Dracula. Still, while the novel starts at Dracula’s castle in Transylvania, key elements of the Gothic story did not come together until he visited Whitby for a vacation in 1890. He then chose the English seaside town as one of the novel’s central locations.

Dracula, in the form of a wolf-like creature, runs up the 199 steps that wind up to the impressive ruins of Whitby Abbey. St. Mary’s Churchyard was featured as the location where Lucy is first attacked by the vampire. Whitby’s atmospheric scenery was not the only thing that inspired Stoker, though. He heard of a Russian ship, the Dmitry, which was wrecked on Tate Hill Sands in 1885, and this made it into his novel in the form of Dracula’s ship, the Demeter, meeting the same fate.

In the public library, he read a book that mentioned Vlad Tepes, known as Vlad the Impaler or Dracula. He added the note “Dracula in the Wallachian language means Devil,” and thus, he found the name of his Count. Before this, Stoker had planned to call his vampire Count Wampyr, a name so bad that it probably would have doomed the novel to obscurity.^[9]

1 Ashdown Forest: Winnie-the-Pooh series (1925–1928) by A. A. Milne

If A. A. Milne’s childhood classic books featuring Winnie-the-Pooh and friends adventuring in Hundred Acre Wood captured your imagination as a child, then I’ve got good news for you! Hundred Acre Wood is real, and it’s called Ashdown Forest. Christopher Milne, son of A. A. Milne and inspiration for Christopher Robin, wrote in his autobiography that “Pooh’s forest and Ashdown Forest are identical.”

In 1925 the Milne family bought a holiday home near Ashdown, located only 30 miles from London, in East Sussex. Their time among the pine trees and heathland inspired the classic children’s books. You can even visit the footbridge where Christopher and Pooh play Poohsticks. In the nearby village of Hartfield, you can find Pooh Corner, the village sweet shop that the family visited, which is now a Pooh-themed tea room and museum (called the Pooh-seum).^[10]

There is a subtle line between reality and fantasy. So subtle that it’s easy to cross it. But if we do, are we sure we’re going to end up in a fairy tale? Here are some “fairy tale” syndromes that aren’t so charming if you take a closer look and will make you think twice about crossing that line.

10. Rapunzel Syndrome

The syndrome is named after the main character in the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale with the same name. We all know Rapunzel had a wonderful long hair, which she used to help the prince climb up her tower. The people affected by Rapunzel Syndrome, however, probably don’t have such a beautiful hair because… they eat it.

The medical name of this syndrome is trichobezoar, a rare disorder in which the swallowed hair remains in the stomach, sometimes even for years and it happens when someone eats or chews their own hair. When the hair ball becomes large enough, a part of it is eliminated from the stomach, but it remains attached to the hair ball. When the affected person finally gets to the doctor (with a gastric obstruction) and the hair is removed from the digestive system, it comes out as a “rope” of hair which looks like Rapunzel’s hair.

9. Pollyanna Syndrome

Pollyanna is the main character from Eleanor H. Porter’s book. Although she lost her parents and lives by her aunt’s Polly strict rules, Pollyanna always finds reasons to be happy. She finds good things in all bad things that happen to her, being very optimistic.

Like Pollyanna, people who have this syndrome have a very optimistic way of seeing things and life, thinking that no matter how bad things might get, there will always be a positive outcome. But psychologists consider it an unrealistic optimism, which can even be harmful in some circumstances. This type of optimism favors the use of a “magical thought” which reduces risk perception and makes people cheat on themselves by thinking that no matter what, everything is going to be just fine in the end.

8. Munchausen Syndrome

I believe we all read “The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen,” a book written by Rudolf Erich Raspe in which the main character, the Baron Munchausen always lies or distort the truth in his stories in order to get more attention from its audience.

In a similar way, those affected by Munchausen Syndrome invent illnesses and medical conditions they don’t suffer in order to get the attention of their loved ones or of the society. The affected ones have good knowledge of medicine and they can invent credible symptoms in order to determine the medical staff to begin various medical investigations, treatments and give them attention and comfort. The cause of this medical condition is still unknown but it is believed that people who suffers of this psychological condition might have some type of personality disorder. Other theory refers to parental neglect or abandonment which leads patients to invent illness in order to get attention and feelings of care.

7. Superman Syndrome

Although we might think that this syndrome must be associated with people who believe they have superpowers, things are slightly different.

In fact this syndrome is actually a genetic disorder that only affect males (from which the Superman – or Supermale Syndrome). A double Y chromosome is present in their karyotype and their genetic formula is 47XYY. This means that instead of 46 chromosomes like any regular person, they have 47. The condition is sometimes associated with learning disabilities and delayed development of speech and language and the boys have the tendency of being taller than average. But most males doesn’t even know they are affected. They have normal lives and even have children without ever noticing their syndrome. There is however a theory which sustains that affected men develop a criminal behavior due to a higher level of testosterone.

6. Rip van Winkle Syndrome

Also known as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome or Kleine-Levin Syndrome, it is a rare disorder characterized by long periods of sleep associated with hunger, physical instability, irritability and mental confusion. Sometimes the subjects are also affected by hyper-sexuality. The causes of this syndrome are not quite clear yet and it affects mainly teenagers. There were also cases when it affected children or adults.

The patients have sleeping periods of days or even weeks (in some cases it could be months) and they only wake up for eating or going to bathroom. They are unable of performing any other activity and, while awake, they experience confusion, lethargy and disorientation.

It’s just like Washington Irving’s character, the only difference is the people who are affected by this syndrome don’t sleep for 20 years.

5. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

Another psychological disorder is named after Lewis Carroll’s famous book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” In the book the main character, Alice, falls through a rabbit hole to a fantasy world, full of strange creatures, where weird things happen to her. She gets smaller or bigger depending on circumstances and meets various unusual characters.

In the real life, people affected by Alice in Wonderland Syndrome suffer from a psychological disorder which influence the patient’s visual and mental perception. The characteristic of the syndrome is the complete distortion of space, time, distance and dimension, the patient feels disoriented and might even suffer of depression and fear. Another characteristic of the syndrome are the migraines.

The syndrome might be caused by brain tumors, as well as the effect of drugs or mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr viral infection). Some say that even Lewis Carroll suffered from this syndrome and that it might have been the inspiration for his wonderful book.

4. The Mad Hatter Syndrome

Even if the name of this syndrome is associated with the character of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” the syndrome has its origins in the 19th century and is linked to the hat-making industry.

The disease is actually mercury intoxication and is related with the mentioned industry because in that time mercury was a substance used in the process of turning fur into felt. Because of the lack of environmental ventilation and personal protection, the hat-makers were inhaling high quantities of this toxic metal. The mercury accumulated in the workers’ bodies and caused various symptoms such as tremors, hallucinations, weakness, anxiety, lack of coordination and memory loss.

In the present time we are more informed about mercury intoxication, but it is still used in many products, including cosmetics, processed food and even in drinking water. Another common use of mercury is in dentistry. Mercury is one of the most common fillings used in dental health and is known under the name of “amalgam,” so we should be all careful of not becoming Mad Hatters ourselves.

3. Dorian Gray Syndrome

We all know the story of Dorian Gray, a man who sold his soul to the Devil and remains young while a portrait becomes old on his place. But not everybody knows there is also a syndrome with the same name.

This syndrome was mentioned for the first time about 15 years ago and represents a psychological and social disorder that affects individuals excessively preoccupied by their own image and who develop difficulty in facing the signs of age.

The main symptoms are: the fear of physical imperfections, narcissism, psychological immaturity, the denial of getting older and also the obsession for aesthetic products and plastic surgery. There are many possible causes for this syndrome, from genetic causes to the influence of mass media in the individuality.

2. Peter Pan Syndrome

It is easy to figure out this syndrome. It affects men who are afraid of growing up and even if they are adults they still refuse to act like one. Instead they act like children or teenagers and are incapable of assuming any responsibilities, the same as Peter Pan, the character who refuses to grow and prefers to stay in the world of childhood.

The syndrome is more frequent in men, while women are more affected by the Wendy Syndrome, acting like mothers for their partners.

One of the main cause for the syndrome is the lack of affection during childhood. Those people develop the need of being protected even as grown-ups. Even though these men are very unsure and unable to make decisions, they show themselves as very confident people, in most cases even arrogant, in order to disguise their real character.

While the IQ factor of these persons is generally above average, they don’t develop emotionally, living just like Peter Pan, in a world without worries and responsibilities. Fortunately, with the help of psychotherapy, patients can learn how to accept their fears and, finally, become adults.

1. Othello Syndrome

In Shakespeare’s drama, Othello kills his wife as a result of his jealousy. This is why the character’s name was perfect to describe this dangerous syndrome.

Othello syndrome is defined as morbid jealousy and is a form of illusionary disorder. The main theme of the illusion is that one spouse is cheating the other, making the “cheated one” become aggressive and violent. The patients justify their acts with the excuse that they must confront their partner and make them confess their infidelity.

The syndrome can be triggered by other psychological diseases like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, but it can also be a side effect of alcoholism. The patients, just like Othello, represent a risk for their spouses especially if the partners claim to be innocent. Their violent actions can easily lead to homicide.