8 Best Literary Days Out and Tours in the UK for Book Lovers

2026 is the National Year of Reading in the UK, making it a wonderful time to plan a literary day out or book-inspired short break. Britain has a remarkable storytelling heritage, from world-famous authors and classic novels to children’s stories and detective fiction. Across the UK, you can visit the landscapes and buildings that inspired some of the best-loved books and characters ever created.  The  time has never been better to take a day trip to the homes, theatres, museums and filming locations that celebrate British authors.

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Why the UK is great for literary days out

Many of the world’s most famous writers lived in the UK, drawing inspiration from its cities, landscapes and culture. Visit the home of Beatrix Potter or Agatha Christie.  Take a trip to the locations that inspired the Bronte sisters or the stories of Winnie the Pooh.  Walk in the footsteps of Jane Austen and the filming locations for the screen adaptations of her books.  Take a day out inspired by William Shakespeare, Harry Potter or the most famous of detective Sherlock Holmes.  In this guide there are 8 top days out or short breaks for book lovers.

The best Harry Potter locations in London

With 2026 marking 25 years since the first Harry Potter film arrived in cinemas, it is a perfect time to explore the London locations that helped bring the wizarding world to life. From real streets and markets used on screen to the studios where all eight films were made, if you are a Harry Potter fan you can enjoy two unforgettable days out close to the capital.

The Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour with Transfers takes you to Warner Bros studio, home of the Harry Potter film series for more than a decade. You can experience the authentic sets of the Great Hall and Diagon Alley, the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 ¾, venture into the Forbidden Forest and discover Gringotts Wizarding Bank. With costumes, props, special effects and behind-the-scenes secrets, it is the ultimate day out if you want to see how the magic was made.

The most comprehensive and exclusive Harry Potter tour in London is a small-group walking tour designed to cover as many Harry Potter London filming locations as possible in a short time. The route includes Leadenhall Market, Borough Market, Millennium Bridge, Scotland Yard and the official Harry Potter shop at King’s Cross. At around 6 km, it is a fun way to combine Harry Potter sightseeing with an introduction to different parts of London and its history.

Shakespeare’s birthplace and Globe Theatre

Few writers have shaped world literature quite like William Shakespeare, whose plays and poems have been performed around the world for more than 400 years. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, Shakespeare became one of Britain’s greatest cultural figures, with works including Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream still drawing readers and theatre-goers today.

For a literary day out, Stratford-upon-Avon brings his story vividly to life through Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and the site of New Place, his family home until his death in 1616, now commemorated with beautiful gardens. This Shakespeare's Birthplace Ticket will get you access to Shakespeare’s Birthplace and New Place gardens.

In London, the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Guided Tour offers another powerful connection to Shakespeare’s legacy, recreating the open-air “wooden O” where audiences can experience the atmosphere of Elizabethan theatre. Together, Stratford and the Globe make a memorable short break for book lovers celebrating Britain’s Year of Reading.

The London of Sherlock Holmes

Few fictional characters are as closely tied to London as Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s brilliant detective. First appearing in print in 1887, Sherlock Holmes became famous for his sharp powers of deduction, his rooms at 221B Baker Street, and his partnership with Dr Watson as they solved mysteries across Victorian London. Across four novels and 56 short stories, from A Study in Scarlet to the gothic drama of The Hound of the Baskervilles, Conan Doyle created one of British literature’s most enduring figures. Today, Holmes remains a favourite with readers, film fans and television audiences. For book lovers celebrating Britain’s Year of Reading, a Sherlock Holmes-themed walk offers a wonderfully atmospheric way to explore the UK capital through the stories, settings and legends of a true literary icon.

The highly rated Sherlock Holmes-Themed Walking Tour brings together the places that shaped Sherlock Holmes’ original stories, Arthur Conan Doyle’s inspirations, and later TV and film adaptations. Starting where Holmes and Watson first meet, the route takes in atmospheric London locations including gentlemen’s clubs, grand hotels and streets connected to the novels and short stories, while an expert guide shares the real places and ideas that bring Sherlock Holmes to life.

Jane Austen’s house in Chawton, Regency Bath and other major Jane Austen locations

In 2025, Jane Austen’s England was named the top destination on The New York Times list of 52 Places to Visit.  The 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth in 2025 makes now a perfect time to take a tour of the best Jane Austen locations in the UK. Jane Austen captured the lives of the 18th-century landed gentry, inspiring generations of readers worldwide and countless film and TV adaptations. The key places to visit on a Jane Austen itinerary are Jane Austen’s house in Chawton and Regency Bath which was Jane Austen’s home and inspiration. If you have more time then this 5 day itinerary guides you on a tour of the best of England’s Jane Austen sites from her childhood home in Steventon, to Chawton where she spent her final years, the elegant Regency architecture of Bath and her final resting place in Winchester Cathedral.

Bath is a top Jane Austen location because its atmosphere and architecture can make it seem as though you are living in a Jane Austen novel. Bath: The Jane Austen Centre Ticket - 2026 (Verified Reviews) celebrates Bath's most famous resident and gives visitors a feel of life in Regency times including the fashions and customs that would have inspired Jane Austen's novels.

Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood

2026 marks 100 years since the first publication of A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh, a much-loved book that has inspired and comforted generations of children. It is the perfect time to explore the places behind the stories — the New York Times lists Winnie the Pooh’s England as one of its top 52 places to visit in 2026. In East Sussex, Ashdown Forest feels far removed from the bustle of towns and cities while remaining easy to reach, especially on an organised tour.

On Winnie-the-Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood Day Tour from London you will discover real-world locations including Poohsticks Bridge, Roo’s Sandy Pit, the Heffalump Trap, the Mile and The Enchanted Place, where a memorial honours A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard, illustrator of the famous books.  

Agatha Christie’s house at Greenway

Agatha Christie, the best-selling fiction writer of all time, spent many happy holidays at Greenway, an elegant Georgian house set beside the River Dart in Devon. Best known for her 66 detective novels, often featuring Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, Christie found a peaceful retreat at Greenway among woodland gardens, light-filled rooms and beautiful riverside views. The house, with its pale exterior and relaxed interiors, sits above gardens that tumble down towards the River Dart, including the boathouse that famously became the scene of the crime in her Poirot mystery Dead Man’s Folly.

Beatrix Potter’s home at Hill Top

Beatrix Potter, one of the world’s best-loved children’s authors, drew inspiration for many of her famous books from Hill Top, her Lake District farmhouse.  Beatrix Potter bought Hill Top in 1905 with profits from her early illustrated tales, including The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Visitors can still spot echoes of Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Jemima Puddle-Duck and other much-loved characters throughout the house, garden and preserved rooms. Hill Top is one of the best literary days out in the Lake District for families and book lovers.  Beatrix Potter’s love of the landscape lives on in the farms, cottages and 4,000 acres she left to the National Trust.

The Brontë sisters’ home in Haworth

Haworth, home to the Brontë sisters, sits in a part of Yorkshire known as Brontë country named after the sisters who used the Yorkshire landscape as a backdrop to their novels. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë lived in Haworth during the 1800s and went on to write some of the world’s most famous novels including Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The former Brontë home in Haworth is now The Brontë Parsonage Museum which provides a fascinating insight into the lives of the Brontës. Haworth also offers the opportunity to travel via steam railway onto Keighley and is a good jumping off point for other quaint Yorkshire villages such as Hebden Bridge.

Let someone else take the strain and join this Dales and Brontë Country Small Group Tour from Manchester of the beautiful Yorkshire Dales and Brontë Country including a visit to Haworth, home of the Brontë sisters.