Thornborough Henges is sometimes referred to as the ‘Stonehenge of the North’. And it’s easy to see why. Its three huge circular earthworks – each more than 200 metres in diameter – wield a sense and power and intrigue that matches the aura of its southern counterpart. The henges date from 3000 to 2500 BC and were built by Neolithic farming communities over an earlier rectangular enclosure known as a cursus. People gathered here for ceremonies and funeral rituals for at least 2,000 years, and the henges remained important into the early Bronze Age.

Located near the picturesque village of West Tanfield in North Yorkshire, the earthworks are part of a wider ritual landscape found along a 7.5-mile stretch of the river Ure. Like other henges across Britain, the Thornborough henges are each surrounded by an earthen bank. These would have originally stood up to four metres tall and were broken by two entrances facing each other, which it has been suggested were aligned with the movement of particular stars. The southern entrances of the northern and central henges are also aligned with the midwinter solstice sunrise.

The northern henge, which is currently under woodland, is the best preserved of the three henges and gives a strong impression of how the others would have originally looked. Yet the monuments have seen little archaeological excavation and many unanswered questions remain, from when exactly the henges were built to what features were inside them. The stories and mysteries surrounding these massive, enigmatic monuments – all of which are now in the care of English Heritage – will no doubt continue to enthral visitors for generations to come.

Dr Jennifer Wexler, senior properties historian

Housesteads Roman Fort was built in the AD 120s as part of Emperor Hadrian’s policy of reforming the frontiers of the Roman Empire. Hadrian came to the Roman province of Britannia in AD 122 to oversee the construction of a vast barrier that ran for 73 miles across northern England, marking the north-western border of the Roman Empire. Fifteen forts were built along the line of the Wall, and Housesteads Fort stood about midway along its length on the dramatic rocky ridgeline known as the Whin Sill. It housed a garrison of 800 soldiers, whose job was to protect and patrol the landscape. The garrison who lived within Housesteads was from Tungria – a district in the Roman province Gallia Belgica (modern-day Belgium).

The fort’s walls were excavated in the 19th century and the interior buildings over the 20th century. Their beautifully preserved remains give us insight into the community who lived and thrived here. At the highest point of the fort stood the large granaries, which once held vital food supplies. The still-visible rows of upright stones supported a raised timber floor ensuring air could circulate underneath to keep the food inside cool.

The Praetorium was home to the commanding officer (prefect) and his family. Reflecting his wealth and status, the complex remains include a private open-air courtyard, kitchen and stables, and lavish reception rooms and bedrooms, each with central heating. Two of the 10 fort barracks are visible today, each of which was home to 80 men under the command of a centurion. Each of their 10 compartments was home to eight soldiers, who lived their lives together in relatively cramped conditions. They would have washed in the communal bathhouse next door and sat next to each other with no privacy in the communal toilet block – one of the most remarkable survivors from a Roman fort in Britain.

Dr Andrew Roberts, properties historian

Dominating the White Cliffs and perched high above the Strait of Dover is the most iconic of all English fortresses. Dover Castle guarded England’s front door for more than 900 years, an immense period stretching from the invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066 to the Cold War in the reign of Elizabeth II. The monk historian Matthew Paris had good reason to name it ‘the key to England’.

Seen from above, the concentric lines of its medieval walls become clear, studded with gates and towers, and clinging to a high chalk ridge above the town. Built at the command of the powerful King Henry II, the castle’s defences retain much of his work from the 1180s, when they formed a pioneering essay in castle architecture and state-of-the-art fortification. A closer inspection will uncover works from a later age, when Georgian military engineers raised massive earth ramparts to support cannons, ready to face an invasion by the army of Revolutionary France.

On the ground, the castle is rich in historical detail. Climb to the top of the mighty Great Tower and walk among its decorated and furnished interiors that place you in the company of the visiting household of Henry II. Look through the windows of the Fire Command Post for a wide view of the sea and imagine being on the lookout for enemy ships during the First and Second World Wars. Or go deep underground into the Secret Wartime Tunnels, to discover how Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay and his team planned how to save the British Expeditionary Force, stranded at Dunkirk in May 1940.

Paul Pattison, senior historian

For more than 600 years Wrest Park was home to the de Grey family, with each generation leaving their mark on the landscape. The house, in the style of a 17th-century French chateau, was built by Thomas, 2nd Earl de Grey, in the 1830s, replacing a much earlier building that was located some 250 metres further to the south. Thomas created formal flower gardens around the new house and built an enormous walled kitchen garden, complete with glasshouses and accommodation for the head gardener and coachman. Earl de Grey also built an orangery, again in the French style, that he stocked with orange trees acquired from King Louis Philippe of France.

To the south of the formal gardens is the much older great woodland garden, laid out on either side of the Long Water, which has provided a focus for the gardens since it was created in the late 17th century. At its head is Thomas Archer’s magnificent baroque pavilion, a grand banqueting house that terminates the long vista looking south from the house. The woodland garden is bounded on three sides by canals, deformalised by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown in the late 1750s. Here, fringing the garden, we find several garden buildings, including the picturesque Bath House, the classical Bowling Green House and the Chinese Temple and Bridge.

Within the woodland blocks, there are small clearings with statues and monuments waiting to be discovered, accessed via straight rides and wiggly paths curving through the undergrowth. All these elements combine to make Wrest an exceptional garden, one that encapsulates every style of gardening from the late 17th to the mid-19th centuries. A walk through the gardens at Wrest is in every sense a journey through garden history.

Dr Andrew Hann, historians’ team leader