The western extremities of Cornwall beyond Penzance are rugged, sparsely inhabited places. The region built it's fortune on tin mining, with the last pits not closing until as late as 1993. It's development though was slowed due to the fact the railway extended no further than Penzance (and in the beginning this was fairly remote in railway terms, most trains going to the larger towns of Newquay and Falmouth).

St Just and Sennen are the two biggest towns between Penzance and Land's End. While St Just owes a lot to the mining industry, Sennen has built it's repuation on fishing and tourism due to it being the nearest resort to Land's End.

The town of Weymouth is situated at the mouth of the River Wey in Dorset, next to the peninsula of Portland. Although it's wealth was initially built on trade and fishing, it is most famous for it's tourist industry which exploded in the mid 19th century with the arrival of the railway.

It is now a vibrant local hub for business and transport and is due to host the sailing events of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Portsmouth is the home of the Royal Navy, and has been for centuries. Henry VIIIs flagship the Mary Rose sailed from here on her ill-fated voyage in 1545 and her remains are preserved to this day in Portsmouth along with her equally famous descendent, HMS Victory.

Portsmouth, along with Southampton, form the longest urban conurbation on the south coast and marks the boundary between Sussex to the east and Hampshire to the west, officially being within the latter.

The Amazon World zoo on the Isle of Wight, located near Ryde

The Needles is one of the best known location on the Isle of Wight, with the lighthouse dwarfed by the massive cliffs guarding the entrance to the Solent.

It is home to the famous cliffs where stone of different colours, due to them being of different types, and a thriving tourist industry.

One of my favourite places in the UK, Romney Marsh in Kent. A truly unique landscape, ranging from rolling downland and pasture at the eastern end around Hythe through along the coast to the shingle expanse at Dungeness and home to several coastal towns such as Dymchurch and New Romney which made their name and wealth in the 1950s with holiday traffic.

The area is still home to the world famous Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, which contributed in no small part to the tourist boom, a nucelar power station and London Ashford International Airport (at Lydd).

Local legend has it that this large cut through the South Downs was made by the Devil to flood the Weald, although it strikes me more as a glacial type addition much like the one at Birling Gap. Nevertheless it offers stunning views accross the Weald.

Horsham first grew up as a staging point on the London to Worthing / Littlehampton road. Following the arrival of the railway in the 1830s it became a focal point for local market traffic and business.

Horsham is now a historical market town which remains an imporant centre for local trade and the intersection of major roads linking London, Gatwick, the South Coast, Guildford and Dorking.

The town of Littlehampton is more industrial than several of its neighbours. Unlike it's neighbours Worthing, Bognor Regis and Brighton it never developed as a seaside resort but has developed as a small port at the mouth of the River Arun.

Today Littlehampton forms the end of the urban sprawl which spreads all the way from Rottingdean to the east of Brighton

Portmeirion is a town built in the 1920s on the idea of an Italian resort. It was used in the 1960s to film the TV series The Prisoner

Some photos from the foothills and shadow of Mount Snowdon in north west Wales and the town of Caernarfon

Coventry is the birthplace of the motor car. Famous names such as Jaguar and Singer have been based here and car making was the main source of income for the city. However, much of the infrastructure was destroyed by the war, with nothing more famous than the destruction of the cathedral, and it's remains survive today as a beacon of peace and understanding between people.

Coventry today is much like most other West Midlands cities with large shopping districts the main economic lifeblood. It is also home to a post-1992 University where yours truly is a student.