UK Solo Female Travel Safety Tips and Advice

On this page you will find first-hand, unbiased, and real safety tips, advice and reviews from women traveling solo, submitted directly from their personal experiences in the country.

Their opinions are unfiltered and submitted independently as part of the Solo Female Travel Safety Index, a ranking of 210 countries and regions based on how safe they are for women traveling solo.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers.

You don’t need to login to read the below reviews. But do sign up or login to share your solo travel experiences, country safety rating and comments.

United Kingdom Country data

We have compiled a few data points below that can help you better understand United Kingdom and have more context when thinking about travel safety.

Official country name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Etymology: Self-descriptive country name. The designation "Great Britain," in the sense of "Larger Britain," dates back to medieval times and was used to distinguish the island from "Little Britain," or Brittany in modern France. The name Ireland derives from the Gaelic "Eriu," the matron goddess of Ireland (goddess of the land).

Capital: London.

Independence / foundation: The UK has no official date of independence. These are relevant dates throughout history: In 927, the minor English kingdoms unite. On the 3rd of March 1284, the enactment of the Statute of Rhuddlan united England and Wales. In 1536, the Act of Union formally incorporated England and Wales. On the 1st of May 1707, the Acts of Union formally united England, Scotland, and Wales as Great Britain.

On the 1st of January 1801, the Acts of Union formally united Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. On the 6th of December 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty formalized partition of Ireland, six counties remained part of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. On the 12th of April 1927, the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act established the current name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Population: 68 million.

Currency: British Pound (GBP)
1 USD = 0.79 GBP
1 EUR = 0.86 GBP

Time zone: UTC 0

Languages spoken: English. Note - the following are recognized regional languages: Scots (about 30% of the population of Scotland), Scottish Gaelic (about 60,000 speakers in Scotland), Welsh (about 20% of the population of Wales), Irish (about 10% of the population of Northern Ireland), Cornish (some 2,000 to 3,000 people in Cornwall).

Religions: Christian (includes Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 60%, Muslim 4%, Hindu 1%, other 2%, unspecified 7%, none 26%.

Climate: Temperate climate moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current. More than half of the days are overcast.

Real GDP (ppp – purchasing power parity): $3.18 trillion.

Real GDP per capita (ppp): $47,600.

Main airports: London Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport, London Gatwick Airport.

World heritage sites in United Kingdom

There are over 1,100 world heritage sites spread across more than 165 countries. New ones are added every year, and some may be removed from the list for various reasons.

Number of UNESCO listed sites: 34.

Top world heritage sites:

- Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey including Saint Margaret’s Church.
- Old and New Towns of Edinburgh.
- Tower of London.
- Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast.
- Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd.
- Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey.
- Ironbridge Gorge.
- Durham Castle and Cathedral.
- Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites.
- Blenheim Palace.
- City of Bath.
- Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
- St Kilda.
- Henderson Island.
- Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church.
- Gough and Inaccessible Islands.
- Maritime Greenwich.
- Heart of Neolithic Orkney.
- Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda.
- Blaenavon Industrial Landscape.
- New Lanark.
- Dorset and East Devon Coast.
- Saltaire.
- Derwent Valley Mills.
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City Delisted 2021.
- Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape.
- Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal.
- The Forth Bridge.
- Gorham's Cave Complex.
- The English Lake District.
- Jodrell Bank Observatory.
- The Great Spa Towns of Europe.
- The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales.

Interesting facts about United Kingdom

- Stonehenge, one of UK's most famous attractions, is older than Egypt's pyramids. It was built in six stages between 3000 and 1520 BCE.

- UK's beautiful coastline is famous for its stunning landscapes and its 779 beaches even thogh the weather may not be inviting most of the time.

- The British really love their tea. The UK is one of the highest consumers of tea per capita in the world.

- Great Britain and the United Kingdom actually mean two different things. The United Kingdom incorporates England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, while Great Britain refers only to the island of England, Scotland, and Wales. In fact, the full name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

- The United Kingdom was the first country to use postage stamps. The first stamp was known as the Penny Black and was issued in May 1840.

- Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world, being in use since the 11th century. It’s still one of the official residences of The Queen. There are many fun facts about the Queen. For example, she does not need a passport as all British passports are issued in her name.

Further reading: N/A.

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United Kingdom Travel tips

More about United Kingdom on Solo Female Travelers

- Scotland tour (join waitlist)

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About the Solo Female Travel Safety Index

Safety matters to solo female travelers, you told us so in our annual Solo Female Travel Survey, where year after year, women prove that this is their most important concern when traveling solo.

We wanted to do something about it, so we built these country-specific pages where you can find reviews and scores for 7 key variables affecting the safety of women traveling solo.

How to use the Safety Index

On this page, you will find the country score and the personal opinions on safety of other women traveling solo.

You can sort the comments by:

• The level of experience traveling solo of the reviewer (beginner = <5 trips solo, Intermediate = 5 to 10 trips solo, Experienced = >10 trips solo).
• The age of the traveler.
• Whether they are a visitor or local.
• The date they were posted.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers. 

Thus, the lower the score, the safer the country.

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Looking for more safety resources?

This entire website is devoted to helping women travel solo. Check out the links below to learn more:

Solo Female Travel Stats: Results from the the largest, most comprehensive and only global research study on solo female travel trends, preferences and behaviors published.

Thanks to Jacobo Vilella for creating the Solo Female Travelers Safety Index ❤️