Dorset - Best Place To See Snakes!

Dorset has made it into the Lonely Planet list of best places to visit in 2013.

Under the Snakes Alive category, wildlife reserves in Dorset were itemised for their adder-viewing opportunities.

:: SNAKES IN DORSET - The south-west England county is seen as one of the best places to see snakes. The guide says Dorset boasts the full complement of the UK's snake species. Walk softly on warm spring days to witness adders, newly woken from hibernation, coiled like ammonites.

:: LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND - This vibrant, historic, walled city is undergoing a renaissance. The city will buzz throughout 2013, with hundreds of events.

The guidebook asked: ''Will Londonderry's status as European Capital of Culture help to bridge the gaps between Protestants and Catholics?''

:: ROYAL OPERA HOUSE TEA DANCE, LONDON - Chosen as one of the best back-in-time entertainments. The guide talks of huge windows overlooking Covent Garden piazza, while the nimble feet of all ages do the steps and it's all to the accompaniment of the Royal Opera House Dance Band.

:: SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE THEATRE, LONDON - Also on the back-in-time category. According to the guide, attending a Shakespeare performance here is unlike any other theatrical experience, especially if you stand with the ''groundlings''.

:: TOWER OF LONDON - An entry under the category of unluckiest places in the world. Lonely Planet says it was here that many unlucky nobles met their untimely end at the edge of the executioner's blade. The case of the elderly Countess of Salisbury is raised. Her executioner had to belt after her as she tried to make a run for it before getting the chop in 1541.

:: CYCLING IN LONDON - The ''Boris Bike'' scheme in London is included in the cities with bike-sharing schemes category. The guide says that on streets more accustomed to red double-decker buses and black taxis, the two-wheeled machines have been a surprising hit.

:: HADRIAN'S WALL, NORTH EAST ENGLAND - Listed as one of the world's great wall walks. The guide says Roman Emperor Hadrian was a lover of Greek culture but ''wasn't so fond of the Scots''. He therefore commenced building a barrier of stone, turf, forts and ditches from Wallsend on the River Tyne to the shores of the Solway Firth to mark out the northernmost reach of his empire.

:: OFFA'S DYKE, ENGLAND-WALES BORDER - Also in the great wall walk category. Offa was King of Mercia in the 8th century who built a wall to keep the Welsh out, except it was more a ditch that was around 180 miles (290km) in length. It traverses a land ''that still feels like a wild frontier'', says the guide.