Water in the United Kingdom

The world's first successful water-powered cotton mill paved the way for the factories of the British Industrial Revolution.

In the right conditions a wall of water up to five feet tall flows upstream against the current on the River Trent.

FIFA deemed this isolated field one of the most remarkable places to play the sport.

The photographs of "fairies" that fooled much of the world (including the creator of Sherlock Homes) were taken at this English stream.

This chain of artificial lakes was an ideal test ground for the aircraft that would carry the "bouncing bombs" used by the WWII "Dambusters" squad.

This pump on the bad side of Victorian London betrayed a horrifying revelation about the water supply.

The oldest continual pilgrimage site in Britain was supposedly created by a gruesome beheading.

The largest cave chamber in Britain—big enough to fit a whole cathedral inside.

This restored 17th century "conduit house," often mistaken for a watchtower, actually supplied water to nearby Bolsover Castle.

A plaque installed underwater marks the fall of a royal family from an imagined parallel universe—part of a globe-spanning art project.

Overlooking a Scottish loch, this beautifully crumbling castle once inspired a poem by William Wordsworth.

Harry Potter once visited this massive limestone cliff, which was carved by an ancient glacial river.

This lovely little burbling creek is actually a deadly waterway that has dragged down everyone who ever set foot in it.

Half-drowned wooden stumps and stone blocks are all that remain of a Victorian landing that was destroyed by storms.

A well for a well, this anachronistically Indian-styled water pit was built in its small town home in gratitude for a similar favor.

The longest and tallest aqueduct in Britain can actually be sailed across.