A printed brochure is still one of the nicest ways to plan a UK trip — but where you get one has changed a lot. The national tourist boards have largely stopped printing, while many regional and city tourism organisations still publish a free annual visitor guide. Here is what is genuinely available in 2026, checked against each organisation’s own website on 20 October 2026.
Does VisitBritain still send brochures?
No. VisitBritain and VisitEngland, the national tourism agencies, say on their own help pages that they no longer print brochures or posters and that all their resources are online. They point visitors to the digital guides from VisitScotland and Visit Wales, and to Ordnance Survey for maps. VisitBritain help centre.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Scotland — VisitScotland offers free downloadable PDF maps of Scotland through its resources page, but no postal brochure service, and it has been closing its iCentre visitor information network under a “digital-first” approach.
- Wales — Visit Wales publishes its national brochure, This is Wales, as a PDF, alongside regional guides from partners such as Cadw, Eryri, Swansea Bay, Visit Cardiff and Pembrokeshire, all linked from its brochures page.
- Northern Ireland — Tourism NI offers a downloadable Visitor Information Map in six languages via its brochures and guides toolkit.
Free regional visitor guides you can still get
These organisations publish a current guide and say so on their own websites. Several will still post a printed copy.
- Lake District & Cumbria — Cumbria Tourism’s Lake District, Cumbria Holiday Guide 2026 is available in print for the cost of postage, or to read online, alongside a 2026 Attractions Guide. Order or download. See our Cumbria and Keswick guides.
- Portsmouth — the Official Portsmouth Visitor Guide 2026, as a PDF or posted on request, plus mini guides in eight languages. Brochures and guides. See our Portsmouth guide.
- County Durham — the Durham Pocket Guide 2026 is posted free on request. Request a copy.
- Colchester — the Visit Colchester Guide 2026 can be ordered online or read digitally, and is also stocked in tourist information centres. Colchester visitor guide. See our Essex guide.
- Liverpool City Region — a free printed Visitor Guide (Winter 2026 edition) to collect from the Liverpool ONE tourist information centre, with a digital version online. Details.
- Devon — the Visit Devon Guide 2026 as an online brochure. Maps and guides. See our South Devon guide.
- Staffordshire — the free Explore Staffordshire Visitor Map as a PDF. Download the map.
- Eastbourne — the Eastbourne Holiday Guide 2026, now digital only after the council stopped printing it. Read online. See our Eastbourne guide.
Free holiday brochures by post
If you want a stack of printed brochures to browse at the kitchen table, TravelBrochures — run by Catalink, the brochure request service — lets you request free printed holiday brochures from UK tour operators delivered to your door, or read digital editions straight away. It is the closest thing left to the old “send off for the brochure” experience now that the national tourist boards have stopped printing.
Tourist information centres
Many local tourist information centres still stock free leaflets and visitor guides — Colchester’s 2026 guide, for example, is distributed through tourist information centres, and Liverpool’s is handed out at its city-centre TIC. But the network is shrinking: VisitScotland has been closing its iCentres, and a number of English councils have closed theirs to save money. Always check a centre is still open before making a special trip.
Planning online instead
Our own A–Z of UK visitor guides covers 77 destinations across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the UK’s islands, each with things to do, getting there, where to stay and upcoming events. The UK events calendar lists thousands of dated, verified events, and our travel guides cover seasonal ideas from Christmas markets to coastal walks.