united kingdom

Elan Valley Tucked into the southern edge of the Cambrian Mountains, Elan Valley is one of the most rewarding places to explore in Mid Wales. This is a landscape shaped by water and Victorian ambition: six dams and reservoirs, built between the late 1800s and early 1900s, sit across a wild 72-square-mile estate that makes

Sandwood Bay Sandwood Bay sits on the far northwest coast of Sutherland, tucked into some of the wildest coastline in mainland Scotland. There’s no road to it. No car park at the beach itself. No café, no gift shop, no toilet block waiting at the end of the walk. Getting there means a four-mile hike

Cape Wrath There is a reason Cape Wrath carries its name. Long before it became a byword for remoteness, Norse sailors called this headland “Hvarf,” meaning turning point, because it marked the spot where they changed course on their voyages around Scotland. Today it still marks a kind of turning point for travelers, since Cape

Loch Maree Loch Maree sits quietly in Wester Ross, overshadowed in popularity by Loch Ness and Loch Lomond, yet many Highland travellers consider it one of the most beautiful stretches of water in Scotland. It stretches for around 20 kilometres between the village of Kinlochewe and the coastal town of Gairloch, framed on one side

Knoydart Peninsula The Knoydart Peninsula sits on Scotland’s west coast, wedged between Loch Nevis and Loch Hourn, and it is one of the only places in mainland Britain with no road connection at all. Visitors reach it by a short ferry crossing from Mallaig or a two-day walk over some of the roughest terrain in

Assynt Scotland Assynt Scotland sits in the far northwest Highlands, a landscape so unusual that first-time visitors often stop the car just to look at it properly. Ancient mountains rise straight out of flat, lochan-scattered moorland with no foothills to soften the effect. Suilven, Canisp and Stac Pollaidh stand apart from one another like sculptures

Glen Affric Glen Affric sits in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, west of Loch Ness, and is widely regarded as one of the most scenic glens in the country. Ancient Caledonian pine forest lines the lower slopes, while lochs and rugged mountains stretch out beyond, creating a landscape that changes dramatically with the seasons.

Stiperstones Stiperstones is one of the most striking landscapes in the Shropshire Hills, a jagged ridge of shattered quartzite rock rising above heather-covered moorland close to the Welsh border. Unlike the smoother, greener hills that surround it, Stiperstones has a raw, almost otherworldly character, shaped by ice and frost over millions of years and topped

Rhinog Mountains If you want to see Eryri (Snowdonia) without the crowds, the Rhinog Mountains are one of the best places to go. Tucked between Harlech and Trawsfynydd on the western edge of the national park, the Rhinogydd, as they’re known in Welsh, are famous for being rough, trackless and largely untouched by tourism. There’s

Dinas Rock Dinas Rock is one of the most striking natural landmarks in South Wales, rising between two rivers at the head of the Vale of Neath. Known in Welsh as Craig y Ddinas, meaning “Fortress Rock,” this limestone promontory sits within Bannau Brycheiniog National Park (formerly the Brecon Beacons) and forms part of the