Best scenic destinations in the United Kingdom

Situated in the county of Cumbria, this beautiful region is famous for its associations with 19th century poets, including William Wordsworth and a group of what were dubbed Lake Poets at the turn of the 19th century.

While it was popular back then with the Lake Poets, the Lake District is still an attractive holiday destination today.  An interesting point is that only one of the several lakes in the Lake District actually carry that name, and that is Bassenthwaite Lake, while others are named using the terms mere, tarn or water, with examples being Buttermere, Coniston Water, Ulleswater and Windermere.

The area offers many activities including fishing, boating, birding and hiking and the surrounding scenery is, quite simply, beautiful.

Wales and Snowdonia National Park

Despite being a National Park, there is a fair amount of agricultural activity in the area and some of the most picturesque villages in the country, including Betws-y-Coed and Beddgelert, are to be found there. 

The area is steeped in local history and culture, with over half the population speaking Welsh.

There are also several beautiful walks on the lower mountains with favourites being Y Garn, which runs along the ridge of Elidir Fawr, Mynydd Tal-y-Midnedd, just to the west of Snowdon and several others.  The area is a walker’s dream, with 1,479 miles of public footpaths and 164 miles of public bridleways to explore.

Of interest is that almost 20 percent of Snowdonia National Park comes under the protection of the European Habitats Directive, protecting all the various animal and bird species in the area.

Northern Ireland and Downhill Strand

Close to the beach can be found the village of Downhill and close by the Mussenden Temple can be visited, located high above the Atlantic on the cliffs near Castlerock in County Londonderry. 

Part of the National Trust property of Downhill Estate, the surrounding grounds and the manor house on the property, Downhill Castle, are open to the public all year around.

Here we will briefly explore the Hebrides, which is a widespread archipelago off Scotland’s west coast.  The islands fall into two groups, the Inner and Outer Hebrides and it is interesting to note that the culture of the residents has been affected over the years by various invasions of the Celtic, Norse and English-speaking peoples.

There is much evidence of the past occupation of the islands including the fascinating standing stones at Callanish, which date back to the 3rd millennium BC (pictured below).  Another interesting site is Cladh Hallan, which is a Bronze Age settlement on South Uist.  This is the apparently only site in the U.K. where archeologists have found prehistoric mummies.