Mapped: Britain’s 46 National Landscapes
If you’re in a National Park, you’re likely there because of its status as one. If not, there’ll be a sign nearby reminding you.
Not so Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Though both designations share the main remit of protecting the UK’s most spectacular scenery, most of us have no idea where AONBs are; indeed, it’s only a decade since Google Maps added the boundaries of these scenic honeypots.
Addressing that ignorance is one reason behind the push to rebrand the 46 AONBs of England, Wales and Northern Ireland as National Landscapes. (Scotland runs its own equivalent scheme: National Scenic Areas.)
Another is a kick up the biodiversity backside, encouraging work towards fulfilling the original brief to “conserve and enhance natural beauty”. Mainly, it’s hoped, it’ll improve recognition and encourage more “quiet enjoyment of the countryside”.
Whatever the name, these areas remain outstandingly beautiful – and, naturally, accessible to us all. Use our interactive map to explore all 46 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and find out how to visit them.
Britain's National Landscapes
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England
1. Arnside and Silverdale
Tucked into the elbow of Morecambe Bay is this compact corner of orchid-spangled limestone meadows, wooded hills, glistening saltmarsh and swathes of sand. Admire sweeping vistas across the Kent Estuary to the Cumbrian fells from the top of Arnside Knott, choose from some 100km of walking trails, or spy bitterns, otters and marsh harriers among the reedbeds of RSPB Leighton Moss.
Where to stay
The Wheatsheaf at Beetham has doubles from ￡108 including breakfast. Find out more arnsidesilverdaleaonb.org.uk.
2. Blackdown Hills
Straddling the Devon-Somerset border, the Blackdown Hills unfold from their sheer northern scarp like a crumpled green patchwork carpet. This is a region rich in timeless rural lifestyles: cob-and-thatch villages, hidden valleys, moors and cattle-grazed meadows, punctuated by the odd Iron Age hillfort and relics of WWII RAF airfields. Climb to the Elizabethan beehive-shaped flint Culmstock Beacon to survey the landscape.
Where to stay
Blackdown Yurts cost from ￡80 per night (sleeps four; two night minimum). Find out more blackdownhillsaonb.org.uk.
3. Cannock Chase
England’s smallest mainland National Landscape, Cannock Chase nonetheless plays a big role as the green lungs of the West Midlands. And it always has: a millennium ago this was a royal hunting forest, bequeathing a diverse faunal legacy. Free-roaming fallow deer share heaths, valleys and ancient broadleaf woodland with adders, woodlarks and nightjars, whose distinctive churring song haunts the breeze on summer evenings.
Where to stay
The Swan Hotel in Stafford has doubles from ￡65, room only. Find out more cannock-chase.co.uk.
4. Chichester Harbour
This south-coast sanctuary may be small – and smaller still at high tide, when 41 per cent is inundated – but its skies and conservation importance are vast. Birders flock to its mosaic of saltmarsh, mudflats and reedbeds to spot brent goose, black-tailed godwit, curlew and sandwich tern. Near pancake-flat, it’s perfect for Sunday cyclists; pedal the 12-mile Saltern Way for a précis of its highlights.
Where to stay
Beach House in West Wittering has doubles from ￡155 including breakfast. Find out more conservancy.co.uk.
5. Chilterns
The Chilterns’ chalk downs, riverbanks and flint-faced villages have inspired writers from Shelley to Roald Dahl via Rupert Brooke and Kenneth Grahame – not to mention numerous Midsomer Murders. Amid rolling pastures and fields, precious nature thrives in beech and box woods, rare chalk streams and wildflower meadows strewn with butterflies like confetti. For a cross-section taster, tackle the 87-mile Ridgeway National Trail.
How to explore
The Carter Company’s Chilterns Chalk and Cheese six-night self-guided walking holiday costs from ￡1,385pp. Find out more national-landscapes.org.uk/national-landscapes/chilterns.
6. Cornwall
The 11 patches of Cornwall’s often craggy, always enchanting coastline comprise the lion’s share of this landscape, but don’t ignore the bleakly captivating mini-Dartmoor around Bodmin, all granite tors and Neolithic cairns.
Nearly half of the 630-mile South West Coast Path meanders Cornwall’s shores, perfect for spotting seals, choughs and basking sharks, via Poldark-era tin mines and postcard-pretty fishing harbours including Boscastle, Port Isaac and Cadgwith.
Where to stay
St Mawes Hotel has doubles from ￡180 including breakfast. Find out more cornwall-aonb.gov.uk, and plan the perfect holiday in Cornwall with our guide.
7. Cotswolds
Away from tour-bus favourites Castle Combe and Bourton-on-the-Water, the Cotswolds is very much a living landscape. Pick your spot and you can amble sheep-grazed hillsides to find hidden honey-stone hamlets where West Country twangs singsong through cosy pubs. The 102-mile Cotswold Way is the headline long-distance trail, but follow the Limestone Link or double-loop Winchcombe Way to dodge the crowds.
How to explore
Saddle Skedaddle’s eight-day Oxford and the Cotswolds self-guided cycling holiday costs from ￡1,725pp. Find out more cotswolds-nl.org.uk, and plan the perfect holiday in the Cotswolds with our guide.
8. Cranborne Chase
Roman villas and ancient roads slicing across Cranborne Chase are far from the oldest elements in this region spanning Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset and Hampshire. Neolithic, Bronze and Iron-Age sites stud rolling downs, ancient woodlands and chalk river valleys, alongside (relatively) recent monuments such as 14th-century Old Wardour Castle. The contemporary food scene nods to longstanding tradition, too, creating artisan cheeses, ciders, ales and more from seasonal local produce.
Where to stay
Award-winning restaurant-with-rooms La Fosse has doubles from ￡89 including breakfast. Find out more cranbornechase.org.uk.
9. Dedham Vale
The Essex-Suffolk border traces the Stour’s meanders through lush Dedham Vale, its hedgerows and wildflower meadows, riverside mills and dainty villages have grown wealthy on the historic wool trade. Grab your palette and head to Flatford to paint Willy Lott’s House (sans haywain), famously captured in oils by Constable, or pick up a piece by a contemporary local master at Dedham Art & Craft Centre.
Where to stay
The Sun Inn has doubles from ￡175 including breakfast. Find out more dedhamvale-nl.org.uk.
10. Dorset
Successive layers of the past surface in the diverse landscapes of Dorset, from the Victorian villages of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex through Georgian Lyme Regis and medieval Abbotsbury Abbey via the priapic Saxon Cerne Giant, all the way back to Jurassic fossils. Thankfully, natural history remains rich – the region is home to nearly half of English bird species, most mammals and almost three-quarters of our butterflies.
How to explore
On Foot Holidays’ five-night self-guided walk through Hardy country costs from ￡835pp. Find out more dorset-nl.org.uk.
11. East Devon
Less bucket-and-spade busy than the riviera to the west, less fossil-focused than Lyme Regis to the east, East Devon’s seaside towns of Budleigh Salterton, Beer and Sidmouth, wedged between russet sandstone cliffs, have an almost Enid Blyton nostalgic charm. Things are yet more delightfully somnolent inland, where beavers have set up homes – or lodges, rather – on the River Otter.
Where to stay
The Pig at Combe near Honiton has doubles from ￡255 room only. Find out more eastdevon-nl.org.uk.
12. Forest of Bowland
The Lakes meet the Dales meet the Peaks in this lonely sweep of upland gritstone fells, heather moorland and sheer-sided valleys between Lancaster and Settle.
Its almost eerie remoteness is a gift for wildlife, notably birds struggling elsewhere in England such as curlew and hen harrier. An innovative array of Eco Escapes include walking, cycling and food-focused itineraries.
Where to stay
Wild Boar Park offers camping, lodges, safari tents, shepherd’s huts, even a replica Iron Age roundhouse (sleeps five, from ￡60). Find out more forestofbowland.com.
13. High Weald
Sculpted from sandstone and clay by wind, rivers and centuries of farming activities, the High Weald unfurls across the intersection of Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Roam shady greenways etched by pigs herded to rootle among ancient woods, admire medieval castles at Hever and Scotney, conquer sandstone crags at Harrison’s Rocks, and hunt for Pooh Bear in Ashdown Forest – Christopher Robin’s Hundred Acre Wood.
Where to stay
The Bell in Ticehurst has doubles from ￡185 including breakfast. Find out more highweald.org.
14. Howardian Hills
Woods, fields and hidden valleys alternate across the Howardian Hills, named for the noble landowning family whose outsized 18th-century Vanbrugh stately home and landscaped grounds dominate the region’s south-east.
This is a destination for road-tripping, cycling or hiking between stone villages and historic houses such as Newburgh Priory and Hovingham Hall.
Where to stay
The Star Inn, just outside the National Landscape, has doubles from ￡180 including breakfast. Find out more howardianhills.org.uk.
15. Isle of Wight
White, green and blue are the colours of this landscape’s disparate chunks covering half of the Isle: the chalk cliffs of the south west, most famously the soaring Needles; the verdant downs rolling inland; and the sparkling seas of the Solent and Channel. The 71-mile Coastal Path skirts the north’s birdlife-rich saltmarsh and mudflats, and roams the wooded chines of the south.
Where to stay
Tapnell Farm’s varied self-catering options include Eco Pods (sleeps two, from ￡131) and a six-person safari tent (two nights, from ￡425). Find out more wightaonb.org.uk.
16. Isles of Scilly
These near-tropical specks sprinkled off Cornwall’s toe are wildflowers and sandy coves, Bronze Age burials and gig races, snorkelling and swimming, rafts of puffins, and grey seals hauled out on the rocks. Regular ‘tripper boats’ power island-hopping adventures between the five inhabited islands – to Tresco’s lush Abbey Gardens, Bryher’s surf-pounded shores and Britain’s southernmost vineyard.
Where to stay
Star Castle hotel is both fortified and stellar, with doubles from ￡205 including breakfast. Find out more islesofscilly-nl.org.uk, and plan the perfect holiday in the Isles of Scilly with our guide.
17. Kent Downs
Two slender fingers of greensand and chalk stretch from London to Dover. The first is carpeted in grassland strewn with orchids and butterflies; the second is a mosaic of woods and heath; both tempt walkers and cyclists. History endures in timber-framed villages, typically Kentish oast houses and imposing country houses such as the palatial Knole and Churchill’s former home, Chartwell.
Where to stay
Five Bells Inn, a food-focused 16th-century pub in East Brabourne, has doubles from ￡115 including breakfast. Find out more kentdowns.org.uk.
18. Lincolnshire Wolds
With its handsome, wool-wealthy towns such as Louth, and rolling hills patched by farms and woods, this green sweep has been described as a little like Yorkshire, a little like the Cotswolds, yet on the way to nowhere. Its walking trails are thus blissfully peaceful; trace the Viking Way past deserted medieval villages and chalk streams that “chatter over stony ways, In little sharps and trebles”, as depicted by local lad Tennyson.
Where to stay
Brackenborough Hall Coach House has self-catering apartments from ￡570 per week (sleeps four). Find out more lincswolds.org.uk.
19. Malvern Hills
Yes, you’ll find mineral-water springs and cider orchards here, beneath castles and Iron Age hillforts – the earthworks dubbed British Camp being the heftiest. But it was the long phalanx of the Malverns themselves that moved Elgar, Wordsworth, CS Lewis and more to craft music, poetry and literature. Trace the tangled web of trails around these outcrops to discover why, drinking in vistas across the Severn Valley and Herefordshire.
Where to stay
Brook House, a rustic-chic cabin, costs from ￡360 for two nights (sleeps two). Find out more malvernhills-nl.org.uk.
20. Mendip Hills
The Mendips are best known for their fringe benefits: on the southern flanks lie the lovely little cathedral city of Wells, the caves of Wookey Hole, and Cheddar and Ebbor Gorges; to the north, sparkling Blagdon and Chew Valley Lakes. Trace the West Mendip Way across the sparsely populated rocky plateau to discover ancient tumuli and admire views of Glastonbury Tor.
Where to stay
The Litton boutique hotel-cum-pub near Wells has doubles from ￡140. Find out more mendiphills-nl.org.uk.
21. Nidderdale
Rising steeply either side of the river Nidd, which snakes down the Pennines’ eastern flanks from the neighbouring Yorkshire Dales, are the heather-purpled moors and gritstone crags of Nidderdale. Handsome mocca-stone villages and towns such as Pateley Bridge stud the valley; the heights are the preserve of hikers heading for the likes of Great Whernside, and boulder-scramblers aiming for the Seussian lumps of Brimham Rocks.
Where to stay
The Sportsman’s Arms Hotel & Restaurant has doubles from ￡110 including breakfast. Find out more nidderdaleaonb.org.uk.
22. Norfolk Coast
With the 2024 extension of the King Charles III Coast Path it’s become possible to walk every inch of the Norfolk shore, much of it encompassed by its namesake National Landscape. Stride past the bird-bustling, sandy sweep of Holkham Nature Reserve, the seal-strewn beaches of Blakeney Point, Horsey and Winterton-on-Sea, and through winsome flint villages such as Cley-next-the Sea and Brancaster.
How to explore
Inntravel’s six-night Seascapes of North Norfolk self-guided walking holiday costs from ￡1105pp. Find out more norfolkcoast.org, and plan the perfect holiday in Norfolk with our guide.
23. North Devon Coast
Surfers throng the west-facing beaches and breaks at Woolacombe, Croyde and Saunton in North Devon, while coaches empty tourists into the admittedly choc-box cute fishing village of Clovelly. Just steps away from such honeypots along the South West Coast Path, you’ll spy rare plant and animal species thriving among dunes and coastal heaths, and tackle hogsback cliffs down which waterfalls tumble.
Where to stay
Watersmeet Hotel near Woolacombe has doubles from ￡160 including breakfast. Find out more northdevoncoast-nl.org.uk, and plan the perfect holiday in Devon with our guide.
24. North Pennines
This landscape spanning parts of Cumbria, Northumberland and County Durham is also designated a Unesco Global Geopark, reflecting the extraordinary, 500-million-year history of its upland landscapes. Broad glacier-gouged valleys and cascading waterfalls – including England’s mightiest, High Force – carve through dales, hay meadows and heather moors where black grouse live. Britain’s oldest National Trail, the Pennine Way, winds north through the region.
Where to stay
Rose and Crown has doubles from ￡145 including breakfast. Find out more northpennines.org.uk.
25. North Wessex Downs
From the long northern scarp south to the softly rural Vale of Pewsey, the North Wessex Downs is imbued with a tangible sense of the past. Many hundreds of years before William the Conqueror hunted in Savernake Forest – today, a fine venue for a shady stroll – prehistoric inhabitants created Avebury’s henge, the Uffington White Horse, hillforts and chambered tombs at Wayland’s Smithy and West Kennet. Explore such sights along the Ridgeway National Trail.
Where to stay
Helen Browning’s Royal Oak has doubles from ￡128.70 including breakfast. Find out more northwessexdowns.org.uk.
26. Northumberland Coast
On a shoreline awash with natural and historic drama, the medieval bastions at Warkworth, Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh and Lindisfarne that once repelled Viking raiders and Border Reivers now lure TV and film location scouts. More peaceful (though not quiet) legions of seabirds, grey seals, dolphins and whales today delight hikers tracing the Northumberland Coast Path alongside gorgeous, lonely beaches.
How to explore
Mickledore’s five-night Northumberland Coast Path self-guided walking holiday costs from ￡656pp. Find out more northumberlandcoast-nl.org.uk, and plan the perfect holiday in Northumberland with our guide.
27. Quantock Hills
Romantics Wordsworth and Coleridge found inspiration for their Lyrical Ballads amid the sessile oak woods, heaths and steep combes of the Quantock Hills – a visit to the latter poet’s cottage in sleepy Nether Stowey is a highlight. Red deer and feral ponies graze among the whortleberries on this narrow ridge stretching 12 miles northwest to the fossil-fossicking beaches at at Kilve and Quantoxhead.
Where to stay
Combe House Hotel has doubles from ￡109 including breakfast. Find out more quantockhills.com.
28. Shropshire Hills
The wild hump of the Long Mynd attracts the plaudits – and visitors, who throng Carding Mill Valley. But the Shropshire Hills are remarkably diverse and, on the likes of Stiperstones’ crags and Caer Caradoc’s dragon’s-back ridge, often far less tramped. The southern loop of the Shropshire Way tackles the remotest reaches, visiting historic gems including the fairytale fortified medieval manor of Stokesay Castle and lovely little Much Wenlock, birthplace of the modern Olympic Games.
Where to stay
Offa’s Pitch has attractive cabins sleeping two from ￡180. Find out more shropshirehills-nl.org.uk.
29. Solway Coast
The wild, windswept Solway Coast, stretching west of Carlisle along its namesake firth, is a liminal world of dunes, saltmarshes, bogs, wet grassland, sandbanks and mudflats.
This low-slung landscape is a haven for birds – including snipe, curlew and some 30,000 barnacle geese in winter – plus butterflies, dragonflies, natterjack toads and carnivorous sundew plants. Walk north along the coast path from seaside Silloth to explore Skinburness Marsh.
Where to stay
The Queens Hotel in Silloth has doubles from ￡120 including breakfast. Find out more solwaycoastaonb.org.uk.
26. South Devon
Fractured by a succession of rivers and estuaries east of Plymouth, this fractal shore draws holidaymakers to beaches at Hope Cove, Bantham and Blackpool Sands, and to yacht havens Salcombe and Dartmouth.
Find wilder pockets at freshwater Slapton Ley – home to otters, Cetti’s warbler and rare wildflowers – and beneath the waves at Wembury, where snorkel safaris introduce crabs, starfish, anemones, sea slugs and even octopuses.
Where to stay
Gara Rock Hotel has doubles from ￡225 room only. Find out more southdevon-nl.org.uk, and plan the perfect holiday in Devon with our guide.
31. Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths
Munching fish and chips at seaside Aldeburgh or Southwold is a classic timeless delight, but this region’s varied natural and military history merit exploration, too.
Avocets, bitterns, red deer and otter thrive in the reedbeds and lagoons of RSPB Minsmere, while hares and waders among eerie military relics at Orford Ness. Swim, SUP or sail nearshore waters, or watch for UFOs while pedalling through Rendlesham Forest.
Where to stay
The Ship at Dunwich has doubles from ￡85.50 including breakfast. Find out more coastandheaths-nl.org.uk.
32. Surrey Hills
The share of the North Downs claimed by England’s most-wooded county provides an easy getaway from London by rail or road. The Surrey Hills are celebrated in literature – Jane Austen’s Emma picnicked on Box Hill – and, more recently, for viticulture, slopes striped by the vines of five respected wineries. Hikers enjoy the North Downs Way and parallel Greensand Way, while mountain-bikers do it on two wheels.
Where to stay
The boutique Hurtwood Hotel has doubles from ￡120 including breakfast. Find out more surreyhills.org.
29. Tamar Valley
Plymouth’s hinterland, flanking the Devon-Cornwall border along the Tamar Valley, is a tangle of narrow wooded combes and medieval fields punctuated by historic wonders: grand Tudor Cotehele estate, Cistercian medieval Buckland Abbey and long-abandoned copper and tin mines, now romantic ruins. Aside from walking and cycling trails, the region’s best explored by canoe or paddle board along the Tamar, Tavy and Lynher Rivers.
Where to stay
Starbed Hideaways luxury cabins sleep two, from ￡370 for two nights. Find out more tamarvalley-nl.org.uk.
Wales
34. Wye Valley, England/Wales
Two and a half centuries ago, William Gilpin pioneered British tourism with his jaunt along the wooded Wye Valley. Still today, a journey along the river between Hereford and Chepstow – beneath castles at Wilton and Goodrich, peregine-stooped crags of Symond’s Yat and romantically skeletal Tintern Abbey – remains a glorious adventure, whether you trace its meanders on foot or by canoe.
How to explore
Celtic Trails’ six-night self-guided Wye Valley Walk from Chepstow to Hereford costs from ￡745pp. Find out more wyevalley-nl.org.uk.
36. Clwydian Range & Dee Valley
This long green limb stretching south from Prestatyn is a tale of two halves. In the north, Offa’s Dyke Path traverses sheer-sided ridges and heather-clad hills peaking at 554m Moel Famau. The south is defined by the River Dee, on which whitewater rafters, kayakers and SUPers paddle alongside steam locos of the Llangollen Railway and beneath historic wonders including Thomas Telford’s remarkable Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the snaggle-toothed ruins of medieval Castell Dinas Bran.
Where to stay
Riverbanc in Llangollen has doubles from ￡95 including breakfast. Find out more clwydianrangeanddeevalleyaonb.org.uk.
37. Gower
A playground for Swansea urbanites, this peninsula attracts families to sandy strands at Oxwich Bay, Port Eynon and Caswell Bay. Farther west, surfers ride swells rolling in off the Atlantic into Rhossili Bay past the jagged limestone headland known as the Worm’s Head. Wetland birds and marsh harriers throng the northern saltmarshes, while inland heights are pocked with prehistoric burial chambers and standing stones.
How to explore
Macs Adventure’s six-night Best of the Gower Peninsula self-guided walking holiday costs from ￡765. Find out more visitswanseabay.com/destinations/gower-peninsula.
35. Ynys M?n/Anglesey
The spectacular 201-mile Anglesey Coastal Path and the National Landscape largely share the shoreline around this varied isle. Vistas alternate between low-lying farms, quaint seaside towns like Beaumaris – guarded by its hulking medieval castle – and jagged headlands, coves and cliffs. RSPB South Stack is a seasonal seabird city where puffins, razorbills and guillemots breed each spring.
Where to stay
Grade II-listed Bull’s Head Inn has doubles from ￡89 including breakfast. Find out more national-landscapes.org.uk/national-landscapes/anglesey.
38. Llŷn
Watch for the distinctive red bill and legs of choughs wheeling above the cliffs and coves of this gnarled peninsula nudging west into the Irish Sea. Beaches such as Porth Neigwl and winsome seaside villages including Abersoch and Aberdaron draw families and surfers. Follow the coast path and cut cross-country on the Mariners’ Trail, an old sailors’ track winding between volcanic peaks from Abersoch to Neyfn, for a satisfying walking circuit.
Where to stay
Porth Tocyn has doubles from ￡160, and a luxury shepherd’s hut from ￡140 (minimum two nights), both including breakfast. Find out more ahne-llyn-aonb.org.
Northern Ireland
40. Binevenagh
One of the most dramatic stretches of the Ulster Way walking trail skirts the long, basalt-capped hill of Binevenagh; pause at Gortmore Viewpoint for panoramic vistas over Magilligan Point and the eight-mile sweep of surf-friendly Benone Strand across to Islay. Binevenagh’s northern cliffs divide coastal fields, dunes and glorious beaches from upland pastures and woods; watch for buzzards and peregrine falcons above the crags.
Where to stay
Burrenmore Nest luxury forest lodges, sleeping two, cost from ￡265pn. Find out more binevenaghaonb.ccght.org.
41. Causeway Coast
The hexagonal basalt pipes of the Giant’s Causeway are, unsurprisingly, this region’s prime attraction. But the landscape also features soaring sea cliffs, extensive dune systems, bucolic Bush Valley, historic Bushmills whiskey distillery and the vertigo-inducing 18th-century rope bridge to Carrick-a-Rede island.
Where to stay
National Trust’s Carrick-a-Rede Cottage, sleeping four, costs from ￡384 for two nights. Find out more causewaycoastaonb.ccght.org.
39. Antrim Coast & Glens
As its name suggests, this diverse landscape has multiple faces. The dramatic coastline – which encompasses rocky Rathlin Island, its sheer cliffs and grassland hosting more than 250,000 puffins, razorbills, corncrakes and more – is an immersive geology lesson,with basalt, limestone and sandstone crags cut by nine broad, beautiful glens. The inland plateau, meanwhile, features expanses of peatland blanket bog where rare orchids and birds thrive.
Where to stay
The Salthouse Hotel as luxury ecolodges plus doubles from ￡170 including breakfast. Find out more antrimcoastandglensaonb.ccght.org.
42. Lagan Valley
Miraculously, though Belfast’s urban sprawl inches southwest towards Lisburn, the adjacent Lagan Valley has remained protected within a regional park of riverine meadows and woods. Stroll along the river and up to the Neolithic henge known as the Giant’s Ring, enclosing the remains of an ancient passage grave. Keep an eye out for the blue flash of a kingfisher or, if luck prevails, a sighting of an elusive otter.
Where to stay
Harrison Chambers of Distinction has doubles from ￡150 including breakfast. Find out more laganvalley.co.uk.
43. Mourne
The twelve 600m-plus peaks of the Mourne Mountains top out at Slieve Donard, Northern Ireland’s loftiest at 850m. Stretching southwest from Newcastle to Carlingford Lough, these dark summits cradle lonely lakes and montane heath, while below stretches a gentle landscape of fields and an alluring shoreline. Stride a cross-section of the range following the 22-mile Mourne Wall, a century-old dry-stone construction of local granite.
Where to stay
Grand Victorian Slieve Donard hotel has doubles from ￡165 including breakfast. Find out more mournelive.com.
44. Ring of Gullion
Centred on its distinctive ring dyke, a circle of low hills from which rises 576m-tall Slieve Gullion mountain, this compact region is defined by a rich culture shaped by its unique landscape. Almost as old as the Neolithic megaliths studding the countryside are the folk songs and tales of Cúchulainn and Fionn mac Cumhaill – visit sites linked to key episodes along the 38-mile Ring of Gullion Way.
Where to stay
Bluebell Lane’s accommodation includes camping (from ￡30), shepherd’s hut (￡100) and six-person cottage (￡145pn, minimum two nights). Find out more ringofgullion.org.
45. Sperrin
The Sperrin Mountains – their name derived from the old Irish speirín, meaning ‘little pinnacle’ – are capped with wild moorland, carved by narrow glens and littered with prehistoric standing stones. This sparsely populated area also offers celestial stargazing, as you’ll discover at OM Dark Sky Park & Observatory, Northern Ireland’s first accredited International Dark Sky Place.
Where to stay
Glenpark Estate encompasses a host of accommodation including rooms (from ￡75pp including breakfast) and a shepherd’s hut (sleeps four, ￡160pn). Find out more daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/sperrin-aonb.
46. Strangford Lough
Unsurprisingly, this tidal inlet and its surrounding hinterland is both a haven for wildlife – wintering wildfowl, nesting terns, otters, seals and submarine species – and a playground for windsurfers, SUPers, kayakers, snorkellers and other watersports enthusiasts. It’s also fringed by historic buildings including the magnificent 18th-century mansions of Castle Ward and Mount Stewart, and the skyscraping Scrabo Tower guarding the lough’s northern tip.
Where to stay
The Cuan boutique hotel has doubles from ￡109 including breakfast. Find out more strangfordlough.org.
