We recently asked 10 of our writers to nominate their favourite view in Britain, with their choices taking in everything from an Essex estuary to the brooding peaks of Skye. Our subsequent article’s comments section was soon inundated, with readers keen to share their own personal picks – and argue over the inclusion of Liverpool’s waterfront…
Here are some of the great British views you thought deserved a mention.
Lakeland lovelies
We included just one Lake District entry – the view from Gummer’s How – on our list though, there were of course hundreds to choose from. Mike Warburton’s pick? “For me it would be looking out on Derwentwater from Catbells on a still sunny day where you can see the wake of a boat spreading out.”
Karen Sandler, on the other hand, sided with a literary great: “Nonsense. The best view in England, as described by Wordsworth, is standing at Skelwith Fold, looking down the length of the Langdale Valley to Harrison Stickle.”
Jack Hughes also had a Lake District nomination: “A couple of years ago in the Lakes, we were driving north along the west side of Coniston Water. It was March and had just snowed on the higher peaks, but was otherwise a sunny day. One glimpse stopped us in our tracks and we pulled over to stare. Northwards up the lake, over mirror-calm waters reflecting the blue sky towards the distant peaks capped in snow. Breathtaking.”
Great Scot
Two Scottish views (Skye’s Sgùrr na Strì and Edinburgh’s Blackford Hill) made our list of 10, and many of you had sights from north of the border to share.
“Walter Scott’s View in the Scottish Border must be a candidate,” wrote Huw Jenkins.
Frank Berry added: “The Forth Rail Bridge is a Victorian masterpiece. Stand under it at North Queensferry and be amazed.”
Richard Webster’s nomination? “The Pap of Glencoe, driving across Rannoch Moor from Glasgow to Fort William at sunset with the roof down, will remain with me.”
London calling
Several readers questioned the lack of a London view on our list. Laurence Traynor wrote: “My favourite view is to be found heading south over Waterloo Bridge at sundown. I’m lucky enough to see it most days, and it never fails to impress. Being on a 90-degree bend in the river, looking left you get to see across the City and as far as Canary Wharf; off to the right you have The Palace of Westminster and views down towards Vauxhall and beyond. It really shows London off to its best.”
Debbie Rowe added: “How can you not have Tower Bridge on the River Thames at sunset?! Sublime!”
Seaside sights
A few of you, including Anne Dickinson, couldn’t believe Northumberland wasn’t included. “Bamburgh Castle from the beach,” she wrote. “Classic!”
Dorset was also unlucky to miss out, judging by your comments. Bob Moore enthused: “For me, the view from atop the Isle of Portland overlooking the Jurassic Coast on a clear summer’s day is unsurpassed.” Peter Swaysland concurred: “The view of Chesil Beach from the top of Portland, Dorset. Amazing!”
God’s own country
A number of readers, including “LW”, bemoaned the absence of Yorkshire selections. They wrote: “Nothing from Yorkshire, typical. Obviously [your writers] have never seen the Upper Wharfe Valley above Kettlewell, Nidderdale [pictured below] from Middlesmoor above Pateley Bridge, looking up the coast from Whitby Abbey, Flamborough Head near Filey, and countless other lovely places.”
Down for Durham
Durham Cathedral, not included in our list, received multiple nominations. Augustus Denc wrote: “Subjective and biased, but Durham Cathedral and Castle from the other side of the valley takes some beating.”
Roger Sowell added: “The best view in Britain is across the Wear, opposite the Fulling Mill, looking up at Durham Cathedral. In fact it may be the best view in Europe.”
Mighty Malvern
Several readers also highlighted the gorgeous Malvern Hills, a National Landscape (formerly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).
One of these was Angela Hartland: “From the highest point of the Malvern Hills – Worcestershire Beacon – there’s a breathtaking, panoramic view over the Severn Valley, Herefordshire over to the Brecon Beacons, and even down to the Bristol Channel. An inspiration for Elgar.”
Jack Hughes added: “West side of Malvern with that field of bluebells. Go there now.”
Border beauties
This corner of the country, close to the England-Wales border, has clearly won over a good many Telegraph readers. Ashley Burns nominated the view from Symonds Yat Rock in the Forest of Dean.
Mhuire Speir’s choice? “The view of Ludlow from Whitcliffe Common”.
Stand and stare
Among the many suggestions, plenty of you simply took the time to share your general appreciation of Britain’s wealth of natural wonders.
“Buttermere, Salcombe, Barafundle Bay, Lindisfarne, Aysgarth Falls, Kynance Cove, Crinan... what a beautiful country we live in,” wrote “Bill Payer”.
Lots of lovely views – and at least another hundred could be added! What a wonderful country we have,” declared C Erskine.
“All beautiful, and so many more we could name,” wrote Maggie Donaldson. “We live in the most wonderful patch of the world, and must fight to protect it.”
Caz Holly added: I have been lucky enough to have travelled a fair bit. However, I maintain that this island is the most beautiful in the world.”
“I have lived overseas for 30 years now, but always maintain there is nowhere as pretty as Britain when the sun shines,” wrote “Expat Down Under”.
So let’s take the time to enjoy our country, and its views. Or, in the words of Welsh poet W H Davies, invoked beneath our article by reader “Old Wirralian”: “What is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?”