The lofty peaks of Wales’ Snowdonia/Eryri National Park are epic. Though there are several that reach over 900 metres, the tallest is Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), conquerable via six equally stunning walking trails that lead serious hikers through routes of slate scree and knife-edge ridges. Incredible views are guaranteed, no matter the passage.

Just an hour from Belfast airport and you’ll be in the clutches of the moody Mourne Mountains, a certified ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’. There are 12 peaks that comprise this mountain range, with the landscapes shifting from woodland to moorland, before plunging down into the coastline. If you’re cycling, the circular Mourne Mountain Loop is your route; if hiking, the Silent Valley trail is for you, which summits at Slievenaglogh and delivers panoramic views.

Scotland isn’t known for its beaches – or at least not the kind that look inviting enough to swim in. And yet, on the outer Hebridean island of Harris, the coastline more closely resembles Tropical North Queensland than Scotland. The quintessentially Scottish mountain backdrop – often dotted with shaggy Highland cattle grazing on grass – gives away the beaches’ true location, however.

A ferry over the Sea of Moyle delivers you to diminutive Rathlin Island, a small and  unspoilt haven of classically Irish green countryside, dramatic basalt cliffs and curious wildlife, from lazy, sun-seeking seals to adorable puffins. Birdwatchers will love the Rathlin West Light Seabird Centre, where you can observe all manner of birdlife in their natural habitat from a viewing platform. 

Tucked into the reaches of Snowdonia/Eryri is the picturesque Ogwen Valley, with its little shimmering jewel, Llyn Ogwen. The result of tectonic, volcanic and glacial activity some 625 million years ago, the valley is striking with its craggy peaks and deep crevasses. The Cwm Idwal walk is the best way to explore the area – if you’re an experienced hiker, you can trudge onto Twll Du (Devil’s Kitchen), which often sees a plume of fog resembling smoke rising from a dark crack in a surrounding cliff face. 

Standing sentry on the banks of mirror-like Loch Awe, Kilchurn Castle is an idyllic fairytale-esque castle in Scotland’s midlands. Crumbling at its stone edges, the former fortress has been stationed in the windswept inlet near towering Ben Cruachan since the mid-1400s and is, unsurprisingly, one of the country’s most photographed castles.  

This tangle of road-lining beech trees has roots as far back as the 18th century, when the local Stuart family planted them astride a road in County Antrim in Northern Ireland’s north. More recently, the now pedestrian-only road has stood in as the setting for the Kingsroad in Games of Thrones and has seen plenty of visits from devoted fans, as a result. 

It seems like Tolkien country in the gorge of Glencoe in Scotland’s Highlands, where a glen of babbling brooks with glass-clear waters trickles through a deep valley that is walled by moss-covered mountains, staggering in their proportion. The colours of the glen seem ever-changing, with a blanket of bilberry, bracken and heather covering the peaks and troughs, shifting shades with the seasons.

England’s highest peak, Scafell Pike, looms over the Lake District, where ribbon lakes, rocky summits and green patchwork farmlands collide in postcard-level perfection. The trail that traces the mountain stream to its apex is taken by around 250,000 visitors a year, all vying for that vista over the valley below.  

Among the Isle of Skye’s myriad stunners is the Old Man of Storr, where the landscape seems to be plucked from the moon. Scooping up to the sky over the desolate Sound of Raasay, the jagged pinnacle looms large and intimidating as part of the Trotternish Ridge. Legend has it the ‘Old Man’ – the tallest formation in the bunch at a peak of 2300 feet – is actually the thumb of a giant laid to rest in the valley. 

The coastline of East Sussex is characterised by the vertical, vertiginous chalk cliffs known as Seven Sisters. These striking white rock faces are spread with grasslands and sprinkled with native birds and wildlife, all waiting for visitors just over two hours south of London by car.

If this pretty railway route in Inverness Shire seems familiar, there’s a reason. This scenic track is the film embodiment of Harry Potter’s fictional journey to his beloved school, Hogwarts, which sees him cross Scotland’s countryside from this concrete bridge, set 30 metres above the ground. Talk about magical.

From a drone’s view, the scatter of chalk stones, stacks and stumps that comprise Old Harry Rocks hardly looks real as it stretches out from the Jurassic Coast on England’s southern tip. Kayakers often paddle a route around the imposing structures, which until 1896, had another stack to its group. Known as Old Harry’s Wife, it has since been swept away, leaving just a stump.

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