Britain is a densely photographed island. The Cotswolds, the Lake District, the Scottish Highlands — these landscapes have been celebrated in paintings, films and Instagram posts for generations, and with good reason. They are genuinely magnificent. But their fame also brings crowds, queues and an experience that can feel, at peak season, rather removed from the quiet communion with nature that most visitors came seeking.
The good news is that Britain's extraordinary landscape extends far beyond its famous set pieces. For every Grasmere there is a Loweswater. For every Castle Combe there is a Lacock alternative less than thirty minutes down the road that hasn't been in a period drama. For every well-trodden section of the Pennine Way there are dozens of lesser-known paths that offer equal beauty with a fraction of the footfall.
These are some of the places that those who know Britain best — walkers, local historians, writers, botanists — tend to cherish most quietly.
The Brendon Hills, Somerset
While Exmoor National Park attracts walkers from across the country, the Brendon Hills — a high ridge running east to west across the moor's southern flank — see a fraction of the visitor numbers. The views from the ridge path are vast: northward to the Bristol Channel and the Welsh hills beyond, southward across a landscape of small fields and ancient hedgerows that has barely changed since the enclosures.