The beauty of the British and Irish countryside

[liamliam]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d0fQxeDnmc&lc=C2hPYIoxZu_c0Jg53gvsZHpmeLnRUWlCps8stzazADc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WChBWhhESNE


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO2vIYulhB8


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfsasAlICo8


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gna16f-7gnA

enjoy :) and post any other examples you'd like.

[Jackson]

Some photos i've taken in Scotland:
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01113-20120803-1259.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01109-20120803-1253-1.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01096-20120801-1827.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01089-20120801-1723.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01088-20120801-1723.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01082-20120801-1629.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01075-20120801-1628.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01074-20120801-1243.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01072-20120801-1220.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01062-20120730-1340-1.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01053-20120730-1255.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01042-20120729-1750.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01047-20120729-1751.jpg
http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu7/Brodir93/IMG01038-20120729-1730.jpg

[Graham]

Think I can see one is from the Glenfinnan Monument.

Have never been.

Love the low clouds up there, in the Highlands..

[Jackson]

Think I can see one is from the Glenfinnan Monument.

Have never been.

Love the low clouds up there, in the Highlands..

Indeed it is. You have to climb up the narrow staircase (and of course have to wait for other people to pass, or get them to let you pass) then climb up through a small trapdoor at the top. Was a really great view. Very atmospheric with the weather as well.

I always like it when the low cloud rolls over the treetops, something about that is just great.

[Graham]

The very same Jacksons Glenfinnan from afar.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BEekl07CIAIKu0V.jpg:large

[Jackson]

Red Deer in Bradgate Park outside Leicester:
http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/99/23/992321_513333ec.jpg

[Graham]

Wow really nice. :) Jackson

I'll find some videos of Scotland & Lake District later.

First of all, going to the shop for some sweeties, for the Man Utd vs Real Madrid game.

[Jackson]

For anyone who can watch it, the first in a series about wintertime in Britain, starting with the mountains:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01r6g12/The_Great_British_Winter_Mountains/

[Jackson]

Am going to the Isle of Man with my parents in the easter break - So i'll bring back pictures a plenty from that trip.

[Albion]

Red Deer in Bradgate Park outside Leicester:
http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/99/23/992321_513333ec.jpg

Random facts:

The red deer deer in SW England England are larger than those in Scotland and the Lake District (the other major areas for them in the UK) because they were reintroduced from Germany to the SW and also subsist on richer grasslands. The ones in Northern England and Scotland are the ones which have always been in the UK.

[Jackson]

Interesting regarding the weather in mountainous parts of Scotland. They can often go below -15 in the winter, but with the high winds it can feel like -40 or lower. In the most extreme winter (-27 celsius) and the highest winds being over 100mph it must have felt more like -45 or -50. Crazy.

[liamliam]

The Lake District national park in Cumbria (north west England):

http://www.destinosdeviagem.com/wp-content/gallery/lake-district/lake-district-4.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ywIC3b4QqTw/UAUjHSCClZI/AAAAAAAACVA/wFl1l2DOBtU/s1600/Lake+District+vacations.jpg

http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/events/liar/images/lake_district1.jpg

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Travel/Pix/pictures/2009/8/28/1251463245721/Walking-in-the-Lake-Distr-001.jpg

http://www.bridgehousegrasmere.co.uk/lake-distict-hotel-grasmere-lake-district-16.jpg

http://www.worldwanderingkiwi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/English-Lake-District-Day-Walk.jpg

Yorkshire (north east England):

http://www.primrosevalley.com/communities/4/004/009/129/534/images/4548375290.jpg

http://s4.hubimg.com/u/6244207_f520.jpg

http://www.cantrell.org.uk/david/photos/yorkshire-dales-20070706-20070708/dent-head-viaduct-full.jpg

Alnwick castle in Northumberland (used in the Harry Potter films as Hogwarts Castle):

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xNQAz681Flk/TmMj-ZtJl3I/AAAAAAAAIvs/qM8UjGwGEYQ/s1600/Palacio+Alnwick+Castillo+Harry+Potter+Inglaterra+R enta+Turismo+01.jpg

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110423060017/harrypotter/ja/images/0/08/Alnwick_Castle_-_Northumberland_-_140804.jpg

http://www.metro.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/306802901c1966ea470dbc972c75aeeb.jpg

http://www.harehope.com/images/980x505/alnwick_castle.jpg

http://crazy-frankenstein.com/free-wallpapers-files/castle/alnwick-castle-wallpapers/alnwick-castle-wallpapers-1920x1200.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xNQAz681Flk/TmMj-ZtJl3I/AAAAAAAAIvs/qM8UjGwGEYQ/s1600/Palacio+Alnwick+Castillo+Harry+Potter+Inglaterra+R enta+Turismo+01.jpg

http://crazy-frankenstein.com/free-wallpapers-files/castle/alnwick-castle-wallpapers/alnwick-castle-winter-wallpapers-1920x1200.jpg

Edinburgh Castle:

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2780/4242498632_92f82e09d9_b.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lubkhfRlKY1r1iqgxo1_500.jpg

http://www.ostrowick.co.za/travel-pix/scotland-edinburgh-snow-castle.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3329/3268661501_ef544d7a95_z.jpg

[Jackson]

It's a shame that so many people overlook our country as a place to go on holiday. Loads of people i know have been to loads of other places around the world to sit on beaches or go to busy, touristy cities but not many of them have seen the wonders of their own lands.

I see no reason to go abroad at all. I've never been outside the British Isles and i'm glad of it.

[liamliam]

It's a shame that so many people overlook our country as a place to go on holiday. Loads of people i know have been to loads of other places around the world to sit on beaches or go to busy, touristy cities but not many of them have seen the wonders of their own lands.

I see no reason to go abroad at all. I've never been outside the British Isles and i'm glad of it.

Britain even has very beautiful beaches too:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KMQcgXXsUd8/TagRfxwulHI/AAAAAAAAAB0/8zK9GxgFbWk/s1600/towan.jpg

http://www.treloy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/carousel2-frontcover.jpg

http://www.spinneywood.co.uk/images/IMAGElinks1.jpg

http://www.camnews.com.kh/FileManager/Commons/2012/8/17/cornwall-beaches1-17-08-2012--11-37-23.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/content/images/2006/08/24/sb86_470x350.jpg

http://www.cornishlight.co.uk/2007/hr-beach-holiday.jpg

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/301874/thumbs/r-CORNISH-BEACHES-large570.jpg

http://www.cornwall365.co.uk/cornwall_image/4,Gyllyngvase-Beach,PICT9646.JPG

http://www.cornwall-beaches.co.uk/public/photos/Whipsiderry-beach-newquay.jpg

http://www.kingsbridge.info/blackpool.jpg

http://www.south-hams.co.uk/uploads/gallery/REF%20020%20HOPE%20COVE%20FROM%20SHIPPON.jpg

http://www.frommers.com/images/photos/photos500/0459-64414.jpg

http://hilton56.schoolblogs.org/files/2013/01/bournemouth.jpg

http://www.bic.co.uk/Library/images/Global/Bournemouth/bournemouthbeach395.jpg

http://www.photos4travel.com/bournemouth_travel/Bournemouth-beach-life.jpg

http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01087/Bournemouth-beach__1087043a.jpg

http://www.isleofwightpictures.co.uk/ryde08.005..600.jpg

http://www.1066online.co.uk/hastings-photos/Seafront/photos/Beach4.jpg

http://www.lucypaintbox.org.uk/Photo-gallery-places-Hastings/Hastings-0606-2298-central-beach-lucy-paintbox.jpg

[Albion]

It's the closest national park to me and much of the Midlands / North. I live within site of it and go there quite often. I personally prefer dark peak to white peak (the softer, limestone landscape part). Dark peak is higher are wilder and has an upland flora - moors, hardy tree and flower species and is quite deserted and rocky. It's a great place to escape to. White peak is full of elderly tourists and tea shops though, I don't like it so much.

These are from mapcrunch.com btw, it's like a streetview viewer. It makes a few mistakes though, it thinks Flash is in Powys (Wales) when its in Staffordshire (England) and not even near Powys. :picard1:

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/880/flashpowysuk2139113167.jpg

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/3269/flashpowysuk1404272282.jpg

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1486/flashpowysuk1299309605.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/2954/flashpowysuk1263164841.jpg

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/2312/flashpowysuk1094359418.jpg

http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/6465/fairfieldderbyshireuk16.jpg

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/9576/edalederbyshireuk201408.jpg

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/705/edalederbyshireuk111090.jpg

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/2581/edalederbyshireuk108450.jpg

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/3898/derwentchapelderbyshire.jpg

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/8776/crowdenderbyshireuk1571.jpg

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/7333/crowdenderbyshireuk1007.jpg

http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/1053/langleycheshireuk581930.jpg

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/5057/hopederbyshireuk1274575.jpg

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/1333/hollinscloughpowysuk208.jpg

[Graham]

^^^Reminds me of the the Lammermuirs & Pentlands on the Scottish Borders side. Up to the Lang Whang.

[Albion]

^^^Reminds me of the the Lammermuirs & Pentlands on the Scottish Borders side.

The geology is probably similar.


Up to the Lang Whang.

Pardon? :D

Wales has some nice coastal roads, the scenery from them is great. There's nowhere in England where the mountains meet the sea as they do in Snowdonia.

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/1844/penmaenmawrconwyuk15686.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1653/aberconwayconwyuk930427.jpg

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/1484/llandudnoconwyuk1323330.jpg

http://img547.imageshack.us/img547/8069/llandudnoconwyuk6777166.jpg

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/7541/llandudnoconwyuk1506655.jpg

[Graham]

Lang Whang is the A70, it's an old term we use for the road.
Here, on google street view.
http://goo.gl/maps/kcZGx

[Jackson]

Albion, that coastal road in north Wales is incredible, have been up and down it a couple of times with parents. It's like one of those roads you see in the car adverts, very epic.

[Albion]

Albion, that coastal road in north Wales is incredible, have been up and down it a couple of times with parents. It's like one of those roads you see in the car adverts, very epic.

The Welsh moan about it though - they want a motorway in North Wales to NW England and some want one connecting to South Wales too. :eek: It would spoil a lot of the landscape, plus it isn't really viable in areas with such a small population. North Wales and South Wales are better connected to Liverpool and Bristol than to each other, it's a strange situation really but the geography is a bit odd - nothing in the middle of the country apart from a few towns on the English border and Aberystwyth on the coast and any motorway would be fairly close to the coast to avoid cutting through mountains most of the way.
I think their roads work fine, they are only bad in summer when a significant proportion of the Midlands invades Wales. Wales and Cornwall still get invaded annually but the occupation never lasts long. ;)

[Aurora]

In Longford, Ireland

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/089/3/8/38c6f4236186f9439371cc890485ae56.jpg

Cork, Ireland

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/250/1/2/129fdcf4eb58bd315d08f2cf09a916e5-d2y96uf.jpg

Westmeath, Ireland
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs51/f/2009/308/3/3/33be080eb213f07befd3ebc1eb1bcc52.jpg


Peak District National Park

http://www.diamondsinthelandscape.org.uk/walk-peakdistrict.jpg
http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000qvwliO_rUNw/s/880/880/AH-Chatsworth-Fields-0397.jpg

http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000MdF4QHtDjBE/s/880/880/AH-Edensor-Village-Peak-District-9568.jpg

[Aurora]

Donegal, Ireland

http://thebananasandwich.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/ireland-travel-donegal-trimusical.jpg
http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/46/14/461462_6db62ca7.jpg
http://www.garethmccormack.com/media/images/stock_images/DON902_watermark_image.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3363/3659936358_0df4992366.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PBaYDUdZSOQ/T-is2A2Ku7I/AAAAAAAANH8/sD8BE74hGEg/s1600/five+finger+strand+fields.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-18gMfAJdGFM/T-is0iqlECI/AAAAAAAANHw/gNyQJRFk4WE/s640/five+finger+strand+dunes.jpg

[Graham]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm04-JSPhoA

[Graham]

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6101/6408393611_438d7bd170.jpghttp://farm7.staticflickr.com/6106/6217571500_be2f635617_b.jpghttp://farm4.staticflickr.com/3416/3507430869_28292102f4_z.jpg?zz=1http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7005/6485590105_33c40f35d4.jpg

[Lala6]

Connemara is beautiful.
The Twelve Bens, or Twelve Pins (Irish: Na Beanna Beola), is a mountain range of sharp-peaked quartzite ranges located northeast of Roundstone in Connemara in the west of Ireland
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2521/4228212307_cc8274a574_b.jpg
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4039/4228223527_beeb9d8908_b.jpg
http://photos3.media.pix.ie/94/89/9489002EFF7947CAB19D554915BE340D-0000314357-0002426845-00800L-70066D3152FF4D6898004EB0CFCAD7BB.jpg?w=840

[SkyBurn]

These landscapes are all stunning. I can't wait until my UK/Ireland trip.

[Graham]

These landscapes are all stunning. I can't wait until my UK/Ireland trip.
If you're going to Scotland, don't hesitate to ask, for help on things to see.

Honestly, love tourists that take their time, to come here & appreciate what we have.. :)

[SkyBurn]

If you're going to Scotland, don't hesitate to ask, for help on things to see.

Honestly, love tourists that take their time, to come here & appreciate what we have.. :)

I'll keep that in mind :)

I have relatives up there, so I can also get them to tell me all the cool things to see. Who needs travel agents when you have the internet and family!
I'm planning a month over June/July to do both. Probably not long enough, but hey, I don't have infinite funds and time! :p

[Graham]

June/July is the best time. You'll see the British Isles at it's best.

[SkyBurn]

June/July is the best time. You'll see the British Isles at it's best.

That's why I planned it for then :p My mum suggested that I go during my summer holidays because they're longer...I told her that Scotland in January sounds like an Australian nightmare. She isn't from here, you see, and doesn't understand that we aren't used to the cold!

[Graham]

Yes, Scotland in January is light from 8am to 4pm. Everything is grey & muddy. The windchill & the rain.

It's better when it's far colder or snow in winter. When it's 0C, with the strong gusts. Everything feels depressing.

Sorry, I may be exaggerating. Because I get winter blues, & depression from from the lack of sun.

[SkyBurn]

Sorry, I may be exaggerating. Because I get winter blues, & depression from from the lack of sun.

:(

I would suggest moving over to somewhere sunnier then! (hint hint)

Little story, my grandfather was invited by one of the universities in Australia to lecture for them, so my dad's parents came down for three years. When that time was up, my grandmother flew back up to Scotland while my granddad got a few things sorted.

After about two days, he gets a letter which basically commanded him to accept the uni's offer to stay on, because she forgot how cold Scotland was! :D And then they moved permanently over to a country with less depressing weather haha

But on a serious note, I look at photos from the British/Irish castles, country sides etc, and am taken aback. The landscapes are so different, and so amazing.

[Jackson]

June/July is the best time. You'll see the British Isles at it's best.

Indeed. Summer days and evenings in the country are the best.

[Jackson]

Yes, Scotland in January is light from 8am to 4pm. Everything is grey & muddy. The windchill & the rain.

It's better when it's far colder or snow in winter. When it's 0C, with the strong gusts. Everything feels depressing.

Sorry, I may be exaggerating. Because I get winter blues, & depression from from the lack of sun.

I think the only major nearby places that are both wetter and darker and more gloomy are western Norway and Iceland. Do you have SAD? My father did. For almost half the year he goes to work in the dark, works inside, goes home in the dark.

[Jackson]

:(

I would suggest moving over to somewhere sunnier then! (hint hint)

Little story, my grandfather was invited by one of the universities in Australia to lecture for them, so my dad's parents came down for three years. When that time was up, my grandmother flew back up to Scotland while my granddad got a few things sorted.

After about two days, he gets a letter which basically commanded him to accept the uni's offer to stay on, because she forgot how cold Scotland was! :D And then they moved permanently over to a country with less depressing weather haha

But on a serious note, I look at photos from the British/Irish castles, country sides etc, and am taken about. The landscapes are so different, and so amazing.

You will be most welcome!