While travelling is still uncertain, why not take this unique journey of the UK from north to south from the comfort of your own home. The twist? The photos are all taken from the skies by the Royal Geographical Society. So sit back and enjoy a sweeping overview of Britain’s best landscapes and landmarks.
This collection of four islands off the Scottish coast form the remotest part of the British Isles. Having been deserted by humans for 90 years, the only residents found here today are mainly the feathered kind. Over one million seabirds breed here, including gannets, shearwaters and storm petrels. The islands are also home to the UK's largest colony of Atlantic puffins.
Also in the Outer Hebrides and home to many birds such as turnstones and oystercatchers, this remarkable terrain was partly formed in the last Ice Age. One of the largest and spectacular beaches on Harris, Luskentyre boasts pretty pale shell-rich sands and aquamarine waters caught beautifully on this photo, not to mention wild flowers of the machair (a grassy plain unique to the northwestern coasts of Scotland and Ireland).
On the Scottish mainland, this mountain is nestled within the remote Inverpolly National Nature Reserve and stands at 2,398 feet (731m) tall. Although it may not be the loftiest mountain in the UK, the steeply vertical, distinctive shape of the peak makes it one of the most recognisable.
If you’re wondering where you’ve seen those arches before, this viaduct was featured in the Harry Potter film series. The Hogwarts Express steam train has been shown chugging along this part of the track, through the rolling Scottish Highlands. The viaduct is now popular with film fans keen to spy a piece of the wizarding world.
An astonishing sight from above, these salmon farms are vital in the Shetland Isles. A third of wild salmon rivers in the UK are now under threat. Salmon farming puts strain on other fish populations, but produces more affordable salmon and is worth more than £1 billion ($1.2bn) a year to the UK economy.
The word ‘glen’ refers to a natural valley and Glen Tilt in Scotland is one of the most magnificent. The beautiful scenery is even more impressive when captured from above. Originally part of an infamous access battle that made legal history back in 1847, it formed the foundations of the Scottish Rights of Way Society (an independent charity which upholds and promotes public access rights in Scotland).
Also known simply as the Bass, this island of volcanic rock sits off the coast of Scotland. Bass Rock has inspired numerous writers, including Robert Louis Stevenson, and appears in many works of fiction. Today the island is home to a more feathery flock, as it houses a seabird sanctuary, and this striking image shows the contrast between the inky waters and the pale grey rock packed with the birds.
Dominating the Edinburgh skyline from ground level, this 12th-century fortress spread across its mighty rock looks even more intriguing from the sky. Formally a royal residence, military garrison, a prison and a castle, the Scottish landmark is drenched in history and a part of the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This geological wonder is linked to the legend of two giants: Irish Finn McCool and his archenemy, the fearsome Scottish Benandonner. The story goes, McCool was determined to defeat his enemy once and for all, so he broke off great hunks of the Antrim coast and arranged them in the sea to make a pathway to Benandonner. The site looks almost unrecognisable from this height.
Although built on prehistoric grounds which are still regularly excavated by archaeologists, as British castles go, this one is relatively new. It was built in the late Victorian era at great cost and was later restored by Lord Armstrong, whose family still live there today.
This impressive feat of engineering has been standing since AD 122. Built under the orders of Emperor Hadrian to keep the ‘barbarians’ out, the wall once stretched nearly 73 miles (117km) from coast-to-coast in the north of England, and took three legions of men at least six years to complete. It's now part of a 150-mile (241km) UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Standing proud on an abandoned coal mine next to the A1 in Gateshead, Antony Gormley's incredible sculpture has become a treasured landmark across the northeast of England. With a wingspan of 177 feet (54m) and a height of 66 feet (20m), this image shows the rust-red figure in all its glory.
One of the largest bodies of water in the Lake District, Ullswater is a vast work of natural art. Villages, hamlets and holiday cottages huddle around what is dubbed the nation’s most beautiful lake. William Wordsworth seemed to agree, as his poem Daffodils was set here, “beside the lake, beneath the trees”. It's stunning from any angle.
Wastwater may not have the same literary kudos as its Cumbrian neighbour, but at 260 feet (79.2m) deep, it is the deepest lake in England. With a mountainous backdrop, including England's highest peak Scafell Pike, the three-mile-long expanse of water is no stranger to jaw-dropping natural splendour.
This 14th-century castle in the lush green lands of County Durham was originally built by the influential Nevill family, who were involved in the War of the Roses. Today, the castle is the seat of Lord and Lady Barnard and the Vane family, and it's incredibly intact, as you can see from this aerial image.
This image of a railway track clinging precariously to the cliff side is enough to send even the most laid-back train passenger into a panic. But fear not. This part of what used to be known as the Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway, is only used for freight trains these days.
These fields near the village of Selside in south Cumbria offer an almost otherworldly landscape. Like Glen Tilt in Scotland, Hummocky Fields also has the Ice Age to thank for the uneven layout due to glaciers and ice sheets repeatedly advancing across its rural lowlands. Discover more of the most mysterious places on Earth.
The seaside town of Whitby may be famous for in part inspiring Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, but it's still idyllic. Less frightful are its vast array of orange-brick houses and cottages clustered together on each side of the harbour, as seen here.
This canal-side mill, located near Wigan Pier, was used for spinning cotton in its heyday. The area was once a part of Lancashire and the poor living conditions of the area's working class prompted George Orwell’s 1937 political book, The Road to Wigan Pier.
From up high, these terraced houses in Liverpool look like little toy buildings. Typical of many similar, inner-city areas of industrial Britain, the streets containing large numbers of houses were built quickly to provide homes to the many workers of local mills and factories.
Before the industrial boom, the city of Liverpool was once a major British port for cargo and trade and, in the 1700s, ships transporting enslaved people. Today these stories are told through the International Slavery Museum and Merseyside Maritime Museum sitting along the docks, which are now also home to restaurants, bars and the Tate art gallery.
Sitting on the opposite side of the River Mersey to the Liverpool docks, the Cammell Laird shipyard has threaded deep roots into the maritime history books. The Cunard White Star passenger liner Mauretania (the second ship with that name) was built here and, at the time of her launch in 1938, was once the largest ship ever built in an English shipyard.
Known as the Steel City, Sheffield is another northern spot with a rich industrial past. The steelworks have been a huge part of the area since the 19th century. Like Liverpool, the city has become a hub for businesses as well as being a thriving university city.
You'd be forgiven for thinking this was an image from above the clouds not under them. But the white plumes are actually smoke puffing out of the now shuttered Cottam Power Station. In its heyday, the coal-fired furnaces produced 2,000 megawatts – enough to power more than 3.5 million homes.
This colourful collection of stalls is one of Britain’s largest and oldest open-air markets. Having stood on the cobbled streets for more than 800 years, Chesterfield Market usually sells fresh produce, homewares, treats and trinkets six days a week (check the website for any COVID-19 restrictions).
The Peak District’s historical claim to fame doesn’t end with its market. The Neolithic Arbor Low dates as far back as the Stone Age. From this height, the prehistoric monument looks a bit like a wax stamp. It's thought the limestone slabs, ditch and cove are sacred, having been built alongside the ancient burial mound, Gib Hill.
Fifty miles to the west, the River Dee slinks between multiple British countries and counties and forges one side of the Wirral Peninsula. From this height, the estuary looks more like abstract art or barren land, but in fact this is a rich environment for cockles, clams and crustaceans, as well as birds and fish, and these mudflats are flooded twice a day by the tides.
Speaking of flooding, this is the River Dee when it burst its banks in 2014, as England experienced its wettest January since records began. Resembling a tray of chocolate milk, the river coated nearby land as the already-wet soil couldn't absorb any more water. Take a look at jaw-dropping images of the world's taken from the skies.
On the opposite shores of the Dee in Wales, lies the arresting face of Llanberis Quarry. Formerly used to produce slate, the abandoned quarry now attracts rock-climbers looking to tackle the impressive, jagged expanse.
This pretty North Wales town has only stood completed since 1975. It is an eclectic, Italian-inspired mix of colourful buildings which were designed as a folly rather than a practical, functioning community, and is captured here poking out of the vast green surrounds.
Continuing all the way towards the east coast, a labyrinth of salt marshland maps the countryside. To the left of this image you can see little white yachts punctuating the murky waters, while the marshland looks like a tree in bloom from this height.
Another seaside location, the village of Happisburgh has not always been so coastal. The clay and sand cliffs are rapidly eroding and the locals have lost a staggering 328 feet (100m) of land in the last 20 years. Here you can see the sea creeping ever closer to the land. These amazing places have been swallowed by the sea.
Picturesque no matter what height you look at them, the Norfolk Broads are the nation's largest protected wetlands. With over 125 miles (210km) of navigated waterways surrounded by idyllic countryside, towns and villages, this patchwork of natural beauty was astonishingly man-made.
The tiny postcard village of Belaugh is hooked in the corner of one of the Broads’ rivers. There is a school and a church but no pub or even a shop in the peaceful, unspoiled village. Belaugh is one of the few communities of its type left in the UK, as most British villages and towns have continuously expanded over the years.
Away from the blissful towns, villages and waterways of Norfolk lie these vast, bright fields of gold. Rapeseed crops are hugely valuable to this agricultural area of England, taking flower in spring and early summer.
Away from the rural east is urban England at it best – Birmingham's gritty Spaghetti Junction. The Gravelly Hill Interchange got its nickname due to the busy mesh of roads which interweave over, under and around each other, resembling the pasta shape.
Slicing through the city and once extending in a twisting mass across the county, Birmingham’s canals were an extensive thoroughfare for commercial transportation. Advancements on the railways and roads have left much of the waterways and canal-side warehouses disused. Today, like the Liverpool docks, the area is being reinvigorated by new businesses.
In Cambridgeshire, instead of digging canals to divert water in, another man-made system is being used to expel water out. In this image from the skies, you can see the flat, fertile Fens stretch out for miles, right up to Lincoln and Boston further north, in fact.
A rather different man-made spectacle sits in the centre of Ely. Benedictine monks began building the cathedral in the 11th century, with the tallest tower reaching a height of 215 feet (66m). From this aerial shot, we can see the grand splendour of the cathedral in all its glory.
Further west, where the rivers Avon and Severn meet, lies the market town of Tewkesbury. Unfortunately, this proximity to so many waterways left the area vulnerable during record rainfalls in 2007. This shot shows the town floating in murky waters, as the RAF and Army were sent to lend relief to the marooned locals, who were cut off from electricity and had no drinking water for 17 days.
Only from high up can you see this remarkable tree formation nestled beside the Welsh border in the Wye Valley, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Carefully crafted into woodland at Little Doward Woods, the trees were planted to commemorate the Queen's Coronation. They're best visible in winter when surrounding trees are bare.
This big green dent looks a bit like a giant's footstep from this height, but it's actually the site of a Roman amphitheatre. Built in the early 2nd century, the amphitheatre served the city of Corinium (now Cirencester) and had a capacity of 8,000. Today this earthwork is looked after by English Heritage.
Glowing in low evening light, the Second Severn Crossing, officially renamed Prince of Wales Bridge in 2018, snakes across the River Severn joining England and Wales. Stretching nearly 3.2 miles (5km), this second crossing was opened in 1996 to ease the traffic congestion on the original bridge.
Over the bridge and into Wales, this remarkable land carving of a horse can be found in Parc Penallta. Up close, the earthwork, which is 656 feet (200m) long, just looks like green lumpy hills, but up high it showcases artist Mick Petts' tribute to the pit ponies who worked in the surrounding coal mines.
From miners to monarchy, the vast 13th-century Caerphilly Castle in South Wales has been remarkably maintained. The medieval fortress, with its towers, huge walls and gatehouses, remains completely surrounded by a fairy tale-esque moat captured neatly in this aerial shot.
North of the castle, the impressive Brecon Beacons National Park sprawls across the landscape. Villages, lakes and waterfalls make up the vast rural expanse as well as the mountain range featuring Pen y Fan, the highest peak in the region, seen here behind the first ridge. Take a look at more photos of the UK's stunning national parks.
From this height, Port Talbot's steelworks site looks like mounds of different coloured sands in a desert. But the rusty shades, amid a few cranes, are actually different types of raw iron ore ready to contribute to the finished product: steel.
Returning to grand residences and hopping back across the border to England, the magnificent Blenheim Palace sits among a wealth of manicured gardens in Oxfordshire. Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this was also the birthplace of wartime prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill. Take a look at more of the world's enchanting stately homes on our virtual tour.
This network of beautiful university buildings looks even more incredible from the skies. While Oxford is best known for its stunning 12th-century university, the oldest in the English-speaking world, the architecture of the area's buildings inspired Victorian poet Matthew Arnold to nickname it the 'City of Dreaming Spires' in his poem Thyrsis.
Much like Caerphilly’s Sultan Pit Pony, Uffington in Oxfordshire has its own hill-carved horse figure. The difference is that this figure was fashioned from chalk and is thought to be at least 3,000 years old, dating back to the Iron Age. Again, it's much more impressive from above.
No, this isn't a random shot of the sea, but rather a remarkable sight of nature's own creation, linseed. Also known as flax, the lurid inky blue expanse of flowers fills a field in Buckinghamshire.
Looking almost figurine-like, the pretty town of Lechlade sits on the edge of the Cotswolds and, as its full name suggests, alongside the River Thames. The Church of St Lawrence, seen on the left of this image, has a spire that can be spotted for miles. Check out the UK's prettiest small towns and villages here.
The precise architecture of Bath’s iconic residences of The Circus can truly be appreciated when observed from above. The Grade I-listed Georgian townhouses were built in the late 1700s and designed with the same diameters as those of Stonehenge.
Also created in a deliberate shape, and best appreciated from high up, is the heart of trees in Oare. Lady Keswick, the owner of Oare House, planted 1,000 hawthorn trees in 1999 in memory of her two brothers. The natural memorial covers around an acre of land.
The forests of Wiltshire have been around much longer than 1999 though. Anglo-Saxons were felling trees and working the land over a thousand years ago in this county. These harvest fields in Urchfont are still worked on by farmers today, they just have a few more tools than their Saxon counterparts did.
Farmers may have perfected modern harvest routines, but crop circles remain a mystery. The first puzzling design was reported in the 17th century. Although many have since been revealed as pranks, to this day nobody can explain them for certain. Designs like this example have appeared across the fields of Wiltshire many times.
Out of rural England and into the capital, the iconic Wembley Stadium is the home of England's national football team. The impressive modern construction is a new version of the 1923 original stadium and cost hundreds of millions of pounds to build. While fans in the lofty tiers usually enjoy a great view of the pitch, nothing beats this high angle of the 90,000-capacity stadium.
The hub of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Olympic Stadium was a sight to behold from its opening night spectacle right through to the closing show. This bird's-eye view of the stadium, where Usain Bolt and co won numerous golds, was taken during preparations for the opening ceremony.
With its stunning buildings and upmarket homes, it's hard to believe that cosmopolitan Kensington was once simply a collection of fields. In the 1850s, Queen Victoria’s husband, Albert, began a cultural and educational project leading to the many museums and exhibitions which now populate this area. The nickname for this part of South Kensington is subsequently ‘Albertopolis’.
This nighttime view of the London Eye is even better than the fantastic views you get in one of its glass pods. Now synonymous with the capital's skyline, the observation wheel, which opened in the millennium year, was originally only intended to be a temporary attraction. But its popularity earned it a permanent position and it has welcomed more than 76 million visitors in the last two decades. Discover more famous landmarks that were almost destroyed.
Also an iconic name in London, Canary Wharf’s business and banking district sits on the docks along the river. The area was once made up of warehouses for storing trade items such as tobacco and spices. Today, millions are traded by the banks and brokers working in the glamorous modern buildings, which have come to define the city’s skyline. Find out more about London here.
Over on the west side of the city, a little further back from the river, sits Her Majesty the Queen’s royal residence, Buckingham Palace. The grand building contains no fewer than 775 rooms and is surrounded by multiple parklands such as Green Park and St James' Park, seen here sprawled out in front of the palace.
A rather less glamorous and more industrial building, Bluewater shopping centre sprawls out in an octopus-like fashion across the outskirts of Kent. When it first opened in 1999, it was the largest shopping centre in Europe.
This bright yellow snake is actually the track of the Rage roller coaster weaving around Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea. This view is definitely scarier than the one adrenaline-seekers get when plummeting down the 97° descent, although that's not far off!
Clustered together in the Thames Estuary, there's something chilling about these rusty, abandoned towers. Remaining in the same place as they did when they were Britain's first line of defence in the Second World War, these Maunsell Forts, named after their designer Guy Maunsell, is one of three sets that were erected.
Further in towards the Kentish coast, this patchworks of greens and browns make up an oyster farm. The southeast coast of England has been home to oyster beds and fisheries for centuries and even supplied the Romans with oysters. Their abundance in the 1800s meant poor people used them as a stand-in for more expensive meat. How times change!
One man who never had to worry about the cost of a feast was Henry VIII, who once stomped about the halls of his palace in Richmond upon Thames. This aerial view of the palace and its beautiful sprawling grounds is picture perfect.
This busy collection of rails and roads show the entrance to the Channel Tunnel at Folkstone, opened in 1994. The 31-mile (50.45km) track links England and France via the Eurostar and Eurotunnel services.
From up here, these green pastures look like the ruffled edges of a gigantic pie. It's actually the South Downs in Sussex. Stretching along the southeast coastline and continuing inland for miles, the chalk concertina hills are a spellbinding reminder of Britain’s natural majesty. Here are more of the world's most beautiful natural wonders.
This thin outstretch of land protruding from Pagham in West Sussex looks a bit like an abstract oil painting from this height. But those blended shades of green and blue are actually the product of alternating sea levels and changes to estuaries over thousands of years. The sandy spit that breaks up the blues is now a nature reserve.
Travelling across the Solent from Portsmouth, this photo shows the Isle of Wight. But at first glance, it's hard to tell what the image is of. This mass of grey boxes is actually hundreds of glasshouses and polytunnels growing strawberries and other soft fruits and crops. These nurseries in Newchurch, in the southeast of the island, demonstrate the scale on which mass farming can be produced.
Snaking from the western point of the Isle of Wight and into the English Channel, this row of three chalk stacks are a local landmark, best viewed from Alum Bay. There used to be four pinnacles, and if you look closely, you can see the gap where it should be. A storm in 1764 caused the tallest to collapse rather spectacularly – apparently its demise was felt in Portsmouth.
Back on the mainland in East Sussex, Eastbourne’s own man-made construction juts out into the sea. The Victorian pier, completed in 1872, looks almost fortress-like from this image, and it's certainly had its own battles to fight. Numerous fires over the years have destroyed parts of the pier, including the walkway, which has since been rebuilt. Take a look at the world's most historic boardwalks and piers.
Not a typical photograph of the south coast's stunning beaches, but this one, taken from the skies, shows the important task of reclamation. Hayling island, along with Bournemouth Beach, is under threat from natural erosion. This image shows sand dredged from elsewhere being pumped back onto the beach ready for the summer season.
Another beach location which keeps its eye on the encroaching tide is Sandbanks. This sandy peninsula is Dorset’s answer to Dubai's Palm Islands and is one of the most desirable places to live in the British Isles. From this height, it looks positively tropical, so it's no wonder. Take a look at more of the most wonderful views on Earth.
These jagged layers of rock and water are evidence of Dorset's inhabitants, long before the Sandbanks millionaires came along. The rock formation of the Jurassic Coast tells 185 million years of the Earth’s history and has revealed fossils of the dinosaurs who once roamed the planet. This image near Kimmeridge Bay shows the sea at work on jumbled joints in a platform of Kimmeridge Clay, a rock type found across the area.
This breathtaking aerial shot has been caught in just the right lighting. Next door to the Jurassic Coast, this remarkable circular cove is carefully tucked near the village of West Lulworth and looks dramatically different in the daytime. Here, sunset has made the green cliffs turn darker but you can still make out the two shades of blue in the swirl of water, that's peppered with boats.
Breaking up the huge deep blue expanse, this remarkable beach stretches for 18 miles from the island of Portland, off the Dorset coast. It is largely separated from the mainland by the Fleet Lagoon and, unlike the sandy spits of Pagham and Sandbanks, is formed of pebbles. These are the UK's most beautiful beaches from above.
This gigantic grassy oval is no ordinary castle site. Maiden Castle is the largest and most complex Iron Age hillfort in Britain. Covering an area the size of 50 football pitches, the site was home to hundreds of people between 800 BC and AD 43, and looks spectacular from the skies.
Dartmoor National Park is another dramatic expanse, with its wild landscape of semi-eroded mountains and free-roaming ponies. In bleak weather, the rocky lands can be especially austere and are said to have inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write one of his most famous Sherlock Holmes tales, The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Over the county border in Cornwall are these extraordinary mountains of China Clay. Looking stunning against the contrast of the sparkling turquoise pools, the mounds of white sands are where clay mining still occurs today. If you look closely at this surreal landscape, you can make out diggers that appear like toys from this height.
This is an image that screams British seaside. Pale blue waves ripple in front of the famous golden sands of Perranporth Beach, which is packed with sunbathers, their colourful towels and tents scattered all over. This image was taken before the coronavirus pandemic. Now see if you can guess these UK landmarks from their close-ups.
Europe’s biggest music festival, Glastonbury, has often seen ravers caught in some of the more unfortunate turns of weather which England has to offer. While the 2020 event was cancelled, pictures of festival-goers mud-sliding in the rain across Worthy Farm in Pilton have filled newspapers during wet summers gone by. From above, it is clearer how the maze of coloured tents are organised across the fields.
This complex green maze looks as baffling from a height as it does at ground level. The complicated pattern of hedgerows make up the biggest maze in Britain, and consists of 16,000 yew trees. Set in the historic grounds of Longleat House in Wiltshire, there are six white bridges which offer an elevated view of what's to come.
A much older attraction in Wiltshire is the famous ring of huge stone slabs at Stonehenge. The circle of stones was probably erected in around 2500 BC although there is evidence of activity in the area dating from 8500 to 7000 BC. The 13-feet (3.9m) high, 25-tonne stones are remarkable as they would have been extremely difficult to arrange without modern tools and practices. Take a look at the world's most mysterious stone circles.
This vast patchwork of green squares are the rural plains of Somerset. A natural marvel in their own right, they look even more spectacular when lit from above by the double rainbows caught here. The 170,000 acres of wetlands and rivers can be prone to flooding, which farmers and engineers from the Roman era, Middle Ages and 17th century have all tried to tame.
Now discover the fascinating stories behind Britain's most historic towns and cities