Mountain Marvels

From astonishing rock formations and ancient forests to beautiful glacial lakes and rare flora, Britain’s mountain landscapes are full of natural wonders. Here we count down our pick of the bunch...

BRITAIN’S MOUNTAINS are natural wonders in themselves. But within them are remarkable features – rock formations, rare flora, wild forests – that can turn a ‘mere’ hike into an excursion into the extraordinary; where you return home exhilarated after feeling connected to something much bigger.

Of course, lists like this should always be taken with a pinch or two of salt; we all have our own treasured places. But here is our take on the Top 10 most mind-blowing natural wonders of our hill, mountain and upland landscapes. Think we’ve missed something that absolutely ought to be included? Let us know!

10. The wind-sculpted Millstone Grit of the Pennines

Nature and industry go hand in hand in much of the southern Pennines; even the name given to the underlying rock – Millstone Grit (also known as gritstone) – reflects its use in the water-powered mills of the early Industrial Revolution. But as Carey Davies writes in his Kinder Scout feature on p46, “upon the moors gritstone is a wild, playful shapeshifter which freely impersonates food, clouds, animals, people – anything it feels like, really.” They may be surrounded by modernity, but spectacular outcrops like the Roaches, Stanage Edge, the Wool Packs and Brimham Rocks are proud-standing marvels of nature.
Picture shows: A ‘fish head’-shaped rock on Ringing Roger, Kinder Scout

9. The waterfall country of the Brecon Beacons