We have a wealth of beauty spots in the UK and riding a motorbike is a great way to see them.
In this blog, Bikesure’s well travelled team rate their top 12 beauty spots in the UK, giving a round up of some of the most cherished and photographed places our little kingdom has to offer.
1. Lulworth Cove, Dorset
Our list starts with the beautiful Lulworth Cove, which is located on the Jurassic Coast and is a World Heritage Site in Dorset. In the summer, you can take a boat from the bay and go right up to the iconic rock formation of Durdle Door, one of the best known and most photographed landmarks in the UK. As well as the door, view Man O’War Bay, Man O’War Rocks and the small rocky islets of The Bull, The Blind Cow, The Cow, and The Calf.
2. Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfalls, Wales
Wales is home to some of the UK’s most picturesque scenery, and the jewel in the crown must surely be the pulsating Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfalls in the Berwyn Mountains of Powys. Meaning “spring of the waterfall”, Pistyll Rhaeadr falls in three stages over a 240-foot Silurian cliff-face to the river below. The falls boast the UK’s steepest single drop of more than 130ft.
3. Stonehenge, Wiltshire
One of the most famous ancient sites in England, you must visit the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge in the Salisbury Plain on the A303 just an hour or so from West London. As UK beauty spots go, none can be more impressive or mind-boggling. The massive stones weigh about 25 tonnes each and were manoeuvred all the way from west Wales more than 5,000 years ago — now how did they do that? One of the most famous landmarks in the United Kingdom, Stonehenge is regarded as a British cultural icon throughout the world.
4. The Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland
The Giant’s Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption 50-60 million years ago in what is now County Antrim, about three miles northeast of the town of Bushmills, home to the famous Irish whiskey distillery. In a 2005 poll, the Causeway was named the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom. Make sure you go and make sure you take your camera with you.
5. Lake Windermere, Lake District
Set in Cumbria’s charming Lake District National Park, Lake Windermere is the largest natural lake in England and definitely one of the most stunning, qualifying it as one of the top UK beauty spots. There is a huge range of adventure activities here, making for a memorable break for family and groups of friends alike. None of these beat a cruise across the lake’s shimmering waters, though.
6. Porthcurno, Cornwall
Porthcurno — the “pinnacle cove” — is a small village covering a valley and beach on the south coast of Cornwall. It offers a Robinson Crusoe-style environment with soft white sand, turquoise sea and high cliffs, creating an oasis of stunning natural beauty in the UK’s most popular holiday destination. No wonder it’s one of our top UK beauty spots.
7. Cheddar Gorge, Somerset
Located near Bath and the village of Cheddar is the magnificent natural setting of Cheddar Gorge in the Mendip Hills. Definitely nothing to do with cheese, these limestone cliffs were created by Ice Age meltwaters, and it is the perfect place for a ride out and a long walk. Britain’s oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found here in 1903. Nowadays the queue to visit the show caves at this UK beauty spot isn’t quite so long!
8. Dartmoor
Comprising 953sq km of south Devon upland, Dartmoor was designated a national park in 1951. It’s the largest area of exposed granite in England, and the largest and wildest area of open countryside in the south. It is a beautiful bleak landscape of towering tors, gnarled slopes, peat bogs, colourful heathers and grass ridges. Once largely tree-covered, now only around a tenth is wooded, and farming is limited to flocks of hardy sheep and grazing ponies on the open moor.
9. Urquhart Castle, Inverness-shire
This haunting ruined castle sits beside Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. The present ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though it was built on the site of an earlier medieval fortification. Have your camera at the ready because this is a gorgeous spot in the UK, and you might just catch a glimpse of legendary Nessie. No wonder he (or she) chooses Loch Ness in which to hide — it is so deep that it holds more water than all the lakes in England put together.
10. Tower Bridge, London
Every tourist who visits London must return home with a photograph, a T-shirt or a memory of Tower Bridge, the city’s defining landmark, an icon of the capital and the United Kingdom. Built between 1886 and 1894, Tower Bridge is one of the most recognisable structures in the modern world. It’s in a league of legends with the likes of the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty and Taj Mahal. Visit Tower Bridge and you have the Thames, the Tower of London and all the city has to offer right there too.
11. Sherwood Forest, Nottingham
The thousand-acre forest is home to an absolute legend, and we’re not talking Robin Hood. Just a short walk from the Sherwood Forest visitor centre you will find Britain’s oldest and biggest oak tree, the Major Oak, as it is known. It has stood on this spot for between 800 and 1,100 years and has an incredible 90ft canopy and 40ft trunk circumference. Legend has it that Robin and his Merry Men took shelter beneath its branches and in its massive trunk.
12. Fingal’s Cave, Staffa, Scotland
You will have to park your bike on the mainland because the only way to enjoy Fingal’s Cave is by boat, but it will be well worth the trip because this truly is one of the best UK beauty spots to explore. Situated on the uninhabited island of Staffa the cave is made from hexagon-shaped basalt columns. It is famed for its natural acoustics as the cave’s size and naturally arched structure coupled with the echoes of waves produce an atmosphere similar to that experienced in the world’s great cathedrals.
Insurance that is easy on the eye and the pocket
If you’re planning a ride out to one of the top UK beauty spots this summer, you should take a few minutes to make sure your insurance policy is as easy on the eye as the destinations we have selected in our top 12 list.
Call 0330 123 1028 for a no obligation motorcycle insurance quote or book a call back at a time that suits you. We will do all we can to beat your best insurance quote.
