Southern England
The beautiful south has no shortage of photo spots, and picking four from the hundreds of locations that the southern counties has to offer was no easy task, but I’ve given it a go! 17 WIN GREEN HILL
There are some beautiful landscapes in Wiltshire and Win Green Hill is a gem – though not so much a hidden one as it commands the highest point over Cranborne Chase at 909 feet. The copse of beech trees make for a wonderful subject, as you can photograph them from any angle to suit different lighting and cloud formations. Apart from the trees, the views over the surrounding countryside are stunning. I would especially recommend going at sunrise, in the hope of getting mist in the valleys, or at sunset, as I did here in this image. I was fortunate to capture mammatus storm clouds on one side of the trees in a 10-vertical-image stitched panoramic. There’s a car park a short distance from the trees.
18 CORFE CASTLE
Dorset’s Corfe Castle in mist at sunrise is probably on every landscape photographer’s list of locations to shoot. The mist helps to separate it from the surrounding landscape, but that’s if you are on West Hill where most photographers go. If you don’t have the mist, I prefer a lower viewpoint to set the castle against the sky. Now you would think autumn or spring to be the best time for mist, but it is possible in the summertime as well, depending on the overnight temperatures. You can either park in the National Trust car park, or there are several places to park along the road nearest West Hill just before you enter the village of Corfe.
19 PORTH NANVEN
There are so many beautiful locations in Cornwall that it was difficult to narrow it down to just one. The usual go-to locations are Bedruthan Steps, St. Michael’s Mount and Land’s End, to name a few, but I thought I would choose a place that is a bit off the beaten track. The road leading to this bit of coastline is very narrow, ending in a small basic car park: this is Porth Nanven, a secluded bay with smooth sculpted boulders that make wonderful detail images with the sea stacks off the coast. It’s especially good at sunset, when the golden light illuminates the rocks to bring out the shape and form. There are no facilities at the bay, but the nearest village is St. Just.
20 THURNE
I couldn’t omit my home county of Norfolk from the list as it has some of the most incredibly beautiful stretches of rivers and lakes in the world, known as the Norfolk Broads. I’ve been photographing this neck of the country for the past 36 years, so have covered most of the Broads. My favourite location, however, has to be the River Thurne at the village of Thurne. There’s not one but two windmills – or windpumps, as they were used to drain the water from the fields. Thurne Mill is probably the most recognizable of all the mills as it’s the only white one. The other mill is St. Benet’s Mill, on the opposite side of the river, which faces west so is perfect for sunsets. The best time of year to visit is in the winter and spring, when the holiday cruisers are stored away in the boatyards, leaving the rivers quiet except for the abundance of birdlife. But if you are planning a staycation, why not hire a river cruiser to navigate your way through the many miles of stunning waterways?
Tom Mackie’s Top 20… BEST BRITISH LANDSCAPES
If you are planning a staycation, why not hire a river cruiser to navigate your way through the many miles of stunning waterways?