Seven Natural Wonders of the UK

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The Seven Natural Wonders of the UK is a list compiled in May 2021 by the Royal Geographical Society. The seven wonders were chosen for their "shared beauty, uniqueness, and geological significance". There are four wonders in England (Wastwater, Dovedale, The Needles and the Jurassic Coast), one in Northern Ireland (Giant's Causeway), one in Scotland (Loch Coruisk & The Cuillins) and one in Wales (Pistyll Rhaeadr).

Contents

Description

The list was compiled in May 2021 by the Royal Geographical Society in partnership with American outdoor clothing firm Merrell. [1] It consists of what the compilers consider the most beautiful nature spots in the United Kingdom. [2] The Royal Geographic Society's criteria for selecting the list were "shared beauty, uniqueness, and geological significance". The seven wonders selected include four from England (Wastwater, Dovedale, The Needles and the Jurassic Coast), one from Northern Ireland (Giant's Causeway), one from Scotland (Loch Coruisk & The Cuillins) and one from Wales (Pistyll Rhaeadr). [3] Pistyll Rhaeadr has, since the 18th century, been considered one of the Seven Wonders of Wales. [4]

A survey carried out by Merrell found that 41% of British adults had not visited a single one of the seven natural wonders. The Jurassic Coast was the most visited, with 31% of those surveyed reporting having travelled there, while Pistyll Rhaeadr was the least visited, with only 6% of those surveyed stating that had made a trip there. [5] The survey found that only 10% of Britons had heard of all seven of the natural wonders. [6]

The list was compiled following the COVID-19 pandemic which greatly restricted the ability of British people to travel and the compilers of the list hoped that it would inspire more travel to the locations selected. [7]

List

Natural WonderImageLocationDescriptionRef
Dovedale Dovedale.JPG Peak District, EnglandPart of the Dove Valley featuring limestone ravines and fossilised marine life [1]
Giant's Causeway Causeway-code poet-4.jpg County Antrim, Northern IrelandCollection of 40,000 regular polygonal basalt columns formed by rapidly cooling lava. Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site [1]
Jurassic Coast CoastalrockintheJurassi Coast DorsetEngland22263892945298045725812.jpg Devon & Dorset, England95-mile (153 km) long stretch of coast containing fossils from the Mesozoic era. Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site [1]
Loch Coruisk & The Cuillins Boulders next to Loch Coruisk - geograph.org.uk - 482740.jpg Isle of Skye, ScotlandFreshwater loch in the centre of the island, surrounded by the Black Cuillins mountains. [1]
Pistyll Rhaeadr Pistyll Rhaeadr 0073.JPG Powys, Wales240-foot (73 m) tall waterfall, one of Britain's tallest, fed by streams from the Berwyn Mountains [1]
The Needles The Needles, IW, UK.jpg Isle of Wight, EnglandA series of chalk stacks extending into the sea from the western end of the island [1]
Wastwater Wastwater, Yewbarrow and Great Gable - geograph.org.uk - 1546772.jpg Lake District, EnglandGlacial valley surrounded by some of the Lake District's tallest mountains [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Isle of Wight County and island of England

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Geography of the United Kingdom Overview of the geography of the United Kingdom

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Tourism in Scotland Overview of tourism in Scotland

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The Needles Sea stacks off the Isle of Wight, England

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Cuillin

The Cuillin is a range of rocky mountains located on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The main Cuillin ridge is also known as the Black Cuillin to distinguish it from the Red Cuillin, which lie to the east of Glen Sligachan.

Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant Human settlement in Wales

Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant is a village, community and an ecclesiastical parish in the extreme north of Powys, Wales; about 9 miles west of Oswestry and 12 miles south of Llangollen, on the B4580. It lies near the foothills of the Berwyn mountains on the river Rhaeadr. At the top end of the valley is the Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall, one of the Seven Wonders of Wales in the old rhyme. One mile north of the town is the hill Moel Hen-fache. The community includes the hamlet of Llanarmon Mynydd Mawr.

Rhayader Town in Wales

Rhayader is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, within the historic county of Radnorshire. The town is 20 miles (32 km) from the source of the River Wye on Plynlimon, the highest point of the Cambrian Mountains, and is located at the junction of the A470 road and the A44 road 13 miles (21 km) north of Builth Wells and 30 miles (48 km) east of Aberystwyth.

Dovedale Valley in the Peak District, England

Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust, and annually attracts a million visitors. The valley was cut by the River Dove and runs for just over 3 miles (5 km) between Milldale in the north and a wooded ravine near Thorpe Cloud and Bunster Hill in the south. In the wooded ravine, a set of stepping stones cross the river, and there are two caves known as the Dove Holes.

The Seven Wonders of Wales is a traditional list of notable landmarks in north Wales, commemorated in an anonymously written rhyme:

Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall in Powys, Wales

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All Saints Church, Gresford

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Overton-on-Dee Village in Wales

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Wiay, Inner Hebrides Uninhabited island off the Isle of Skye

Wiay, pronounced "waya" is an uninhabited island in Loch Bracadale, off the coast of the Isle of Skye

Mountains and hills of Scotland Wikimedia list article

Scotland is the most mountainous country in the United Kingdom. Scotland's mountain ranges can be divided in a roughly north to south direction into: the Scottish Highlands, the Central Belt and the Southern Uplands, the latter two primarily belonging to the Scottish Lowlands. The highlands eponymously contains the country's main mountain ranges, but many hills and mountains are to be found south of these as well. The below lists are not exhaustive; there are countless subranges throughout the country.

Coastline of the United Kingdom Coastlines of Great Britain, the north-east coast of Ireland, and many smaller islands

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Isle of Skye Island of the Inner Hebrides, Scotland

The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Although Sgitheanach has been suggested to describe a winged shape, no definitive agreement exists as to the name's origins.

Hatherwood Battery

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MV <i>Coruisk</i>

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Geology of the Isle of Skye

The geology of the Isle of Skye in Scotland is highly varied and the island's landscape reflects changes in the underlying nature of the rocks. A wide range of rock types are exposed on the island, sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous, ranging in age from the Archaean through to the Quaternary.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Natural Wonders". Merrell. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  2. "Seven natural wonders of UK: Can you name them? – CBBC Newsround". BBC Newsround. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  3. Dyer, Oliver (1 June 2021). "Isle Of Wight's The Needles Named One Of UK's Seven Natural Wonders". Isle of Wight Radio. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  4. "The seven wonders of Wales". The Guardian. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  5. Bolton, Gay (27 May 2021). "Dovedale chosen as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the UK". Buxton Advertiser. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  6. "Seven Natural Wonders Of The UK". Sidetracked. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  7. Klein, Josie (26 May 2021). "Jurassic Coast named one of Seven Natural Wonders". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 20 July 2022.