Are you looking forward to the new year? Will you be making staycation plans to avoid the stress of travelling abroad with the unending shadow of COVID? Do you want to explore some of the most beautiful landscapes that the UK has to offer? Why not challenge yourself to visit all of the areas of outstanding natural beauty in the UK?
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Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) is land protected by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW Act). It protects the land to conserve and enhance its natural beauty.
UK Government
In UK there are currently 46 areas of outstanding natural beauty across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. These places have been protected in the national interest for generations to enjoy. So, it would be rude not to visit!
Please note that Scotland has a separate but similar programme called ‘National Scenic Areas‘, we’ll cover these in a separate post.
Click here to see the list of the UK’s 46 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB)
England:
- Arnside & Silverdale – Lancashire
- Blackdown Hills – Devon
- Cannock Chase – Staffordshire
- Chichester Harbour – West Sussex
- Chilterns – Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire
- Cornwall – Cornwall
- Cotswolds – Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire
- Cranborne Chase – Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Somerset
- Dedham Vale – Essex and Suffolk
- Dorset – Dorset
- East Devon – Devon
- Forest of Bowland – Lancashire
- High Weald – Kent, Sussex and Surrey
- Howardian Hills – Yorkshire
- Isle of Wight – Isle of Wight
- Isles of Scilly – Isles of Scilly
- Kent Downs – Kent
- Lincolnshire Wolds – Lincolnshire
- Malvern Hills – Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire
- Mendip Hills – Somerset
- Nidderdale – North Yorkshire
- Norfolk Coast – Norfolk
- North Devon – Devon
- North Pennines – Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Cumbria
- North Wessex Downs – Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire
- Northumberland Coast – Northumberland
- Quantock Hills – Somerset
- Shropshire Hills – Shropshire
- Solway Coast – Cumbria
- South Devon – Devon
- Suffolk Coast and Heaths – Suffolk
- Surrey Hills – Surrey
- Tamar Valley – Devon and Cornwall
- Wye Valley – Herefordshire and Gloucestershire
Wales:
- Anglesey – Isle of Anglesey
- Clwydian Range & Dee Valley – Denbighshire, Flintshire, & Wrexham
- Gower – Swansea
- Llŷn – Cyngor Gwynedd
- Wye Valley – Monmouthshire
Northern Ireland:
- Antrim Coast and Glens – Antrim
- Binevenagh – Londonderry
- Causeway Coast – Causeway Coast and Glens
- Lagan Valley – Belfast
- Mourne – Down
- Ring of Gullion – Armagh
- Sperrin – Tyrone and Londonderry
- Strangford Lough – Down
- Arnside and Silversdale
- Blackdown Hills
- Cannock Chase
- Chichester Harbour
- Chiltern Hills
- Cornwall
- The Cotswolds
- Cranborne Chase
- Dedham Vale
- Dorset
- Devon
- Forest of Bowland
- High Weald
- Howardian Hills
- Isle Of Wight
- Isles Of Scilly
- Kent Downs
- Lincolnshire Wolds Railway
- Malvern Hills
- Mendip Hills
- Nidderdale
- Norfolk
- Pennines
- North Wessex Downs
- Northumberland
- Quantock Hills
- Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre
- Solway Coast
- Suffolk
- Surrey Hills
- Tamar Valley
- Wye Valley
- Anglesey
- Clwydian Range & Dee Valley
- Gower Heritage Centre
- Llŷn
- Antrim
- Binevenagh Forest
- Giant’s Causeway
- Lagan Valley
- Mourne Mountains
- Ring of Gullion
- Sperrin
- Strangford Lough
How to plan for the challenge
To visit 46 places over 52 weeks is not impossible but can be a bit of a logistical nightmare. To help you plan, here are some questions:
- Do you want to take your time to explore each location? How long do you need?
- What is your budget for this challenge? For example, can you afford the petrol, the accommodation and the food needed for 46 weekends away?
- What accommodation will you choose? For example, camping in a tent or using a campervan will be much cheaper than lots of different hotels.
How we would do it
Personally speaking, I would want to see Wales and Northern Ireland between January and April, most of Southern England between May and August, and Northern England (plus the remaining South England spots) between September and December.
Wales
Starting with Wales, there are five areas of natural beauty across the country. These could be tackled in two weekends – one in the North and one in the South.
Weekend one – South Wales
We would spend Saturday in the Wye Valley, probably Symonds Yat, and the rest of the weekend exploring the Gower Peninsula. We would want to find some history and maybe even a castle!
Weekend two – North Wales
We would stay in Anglesey and use it as a base to explore Anglesey and Llŷn on Saturday and Sunday morning. On the way home we would stop for a walk through the Clwydian Valley and Dee Valley.
Northern Ireland
Next, travel over the Irish Sea to the eight areas of natural beauty in Northern Ireland. There’s far too much to see in Northern Ireland for one weekend. For that reason, we would try to cover Northern Ireland over a long weekend.
- We would arrive in Belfast on Thursday evening and check-in/set up (depending on how we decided to sleep) for two nights.
- On Friday, we would explore Mourne and Ring of Gullion.
- On Saturday, we would explore Strangford Lough and Lagan Valley.
- Saturday evening we would travel to Antrim and check-in/set up for two nights.
- On Sunday, we would explore Causeway Coast, Antrim Coast and Binevenagh.
- On Monday, we would go for a walk in Sperrin before heading home.
England
Finally, England. Some of the English AONBs require a whole weekend whereas others can be explored in a day. Of course this depends on how much you want do in each area.
Full weekend
- Cotswolds
- Cornwall (including Tamar Valley)
- North, South and East Devon (Including Blackdown and Quantock Hills)
- Dorset
- Isles of Scilly
- Isle of Wight
Day trips
- Cranborne Chase and Wiltshire Downs
- Mendip Hills
- North Wessex Downs
- Chilterns
- Malvern Hills
- Shropshire Hills
- Cannock Chase
- Chichester Harbour
- Surrey Hills
- Kent Downs
- High Weald
- Dedham Vale
- Suffolk Coast
- Norfolk Coast
- Lincolnshire Wolds
- Howardian Hills
- Nidderdale
- Forest of Bowland
- Arnside and Silverdale
- North Pennines
- Solway Coast
- Northumberland Coast
You can find our checklist below. Please do let us know if you intend on doing the challenge, and how you plan to do it, or even if you manage it!!
I LOVE this idea! I need to see if we have something similar in Ontario/Canada. If not, we make one. I can’t wait to see Sash (and you) achieve this challenge.