A guide to the most Instagram-worthy places in the UK

For travel-photography buffs it’s a bit of a holy grail: a 360-degree time-lapse image of London’s famed skyline.

It’s apparently the first gigapixel image and comprises 6 240 individual images taken, at a rate of 260 an hour, over a 24-hour period. Each image, showing everything from London Bridge to the Shard, the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral and other landmarks, comprises 7 billion pixels.

The image is so big that it wouldn’t run on your average laptop. Capturing it needed a robotic arm on the roof of the 50-storey One Canada Square, also known as Canary Wharf Tower, the second-tallest building in the UK, and the two-person photography team spent chilly hours making sure it all ran smoothly.

But while getting a few good images makes your travels more enjoyable and easier to share with your social circle, you needn’t shiver on a skyscraper or carry heavy equipment around to get the pics you need.

Sue Petrie, British Airways’ Commercial Manager for Southern Africa, recommends her favourite spots in the UK that will light up any Instagram feed.

The Lake District

The mountainous area of northern England that inspired William Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter and John Ruskin is a UNESCO Heritage Site and Britain’s biggest national park, with soaring mountains, ancient forests and deep lakes.

The Lake District, England. Picture: Pixabay

It’s a haven for lovers of nature and landscape photography, and also has good road access. The historic town of Carlisle has a castle and cathedral, and there are good restaurants and gastropubs.

Petrie’s tip: after documenting the majesty of the landscape, tour the Lakes Distillery and sample its espresso liqueur, before having lunch at the distillery’s bistro, with salted caramel vodka ice-cream for dessert.

The Isle of Skye

The spectacular scenery of the Outer Hebrides Islands can stop you in your tracks at almost every turn, and the changing light and often robust weather conditions – you may be bathed in sunshine and rain-drenched a minute later – mean that opportunities can quickly pass photographers by.

Elgol beach, Isle of Skye, Scotland. Picture: Pixabay

Skye’s stark beauty has drawn crowds in recent years, but it’s still worth visiting for its variety of stone circles, rocky coastlines, lochs, cliffs, waterfalls, castles, goofy-looking Highland cows, and of course the famous rock spires of the Old Man of Storr.

Stone circle in Isle of Skye, Scotland. Picture: Pixabay

Durham

If the lush, gentle scenery and ancient stone buildings seem familiar, it’s because some of it appeared in the Harry Potter films, in which Durham Cathedral doubled up as Hogwarts School.

While photography is restricted in the cathedral itself, the grounds invite exploration, and the area’s cobbled streets, bridges and river offer spectacular photo-opportunities.

Elvet Bridge across the River Wear in Durham, England. Picture: Pixabay

The entire area of north-eastern England is full of architecture from Roman and medieval times, through the Industrial Revolution, and its land- and seascapes inspired the artist John Turner.

London

It’s a cliché to describe the great city’s skyline as iconic, but it does have many instantly recognisable features, old and new.

Millions of visitors have documented the city’s red Routemaster buses, its black taxis and Thames bridges, and its tidal flows of people and traffic have been treated with every variation of tilt-shift, time-lapse and image enhancement.

Wimbledon Park in London, England. Picture: Pixabay

But its scale and variety is almost endless, and its excellent public transport system makes it easy for visitors to get to its myriad photogenic attractions, including parks, riverside walks and cityscapes.

Petrie’s tip: spend time in Little Venice, a tranquil, leafy area north of Paddington, with narrowboats, a junction of three canals, and pubs and coffee shops.

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