Marvellous Maps

24/01/2024

Here are 52 of the Mail Online's favourite entries from our 'fascinating' Bucket List Map - from Cornwall to the tip of Scotland.

Did they miss any of Britain's very-best bits?

The Great British Bucket List Map, published by marvellousmaps.com, reveals that the UK is blessed with more things to do, see and eat than you could ever imagine.

04/08/2023

Great news that the Dartmoor wild camping ban has been overturned - now what about public access to the rest of England? 👀

92% of the English countryside is off-limits to the public, but the .2roam campaign wants to change all that. They’re lobbying for a national (something luckier Scotland has enjoyed since 2003).

More places to explore in Britain sounds like a brilliant thing to us, but how about you? Would you like to see Right to Roam extended across England? Let us know…

02/08/2023

In need of some inspiration for family adventures over the rest of the summer? ☀️🎢

The Great British Map of Wonders is our one map designed for (and with considerable input from) children. Like Britain itself, the map is full of wonders, showcasing the funnest things to do in Britain and the best places to do them, with all sorts of amusing characters guiding you around the map.

Perhaps most pleasingly, it also features a giant colouring-in version of the map on the back 👀

That's not all. The map is designed to give parents the inspiration and information you need for some great family adventures, whether it's a short trip close to home or a longer one in the farther-flung parts of Scotland, Wales and England.

Let the adventure unfold > marvellousmaps.com

31/07/2023

🏆 Britain’s Best Bits no.234: Bristol

There’s boat-loads of history to uncover in well-connected Bristol – from the Old City built on the fortunes of Mediaeval traders to the Brunel-engineered marvels of Clifton Suspension Bridge and Underfall Yard. More highlights, both historical and otherwise…

🚲 Combe Down on the cycling route between Bath and Bristol – the longest cycling tunnel in Britain

⚓ The SS Great Britain – another fantastic feat of Brunel’s (haunted?)

🎈 Bristol International Balloon Fiesta (pictured)

🎞️ Take travel inspiration from films and TV shows, including The Outlaws, Starter For Ten and Truly, Madly Deeply (and it’s a UNESCO City of Film)

Next up in the series: a Scottish destination that Borders on brilliant...

*We're currently on a mission to venture beyond ‘best of’ lists, bringing you the most intriguing, inspirational and (sometimes) under-appreciated bits of Britain. All in delightfully random order.

28/07/2023

We’re really enjoying following the progress of Ordnance Survey Champion Anita Kerwin-Nye, who has set herself the wonderfully scenic challenge of visiting every Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Britain & Northern Ireland.

Not exactly a tough gig, but it might take her a while – there are 46 AONBs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (plus an extra 40 in Scotland, where they're called National Scenic Areas or NSAs instead), which just goes to show what an outstandingly beautiful place Britain really is.

How many AONBs / NSAs have you managed to visit?

Over 10 = wonderfully well-travelled 🙂
Over 20 = officially impressive 😊
Over 30 = total Britain boffin 😃
Over 40 = fancy a job? 😁

Read more from Anita on the OS's blog - an excellent source of adventure inspiration for all.

📸 Pictured here: Gower AONB.

26/07/2023

British folklore is full of ghoulishly gruesome beasties, but Orkney’s Nuckelavee might be the worst of a monstrous bunch 👀

Legend speaks of a translucent, black-blooded rotting equine body with a man’s head. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Nuckelavee also whiffs of burning seaweed and wilts crops with its breath. What a charmer.

Does your local patch boast a legendary beast to beat the Nuckelavee? Share your traditional horror stories with us here…

24/07/2023

🏆 Britain’s Best Bits no.38: Lord Hereford’s K**b

This amusingly-named hill in the mighty Brecon Beacons will be best known to music lovers as the title of a Half Man Half Biscuit song. ‘Lord Hereford’s K**b’ is, quite possibly, the only song to feature an Ordnance Survey grid reference (SO224350, if you were wondering). Visit it for the musical kudos, but also because…

🗻 The views across the Black Mountains (the easternmost part of the Brecon Beacons – not to be confused with the Black Mountain in the west) from the 690m-high summit take the biscuit

📚 It’s a chance to explore Hay-on-Wye, which has more than 20 bookshops for the 1600 residents as well as two famous literary festivals

🥾 A stone’s throw away (if you’re really good at throwing stones) is the Offa’s D**e Path National Trail, a brilliant 177-mile romp through the Welsh Borders

🎧 Also nearby, one of Britain’s most spectacularly-sited festivals, Green Man, wows visitors to the valleys near Crickhowell

Next up in our series: A South West city Brizzling with culture and history…

21/07/2023

You might think you know Cornwall… but you’ve never seen it quite like this before. Matt Warren from kernow_from_above on IG sends his camera skywards to capture Cornish beauty spots from the air.

Here’s Gwithian on the North Cornwall coast – miles of sand to explore and some famously good surf to catch 🌊

Got a favourite Cornish beach? Tag us in your pics so we can take a look….

19/07/2023

Ever wondered what the Proclaimers' 500-mile walk would look like? No? Just us, then!

Our fastidious research led us to speculate that their start point was, in fact, Start Point in South Devon. Not only is this almost exactly 500 miles from Leith (hometown of the Proclaimers), it also has a famously beautiful lighthouse and would generally be a nice place to begin an epic 500-mile march across Britain.

What do you think - is this the walk the Proclaimers meant? And would you follow in their tuneful tracks? Let us know!

The Proclaimers

17/07/2023

🏆 Britain’s Best Bits no.63: Cardigan Bay

These wild Welsh waters are home to bottlenose dolphins - one of only two resident British pods. Admiring the sea(nery) from the harbour wall at New Quay, you’ll have a pretty good chance of spotting inquisitive bottlenoses. Also porpoises, seals, and, if your luck’s really in, even the odd orca. Should the wildlife fail to show, head to…

🏜️ Ynyslas - orchid-pocked sand dunes and the legend of a lost city
🏖️ Mwnt Beach - sheltered sands and more dolphin spotting
🍺 The Pentre Arms - real ales right on the beach
🎞️ Aberystwyth - loads of history, and the setting for Welsh noir crime drama Y Gwyll / Hinterland

Next up in the series: a peak you'll want to tell your friends you visited...

*We're currently on a mission to venture beyond ‘best of’ lists, bringing you the most intriguing, inspirational and (sometimes) under-appreciated bits of Britain. All in delightfully random order.

14/07/2023

Britain has some beautiful wild swimming spots – but, thanks to the sewage-discharging antics of certain water companies, they aren’t always as clean as a swimmer might like.

The Safer Seas and River Service map is essential viewing for anyone who dislikes paddling in human waste (all of us, presumably). It monitors information on sewage overflows and pollution risks, distilling the information into handy map form. You can download the app from the link in their bio at .

Surfers Against Sewage is also doing sterling work cleaning Britain’s beaches and campaigning for cleaner waters. Join us in supporting them with a small contribution, or follow their advice and email your MP /water company asking them to 📱🌊

12/07/2023

It’s best known for marvellous marine wildlife and eye-pleasing scenery of the craggy, cliffy variety - but did you know that Lundy is also a historical hotspot with a swashbuckling past? 🦜🏴‍☠️

Between the 12th and 17th centuries, this island outpost in the Bristol Channel was pretty much ruled by pirates.

A potted pirate history: Lundy was taken over in 1150 by the de Marisco family. They used the island as a base for attacks on passing ships until William de Marisco was inevitably hung, drawn, and quartered in 1242. The 17th century witnessed more piratical shenanigans, with pirate chief Thomas Sakeld setting himself up as ‘King of Lundy’ in 1610. He was the last of Lundy’s pirates (although the island’s only pub is still called Marisco Tavern, and, in suitably piractical fashion, it never officially shuts…)

Fancy yourself as Lundy’s next pirate king? In the absence of passing pirate ships, the best way to get to Lundy is via a two-hour ferry ride on the MS Oldenburg. Seals, seabirds, and cliffy coastal scenery await 😍

10/07/2023

🏆 Britain’s Best Bits no.348*: Glasgow

“The world’s friendliest city” (TimeOut, 2022) oozes history, culture and good times. All major museums and galleries are free! And the great outdoors are very close by - head to Loch Lomond & the Trossachs, explore the Isle of Bute or start the West Highland Way from here. There are many more reasons to love Glasgow too, not least:

🏛️ Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum – 8,000 exhibits, including an old Spitfire

🎡 Festivals, and lots of them. Leading cultural lights include Glasgow Film Festival, Celtic Connections, Aye Write! and TRNSMT Festival

🧛‍♀️ There’s a spooky graveyard (Glasgow Necropolis) with a vampire myth. So plenty to sink your teeth into

📚 Some good reads to inspire visits to Glasgow include Lanark (Alasdair Gray), How Late It Was, How Late (James Kelman) and Shuggie Bain (Douglas Stuart). Spot the Dear Green Place on screen in Taggart, Trainspotting, Red Road, Under the Skin and Ratcatcher.

Next up in the series: A Welsh bay with some flippin’ amazing residents.

*We're currently on a mission to venture beyond ‘best of’ lists, bringing you the most intriguing, inspirational and (sometimes) under-appreciated bits of Britain. All in delightfully random order.

07/07/2023

Britain has some truly amazing mountains 😍⛰️

Not the biggest in the world, true - but, as this great shot of Stac Pollaidh by photographyby_jem definitively proves, size really isn’t everything. Some things you might like to know about Stac Pollaidh before you rush off to climb it (which you definitely should - with sufficient hill-walking experience and/or a guide of course!):

📍 You’ll find it in Assynt, a marvellously mountainous corner of the Northwest Highlands - a bit of a trek from most populous parts of Britain, but totally

📏 It’s 612m high - that might be 300m or so shy of Munro status, but it's up there (hmm) with the very best of them

🥾 The summit ridge is as scrambly as it looks. Luckily, there’s a seriously nice circular walk around the bottom with nearly-as-good views

P.S. If your idea of a good time is browsing amazing pictures of Scotland, then photographyby_jem is good for many hours of happy procrastination (she takes a mean Highland cow photo).

03/07/2023

🏆 Britain's Best Bits no.24: Fulking Hill

This Sussex beauty spot is arguably Britain’s (and possibly also the world’s) greatest place name that also doubles as a quasi-expletive. Try shouting it with urgency on public transport on a rainy Tuesday commute to discover its potential. Worth a visit for the chuckle factor alone, but it’s more than just a pretty name…

😈 Just over the hill is Devil’s D**e, another great-sounding name and also a place with some serious scenery

🚶 Fulking Hill is on the South Downs Way National Trail - 100 miles of lovely rolling downland to potter through

🐾 Nearby Brighton is an urban wildlife hub - watch starlings murmurating over the pier and search for orchids at Castle Hill nature reserve

😁 Extend your place name pilgrimage to include nearby gems, such as Horney Common, Cackle Street and Breaky Bottom

Next up: A famously friendly Scottish city, often seen on screen...

30/06/2023

Credit to Scottish photography sensation leading_lines for this brilliant capture of a puffin popping up from behind a flowery Fair Isle cliff 😍

If you fancy a bit of puffin-spotting yourself this summer, here’s our quick pick of the best locations: Farne Islands (Northumberland), Treshnish Isles (Inner Hebrides), South Stack Cliffs (Anglesey), Skomer Island (Pembrokeshire).

28/06/2023

If you're hoping for a sundowner in Knoydart's Old Forge, it's a 15km trek across some of Scotland's wildest terrain (or you could cheat and catch the boat, but where's the fun in that?).

Mainland Britain’s most remote pub, this community-owned boozer is well worth the tough yet terrific journey across the beautiful Scottish Highlands. Find ukele-strumming locals, local fish and game, and real ales waiting for you at the end ⛰️🍺

👉 The Old Forge is temporarily closed for refurbishment, but keep your eyes peeled as they plan to re-open soon. Time to plan an adventure to the lovely Knoydart Peninsula... 👌

26/06/2023

Introducing….. Marvellous Maps’ mini guides to Britain’s Best Bits!

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be venturing beyond ‘best of’ lists to bring you the most intriguing, inspirational and (sometimes) under-appreciated bits of Britain. From the sweeping sands of Scilly to the wild wonders of Shetland (touching on everything from wildlife and adventure to history, folklore, culture and funny place names along the way), discover why brilliant Britain is one of the best places in the world for discovery, travel and adventure. First up:

🏆 Britain's Best Bits no.362: Anglesey and the Llŷn Peninsula

Visit the Wonderful Wild West (of Wales), skirting the honeypots of Snowdonia to find two stunning Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Anglesey and the Llŷn Peninsula. From watersports and cycling to beach beers and sandy coves, there’s an adventure for everyone at these coastal spots. But if you need some inspiration, here are our favourite picks:

🌊 Porth Wen - remote retreat with swimmable waters & industrial ruins

🍺 The Tŷ Coch Inn (pictured here, if you look closely) - gloriously located right on the beach

🏰 Gwynedd - King Edward I’s UNESCO-listed castles

🏖️ Porth Iago - small but stunning sandy cove

🦆 South Stack Cliffs - seabird city heaving with guillemots, razorbills, peregrines and more

Coming up next: one of Britain's best (and rudest...) place names!