England
Borrowdale
England's wettest valley, where waterfalls thread through oak canopy into black pools.
Rain falls here more than almost anywhere in England, and the valley wears it well — waterfalls multiply after storms, the river swells beneath stone bridges, and the oakwoods turn a green so deep it feels painted. Borrowdale cuts south from Derwentwater into the heart of the Lake District.
Borrowdale's geology is volcanic — the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, laid down around 450 million years ago, built the crags and ravines that ice later carved into this U-shaped valley. Castle Crag, the smallest fell in Wainwright's guides, offers a short, steep scramble to a summit ringed by slate-quarry ruins with views up-valley to Great Gable, while the Bowder Stone — a two-thousand-tonne glacial erratic balanced on one edge — has drawn ladder-climbing visitors since the Georgians. Seathwaite at the valley head is officially the wettest inhabited place in England, past three metres of rainfall a year, and the ancient Borrowdale Yews nearby — Wordsworth's 'fraternal four' — are estimated at over 1,500 years old, among Britain's oldest living organisms. Great Gable, Scafell Pike and the high passes all open from the valley floor.
Solo
Castle Crag's summit is a place to sit and think — the scramble is short but steep, and the panorama of the Jaws of Borrowdale earns its keep.
Couple
The flat riverside walk from Rosthwaite to Seatoller runs through ancient oakwood and over packhorse bridges — gentle, atmospheric and sheltered even in rain.
Friends
Borrowdale is base camp for serious Lake District walking — Great Gable, Scafell Pike and the Langdales all within reach, a fellside pub waiting at the end.
- England's wettest inhabited valley feeds falls that thunder after rain and whisper in sun.
- Castle Crag's top serves a full panorama of the Jaws of Borrowdale.
- Wordsworth's 'fraternal four' yews rank among Britain's oldest living things.
- Slate-roofed farmhouses sit beneath crags where ravens wheel in the updraught.
Cumberland sausage coil with mustard mash after a rain-soaked hike.
Sticky toffee pudding in a Rosthwaite tearoom — a fell-walker's ritual.
Kamikochi
Japan
A river the colour of glacial flour through an alpine valley closed to private cars.
Cape Breton Highlands
Canada
From the Skyline Trail's cliff decks you watch for whales; moose live on the plateau behind.
Tongariro Alpine Crossing
New Zealand
Emerald lakes glow in active volcanic craters on a moonscape ridge traverse.
Taranaki Maunga
New Zealand
A volcanic cone so symmetrical that satellite photos look digitally rendered.
Bristol
England
Street art erupts from harbour walls where Banksy's ghost still prowls.
Brighton
England
Regency excess meets punk rebellion on a pebble beach that never sleeps.
Bedruthan Steps
England
Sea stacks stand in Atlantic surf below a clifftop you cannot leave.
Whitby
England
Gothic abbey ruins over a harbour where Dracula came ashore and jet jewellery gleams black.