Longest line of sight (UK)

[Bald Rick]

And here in Hertfordshire. Crystal clear sky - on my walk up a local bump this morning I could see a contrail of an aircraft that I verified to be at 41,000ft just north of Kortrijk in Belgium.

 

[Scotrail314209]

And here in Hertfordshire. Crystal clear sky - on my walk up a local bump this morning I could see a contrail of an aircraft that I verified to be at 41,000ft just north of Kortrijk in Belgium.

Crikey! That’s quite a way away.

On clear days from Western Scotland I’ve seen planes all the way over the North Sea or coming in from the Atlantic.

 

[McRhu]

For what it's worth, a view taken from Nemphlar (Lanark) looking down the Clyde Valley. This encompasses Wishaw, Motherwell, large swathes of Glasgow including Easterhouse and Ruchazie, Dumgoyne beyond Lennoxtown, and of course Ben Lomond and the Arrochar Alps. A good 55 miles.

 

[D6130]

Fabulous photo. You don't often get such a clear long-distance view as that in West-Central Scotland!

 

[Acey]

For what it's worth,that's a great pic !

 

[nlogax]

Absolutely beautiful. This week I'm to the left of that picture and I think just beyond it. From here I can get a different aspect of the same view from atop Glennifer Braes, albeit with closer views of Dumbarton and the Slacks.

 

[cadder toad]

That view from Nemphlar is stunning. Ben Lomond is clear. I think the peak to the left, in line but slightly to the left of a water tower is the Cobbler at Arrochar, with the Rest and be Thankful on its flank. I think the conical hill between the Cobbler and Ben Lomond is Ben Vane, possibly the furthest away point

 

[McRhu]

Many thanks gents.

 

[D6130]

During today's amazing winter high pressure weather conditions, while travelling South on the 13 50 Aberdeen - Glasgow HST, from the Clifftops above Lunan Bay - midway between Montrose and Arbroath - I could clearly see not only the Fife coast, but also the Berwickshire coast stretching down to St Abbs Head. Unfortunately the camera on my smartphone is not as sophisticated as @McRhu 's, so I can't produce photographic evidence. You'll just have to take my word for it!

EDIT: While on the subject of the above trip, can anyone please tell me the name of the very sharply-pointed conical mountain visible to the West of the line between Blackford and Greenloaning? It seems too far South to be Schiehallion. Could it be Ben Vane, or perhaps an end-on view of Ben Lomond?

 

[Altrincham]

Visibility conditions seem to have been quite favourable over the last couple of days, especially in the spots where I’ve been.

This evening was good for a low-level line of sight. At tea-time I was travelling over the tops between Leek and Ashbourne and saw the lights (far to the south) of the Sutton Coldfield transmitter.

Yesterday afternoon I paid a visit to the Weaver Hills, which are just above Alton Towers and considered as the start of the Pennines from the south. I had a clear view that spanned south Nottinghamshire and Cannock Chase. But the one thing that did stand out was something that I spotted due south of the Weaver Hills. On the far horizon, and with the naked eye, I could see large blocks of buildings which appeared to be Birmingham. It was typical that I didn’t have my binoculars with me, but clearly with the naked eye I could make out what looked like large/tall buildings on the horizon. Looking at the map, I‘m sure it was the Birmingham skyline, a good 40-odd miles away.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Visibility conditions seem to have been quite favourable over the last couple of days, especially in the spots where I’ve been.

This evening was good for a low-level line of sight. At tea-time I was travelling over the tops between Leek and Ashbourne and saw the lights (far to the south) of the Sutton Coldfield transmitter.

Yesterday afternoon I paid a visit to the Weaver Hills, which are just above Alton Towers and considered as the start of the Pennines from the south. I had a clear view that spanned south Nottinghamshire and Cannock Chase. But the one thing that did stand out was something that I spotted due south of the Weaver Hills. On the far horizon, and with the naked eye, I could see large blocks of buildings which appeared to be Birmingham. It was typical that I didn’t have my binoculars with me, but clearly with the naked eye I could make out what looked like large/tall buildings on the horizon. Looking at the map, I‘m sure it was the Birmingham skyline, a good 40-odd miles away.

That must've been a good sight to see. Sometimes on a clear day I can see Glasgow all the way from the hills of the Garnock Valley, a good 25/30 miles.

 

[Altrincham]

That must've been a good sight to see. Sometimes on a clear day I can see Glasgow all the way from the hills of the Garnock Valley, a good 25/30 miles.

It was incredible. I realised that it had to be Birmingham because it was too far south (and too big) for it to be Burton, Lichfield and so on. There’s something intriguing about seeing far-off city skylines. Glasgow sounds like a great and dramatic sight when viewed from afar. I’m always mesmerised by seeing Liverpool‘s skyline from certain vantage points in North Wales.

I‘ve seen the skyline of Manchester from the outer edges of north-west Stoke-on-Trent.

 

[najaB]

Glasgow sounds like a great and dramatic sight when viewed from afar.

If you have to see Glasgow then "from afar" really is the best option.

 

[adc82140]

A good spot in the south is Nine Barrow Down in Dorset just above Swanage. You get a view right across the Solent, past Portsmouth in the mid distance to Burton Down in Sussex. That's a good 60-70 miles.

 

[Altrincham]

A good spot in the south is Nine Barrow Down in Dorset just above Swanage. You get a view right across the Solent, past Portsmouth in the mid distance to Burton Down in Sussex. That's a good 60-70 miles.

I’ve just looked at those 2 points on the map. That’s a great view, especially with a good stretch of the Solent in the line of sight.

 

[adc82140]

I’ve just looked at those 2 points on the map. That’s a great view, especially with a good stretch of the Solent in the line of sight.

Here's the Viewfinder Panorama map

http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ENGP/NINE%20BARROW%20DOWN.png

The view to the west if very limited by the rest of the Purbeck hills.

 

[nw1]

And here in Hertfordshire. Crystal clear sky - on my walk up a local bump this morning I could see a contrail of an aircraft that I verified to be at 41,000ft just north of Kortrijk in Belgium.

A few years ago, around 2011, I discovered flightradar24.com and worked out that on a good day (from Hampshire), I could see contrails around the Nord-Pas-De-Calais and also in the Exeter area.

I’ve just looked at those 2 points on the map. That’s a great view, especially with a good stretch of the Solent in the line of sight.

Not seen that far, but I do remember seeing the Purbeck Hills from Bow Hill above Chichester on at least one occasion.

You can I think see the Brecon Beacons from the Marlborough Downs (Tan Hill) on a clear day. I wonder if this is the furthest southeast that you can see really high ground (say 800m+) in the UK? Being able to see 'proper' highland from the chalk downland of southern Britain is interesting.

It's allegedly possible to sight Kinder Scout from Worcestershire Beacon on the Malvern Hills, according to the direction finder on the latter, though I have the feeling that was debunked somewhere. In the other direction I have the feeling that Uffington White Horse Hill is possible, i.e you can see beyond the Cotswolds, though I have never seen one from the other (visited Worc Beacon just the once and Uffington about three times).

On a related point, I wonder what the furthest point northwest within the UK is that you can see the nearby continent? I think I remember seeing a site which calculated that France ought to be visible from Willingdon Hill, above Eastbourne, on a clear day but not sure if that can be beat?

Also, I wonder whether the Cherbourg area is possible from Nine Barrow Down, or from St Catherine's Hill on the IoW, on a really clear day? That is also about 60 miles or so, but admittedly the Cherbourg hills are lower than Burton Down.

That must've been a good sight to see. Sometimes on a clear day I can see Glasgow all the way from the hills of the Garnock Valley, a good 25/30 miles.

On a related point I have definitely seen the skyscrapers of London from Gibbet Hill (Devil's Punch Bowl) in Surrey which is around 40 miles (sorry, just seen the same point upthread, I've only just discovered this thread!) and from the same location, I have spotted Didcot Power Station chimney (sadly no longer possible).

It's a great pity that none of the telecoms towers in Britain are open to the public. In Germany, where concrete fernsehturm are more common than here, several have public viewing galleries with bars or restaurants, including two which I have visited, in Berlin and Stuttgart. They are very well used and have excellent views.

Although it wasn't built for telecoms, the somewhat similar Space Needle in Seattle is a very popular tourist attraction, with wonderful views over city, sea and mountains.

Indeed. The initial impression I had from the Space Needle looking east was like a more impressive version of the view you get towards the Pennines from Manchester, with the line of the Cascades dominating the eastern skyline. Then I suddenly spotted Rainier (mostly in cloud, but partly visible) and was blown away by just how much it overtopped everything else!

Caesar's Camp right on the Surrey/Hampshire border has fantastic views right across to ce tral London. I'd say that's circa 40 miles.

Is that the hill above Farnham? I visited that once on a roundabout walk from Winchfield to Fleet stations, but sadly as it was early November I ran out of daylight. It would be somewhere I'd like to return to, as from what I gather, as well as London, you get some unusual views along the Thames-Kennet Valley over towards Newbury, Swindon etc, that you don't really see from anywhere else in the area. Essentially, you are apparently looking all the way along the valley from London to eastern Wiltshire.

 

[adc82140]

Also, I wonder whether the Cherbourg area is possible from Nine Barrow Down, or from St Catherine's Hill on the IoW, on a really clear day? That is also about 60 miles or so, but admittedly the Cherbourg hills are lower than Burton Down.

It isn't. There us insufficient high ground on the Cherbourg peninsula. However there are reports you can see the beam of light reflected from Gatteville lighthouse.

However, there was once a report of a Fata Morgana (superior mirage) whereby the French coast could be seen from the Isle of Wight. Sadly the website that had that article has disappeared.

 

[nw1]

It isn't. There us insufficient high ground on the Cherbourg peninsula. However there are reports you can see the beam of light reflected from Gatteville lighthouse.

OK thanks, I thought this was the case but wasn't sure. Nonetheless, given the elevation of Burton Down, the Cherbourg hills would likely only need to be a little bit higher to be visible. I think they're about 150m, so maybe 200-250m would have done it. Perhaps if you could stand on top of the mast on St Catherine's Hill or the smaller aerial on Nine Barrow Down, you might have luck... I've certainly had a "Welcome to France" text message from the Purbeck coast.

However, there was once a report of a Fata Morgana (superior mirage) whereby the French coast could be seen from the Isle of Wight. Sadly the website that had that article has disappeared.

Are these only seen over the sea? Reason being that I may have encountered a similar phenomenon: in cold, clear weather around sunset in January 2001 I clearly saw the southern Isle of Wight hills from Blackdown, West Sussex and I'm fairly sure (not 100%) these are normally blocked by the South Downs - could this have been a refraction artefact?

EDIT: looked a bit more into 'fata morgana' and they are possible over land too. The weather conditions on this day were likely to be the perfect ones for the phenomenon, it was anticyclonic, cold near the surface but perhaps warmer higher up. I think I may have glimpsed the IoW from Blackdown before through a gap in the Downs but the view on this day seemed remarkably clear and the profile of much of the southern IoW hills was clearly visible.

 

[adc82140]

OK thanks, I thought this was the case but wasn't sure. Nonetheless, given the elevation of Burton Down, the Cherbourg hills would likely only need to be a little bit higher to be visible. I think they're about 150m, so maybe 200-250m would have done it. Perhaps if you could stand on top of the mast on St Catherine's Hill or the smaller aerial on Nine Barrow Down, you might have luck... I've certainly had a "Welcome to France" text message from the Purbeck coast.

There is, I'm told, line of sight from the top of the Chillerton Down transmitter on the IoW to Alderney. This was how they first got 405 line ITV to the Channel Islands.

 

[nw1]

There is, I'm told, line of sight from the top of the Chillerton Down transmitter on the IoW to Alderney. This was how they first got 405 line ITV to the Channel Islands.

And as Alderney is I believe lower and further than the hills behind Cherbourg, I suspect the Cherbourg area would be visible from the top of that transmitter. Perhaps, conversely, with a telescope you could see the red lights of the top of Chillerton Down from the Cherbourg hills? And one of the IoW masts for a time in perhaps the late 90s had two very bright flashing white lights. Perhaps the top most of these could have been sighted from France even without a telescope in exceptionally clear weather?

It's of note that the top of Chillerton Down mast is 400m above sea level which is much higher than any natural summit in south-eastern England.

 

[cadder toad]

EDIT: While on the subject of the above trip, can anyone please tell me the name of the very sharply-pointed conical mountain visible to the West of the line between Blackford and Greenloaning? It seems too far South to be Schiehallion. Could it be Ben Vane, or perhaps an end-on view of Ben Lomond?

Ben Vorlich near Callander definitely fits your description when approaching Blackford from the north.

 

[DelW]

Indeed. The initial impression I had from the Space Needle looking east was like a more impressive version of the view you get towards the Pennines from Manchester, with the line of the Cascades dominating the eastern skyline. Then I suddenly spotted Rainier (mostly in cloud, but partly visible) and was blown away by just how much it overtopped everything else!

In case you haven't got that far back , post #472 includes a photo of mine of Mt Rainier taken from the University of Washington in northern Seattle. The ones I took from the Space Needle are similar but have more foreground distractions.

 

[D6130]

Ben Vorlich near Callander definitely fits your description when approaching Blackford from the north.

Thanks....I was wondering about that too, as it seemed pretty steep when I walked up it in thick cloud and driving rain in the 'Summer' of 1980 (My second Munro).

 

[route101]

Ben Vorlich near Callander definitely fits your description when approaching Blackford from the north.

I think you can see Ben Vorlich from south of Glasgow too, from Busby.

 

[cadder toad]

Thanks....I was wondering about that too, as it seemed pretty steep when I walked up it in thick cloud and driving rain in the 'Summer' of 1980 (My second Munro).

I think particularly in the south west of the Munro area - ie immediately north of Glasgow - they're all very similar. Or rather they all have features in common, presumably as they were all formed by the same geological process. This has caused me significant confusion when 3000' up before now! (ie lost when not paying attention to the compass)

 

[route101]

It was incredible. I realised that it had to be Birmingham because it was too far south (and too big) for it to be Burton, Lichfield and so on. There’s something intriguing about seeing far-off city skylines. Glasgow sounds like a great and dramatic sight when viewed from afar. I’m always mesmerised by seeing Liverpool‘s skyline from certain vantage points in North Wales.

I‘ve seen the skyline of Manchester from the outer edges of north-west Stoke-on-Trent.

Not UK but seeing Sydney from the edge of the Blue Mountains was impressive.

 

[181]

You can I think see the Brecon Beacons from the Marlborough Downs (Tan Hill) on a clear day.

The panorama from Pen-y-Fan indicates that this is indeed correct.

I think you can see Ben Vorlich from south of Glasgow too, from Busby.

Distance-wise that seems plausible, but from the map it looks as if the Campsies might get in the way. Might it be Ben Lomond that's visible from Busby?

Ben Vorlich and its neighbour Stuc a'Chroin are certainly visible from quite a long way south, though. The view from various points on the Carstairs-Edinburgh railway line is often my first or last view of the Highlands.

During today's amazing winter high pressure weather conditions, while travelling South on the 13 50 Aberdeen - Glasgow HST, from the Clifftops above Lunan Bay - midway between Montrose and Arbroath - I could clearly see not only the Fife coast, but also the Berwickshire coast stretching down to St Abbs Head.

Maybe there's scope for a discussion (or is there already one somewhere upthread?) on 'longest line of sight from a train in the UK' (other than Snowdon or Snaefell -- the latter of course isn't in the UK anyway).

 

[nw1]

The panorama from Pen-y-Fan indicates that this is indeed correct.

Ah yes, that's probably where I found it out from, as I have used viewfinderpanoramas in the past. Interestingly there is somewhere even more distant in the southeastern quarter, a Telegraph Hill at 82 miles. A very common name, of course, but I'm guessing it's this one, north of Dorchester: Telegraph Hill, Dorset

In fact, Telegraph Hill is the most distant object visible from Pen-y-Fan, which surprises me, I'd have guessed Snowdon. In fact the most northerly visible peak, according to viewfinderpanoramas, is Arenig Fawr at 73 miles (a prominent but relatively-unvisited mountain; I climbed it in 1999 and there was no visible path).

So only 10 miles or so off SR EMU-land being visible from Pen-y-Fan! (An interesting one would be: if it was dead-flat plain all the way from say Dorchester South station to the Brecon Beacons, would Pen-y-Fan be visible from the Waterloo-Weymouth train on exceptionally clear days?)

Distance-wise that seems plausible, but from the map it looks as if the Campsies might get in the way. Might it be Ben Lomond that's visible from Busby?

Ben Vorlich and its neighbour Stuc a'Chroin are certainly visible from quite a long way south, though. The view from various points on the Carstairs-Edinburgh railway line is often my first or last view of the Highlands.

I do remember seeing some very large-looking mountains to the northwest from Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh in 1993 and thinking these were the most southeasterly spur of the Highlands. Looks like most of these are visible from there: see panorama. I distinctly remember the Campsies profile to the west (with the sudden drop to the south), clearly visible from that panorama.

Not UK but seeing Sydney from the edge of the Blue Mountains was impressive.

Again not UK but I wonder what the furthest (land) point is that you can see the Manhattan skyline from. I remember seeing what must have been the Appalachian foothills from the Empire State Building, perhaps 50 or 60 miles away?

In case you haven't got that far back , post #472 includes a photo of mine of Mt Rainier taken from the University of Washington in northern Seattle. The ones I took from the Space Needle are similar but have more foreground distractions.

Ah yes, nice. Didn't see it that clearly - but I did see Mt Rainier clearly in the distance from the slopes of Mt Hood, a few days later. Also saw Mt Baker clearly from Vancouver on the same holiday, also discussed up thread.

 

[najaB]

Again not UK but I wonder what the furthest (land) point is that you can see the Manhattan skyline from. I remember seeing what must have been the Appalachian foothills from the Empire State Building, perhaps 50 or 60 miles away?

Rather annoyingly, I watched a YouTube video not that long ago about that very thing - it was a takedown of a Flat Earther who said it shouldn't be possible at that distance, but I can't remember the title to find it in my watch history.

It was something like 90 miles though.