Longest line of sight (UK)

[Altrincham]

You can easily see Drax power station on a clear day from the hills above Sheffield so I suppose with a very good pair of binoculars you could see the Humber, which is tidal. I think the 'horizon' calculation precludes seeing the 'proper' sea near Cleethorpes or Spurn Point, and anyway the Yorkshire/Lincolnshire Wolds would block it, unless the relatively small gap caused by the Humber could allow it.

From my school just west of Doncaster, 100m above sea level, you can just see the top of the Humber Bridge by eye on a clear day if you know exactly where to look for it, so that might back up the impossibility.

I'm sure I read somewhere that it is impossible to see the North and Irish Sea from the same point, though you would think somewhere like Cross Fell in Cumbria would have a chance. I wonder what would happen if you could climb to the top of Holme Moss TV mast on the moors above Holmfirth?

Looking at the online panoramas, it would appear you cannot see both the North Sea and the Irish Sea from a single location anywhere in England or Scotland.

The closest I've found is from the top of Ben Nevis, where it's possible to see the Atlantic and a glimmer of North Sea (just near Inverness - see link).

http://viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/GRW/NEVIS-North.gif

 

[EbbwJunction1]

I think that there's a poem somewhere (although I can't find it) saying that from Anglesey you can see England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man.

 

[anti-pacer]

ASHURST BEACON, SKELMERSDALE

From here I've seen as far as the Great Orme at Llandudno, Blackpool Tower, the Irish Sea, Cumbrian Fells, Pendle Hill, and even the Peak District, as well as both Liverpool and Manchester.

ARNDALE HOUSE, MANCHESTER

I worked for a while on the 15th floor of the tower block of offices above Manchester Arndale. I could see as far as that big TV transmitter south of Macclesfield (Sutton Common?), Jodrell Bank, Runcorn Bridge, and the Welsh hills. Winter Hill and the moors above Rochdale were also very clearly visible, as were planes landing and taking off at the airport. Night views from my desk were great too.

MALHAM, YORKSHIRE DALES

I've seen Emley Moor TV transmitter from here. I'm not sure of the distance but it's got to be over 30 miles as the crow flies.

WESTERN HEIGHTS, DOVER

I've seen the hills between Calais and Boulogne from here once. It was a really sunny day and I could even see the sun shining off moving vehicles. I couldn't see the vehicles themselves though, if that makes sense.

WATERHOUSES, Nr LEEK, STAFFS

From the A52 between Leek and Ashbourne, you can easily see The Wrekin hill at Telford, the Long Mynd and its associates, and the Pye Green TV transmitter at Cannock.

LICKEY HILLS, WORCESTERSHIRE

From this beauty spot just south of Birmingham I have seen as far north as the church on the hill at Breedon-on-the-Hill, and also Bardon Hill, both in Leicestershire.

CASTLE INN, EDGEHILL, Nr BANBURY

Fantastic views over the Warwickshire countryside as far as the Malvern Hills.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

From just across the road outside my house in Newport, I can see the towers of the Second Severn Crossing, which is somewhere around 22 miles, I think.

It's also occurred to me that when I worked there, I used to be able to see the towers of one of the Severn Crossings (I'm not sure which one) from one of the higher floors of Brunel House, Cardiff. I'm not sure of the distance of this one either, but I'd guess that it it's probably 30 to 35 miles.

 

[anti-pacer]

From my flat in Wakefield I can see Emley Moor TV transmitter, which to be fair isn't that far. I can also see on a clear day Holme Moss transmitter which must be a good 18 miles away.

I also have a view of the ECML Leeds branch from my lounge window, and I'm within "tennis ball throwing" distance from the Wakefield-Knottingley line at the back.

 

[Altrincham]

ASHURST BEACON, SKELMERSDALE

From here I've seen as far as the Great Orme at Llandudno, Blackpool Tower, the Irish Sea, Cumbrian Fells, Pendle Hill, and even the Peak District, as well as both Liverpool and Manchester.

ARNDALE HOUSE, MANCHESTER

I worked for a while on the 15th floor of the tower block of offices above Manchester Arndale. I could see as far as that big TV transmitter south of Macclesfield (Sutton Common?), Jodrell Bank, Runcorn Bridge, and the Welsh hills. Winter Hill and the moors above Rochdale were also very clearly visible, as were planes landing and taking off at the airport. Night views from my desk were great too.

MALHAM, YORKSHIRE DALES

I've seen Emley Moor TV transmitter from here. I'm not sure of the distance but it's got to be over 30 miles as the crow flies.

WESTERN HEIGHTS, DOVER

I've seen the hills between Calais and Boulogne from here once. It was a really sunny day and I could even see the sun shining off moving vehicles. I couldn't see the vehicles themselves though, if that makes sense.

WATERHOUSES, Nr LEEK, STAFFS

From the A52 between Leek and Ashbourne, you can easily see The Wrekin hill at Telford, the Long Mynd and its associates, and the Pye Green TV transmitter at Cannock.

LICKEY HILLS, WORCESTERSHIRE

From this beauty spot just south of Birmingham I have seen as far north as the church on the hill at Breedon-on-the-Hill, and also Bardon Hill, both in Leicestershire.

CASTLE INN, EDGEHILL, Nr BANBURY

Fantastic views over the Warwickshire countryside as far as the Malvern Hills.

Not far from Breedon, it was once reported that it was possible to see Boston Stump (Lincolnshire) from the top of the control tower at East Midlands Airport. I cannot find any reference to it on the internet but I believe it was mentioned in a book covering the history of the airport.

 

[Howardh]

Can barely see the lampost opposite today, let alone the Isle of Man!

 

[Altrincham]

Winter Hill, where one can simultaneously see the Welsh Hills, Irish Sea, Blackpool Tower, Lakeland fells, the Forest of Bowland, The Pennines, the Peak District and pretty much the entirety of Greater Manchester and Merseyside laid out before you. Possibly the most *diverse* view possible from anywhere in England?!

I'd be tempted to say that Winter Hill is England's most wide-ranging view.

 

[Tetchytyke]

My parents live in Queensbury and from there you can see Ingleborough, which is about 40 miles. And Panorama Viewfinder says you can see Soil Hill Queensbury from Ingleborough, so...

 

[The Lad]

Fascinating, Main TV masts will be intervisible making relaying the programming easy.

 

[Calthrop]

With this thread being back in action -- a somewhat related matter which a few weeks ago, had me pondering: would be grateful for folk's thoughts.

On a quick visit to the North Wales coast, things so worked out that I had a longish spell of "cooling my heels" on the coast at Llanddulas, while my companions were off doing other things. It was a February day of not wonderful, but also not dreadful, visibility. Looking left and right along the coast: I saw off to the west, the Little / Great Orme headlands. Looking "east-north-east": in the quite far distance -- for sure, in England -- a fairly high and substantial block of elevated land, could be seen. My first thought was that it was the Wirral peninsula -- but thinking further, the direction was wrong; and the Wirral rises only to modest heights, at most. My best guess ended up being that I was looking at the moors, well inland, of southern Lancashire -- in fact including Winter Hill -- which as one goes east, merge into the Pennines. Was I right in this; or would it be an unexpected "something else again"?

 

[Karl]

With this thread being back in action -- a somewhat related matter which a few weeks ago, had me pondering: would be grateful for folk's thoughts.

Peakfinder can be a useful site for reference. Try here...

https://www.peakfinder.org/?lat=53....cfg=sm&date=2017-03-07T16:34Z&name=llanddulas

 

[Howardh]

With this thread being back in action -- a somewhat related matter which a few weeks ago, had me pondering: would be grateful for folk's thoughts.

On a quick visit to the North Wales coast, things so worked out that I had a longish spell of "cooling my heels" on the coast at Llanddulas, while my companions were off doing other things. It was a February day of not wonderful, but also not dreadful, visibility. Looking left and right along the coast: I saw off to the west, the Little / Great Orme headlands. Looking "east-north-east": in the quite far distance -- for sure, in England -- a fairly high and substantial block of elevated land, could be seen. My first thought was that it was the Wirral peninsula -- but thinking further, the direction was wrong; and the Wirral rises only to modest heights, at most. My best guess ended up being that I was looking at the moors, well inland, of southern Lancashire -- in fact including Winter Hill -- which as one goes east, merge into the Pennines. Was I right in this; or would it be an unexpected "something else again"?

Winter Hill sounds about right!! Winter Hill is part of the West Pennine Moors which is a spur of the Pennines - and the hill directly in front of Winter Hill houses Rivington Pike, where a beacon is lit to signify major national events as it can be seen from miles around.

 

[Calthrop]

Thanks, Karl and Howardh. Visibility, as mentioned, was not hopeless but not especially good -- my impression was of one big block of high land -- isn't there something of a gap between Bowland Forest, and the high moors south thereof? On a day of clearer visibility, more subtleties might have been discernible.

Am reassured anyway, that I've been more or less on the right track, and not hopelessly "confuzzled".

 

[Altrincham]

With this thread being back in action -- a somewhat related matter which a few weeks ago, had me pondering: would be grateful for folk's thoughts.

On a quick visit to the North Wales coast, things so worked out that I had a longish spell of "cooling my heels" on the coast at Llanddulas, while my companions were off doing other things. It was a February day of not wonderful, but also not dreadful, visibility. Looking left and right along the coast: I saw off to the west, the Little / Great Orme headlands. Looking "east-north-east": in the quite far distance -- for sure, in England -- a fairly high and substantial block of elevated land, could be seen. My first thought was that it was the Wirral peninsula -- but thinking further, the direction was wrong; and the Wirral rises only to modest heights, at most. My best guess ended up being that I was looking at the moors, well inland, of southern Lancashire -- in fact including Winter Hill -- which as one goes east, merge into the Pennines. Was I right in this; or would it be an unexpected "something else again"?

I think Howardh is right. Winter Hill was my first instinct as it can be quite a prominent mass when viewed side-on from the west/south-west. I did also wonder if it may have been Pendle Hill/Bowland but (having not seen that particular area from North Wales) I didn't think it would be as prominent as Winter Hill.

Check out the view seen from those 2 hills looking towards the North Wales' coast to give it some perspective:

Winter Hill
http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ENG/WINTER.GIF

Pendle Hill
http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ENG/PENDLE.GIF

 

[Howardh]

I want to ad this to https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/longest-line-of-sight-uk.136247/ but it's closed for further discussion!

Just drop this link in for interest, as the site says this is the current world photograph line-of-sight record for distance and may be of interest to geographical geeks like wot I am.

https://beyondhorizons.eu/2016/08/03/pic-de-finestrelles-pic-gaspard-ecrins-443-km/

And a list of what is possible but ain't been done yet https://beyondhorizons.eu/lines-of-sight/

Can this be merged?

 

[ainsworth74]

Can this be merged?

Yes, but only because I happened across this post

It really is a better idea to use the report function for things like that this as we cannot read everything so a request just posted in a thread is quite possibly going to get missed!

 

[Howardh]

I thought "report" was for dodgy things!!

 

[ainsworth74]

I thought "report" was for dodgy things!!

It's for anything you want the staff to be aware of! Most usually that is dodgy things but it can cover requests for merging (or splitting even) as well. Basically if you see something that you think we should know about or have a request that we take an action on a thread reporting it is usually the better option as otherwise you are relying on one of us reading it. And whilst we try to read as much as possible (we are interested in just reading the forum as well you know ) the volume of posts is such that it just isn't possible to read everything.

 

[Busaholic]

You could see quite far from the Big Wheel in Dreamland in Margate on a clear day.....Allegedly

Not from the Big Wheel, but I did vaguely make out building shapes on French soil near Calais once, from Deal I think: I don't think it was a mirage!

 

[nlogax]

Still the topic that keeps on giving. I've always been fascinated by the concept of that 144 mile view from Merrick to Snowdon. Imagine being able to see to England, Ireland, Wales, and the Isle of Man while standing on single spot in Scotland. Legend has it that at one point conditions allowed someone to see the west coast of Norway from the Cairngorms though this seems to have been debunked.

As for the current world record, 275 miles is utterly mind-blowing. That view was almost Spain to Switzerland!

 

[Smethwickian]

I think that there's a poem somewhere (although I can't find it) saying that from Anglesey you can see England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man.

Not heard that but there's apparently an old tradition on the Isle of Man of claiming sight of seven ancient kingdoms from Snaefell -- the kingdoms of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Man, Neptune and Heaven.

 

[Lucan]

Dylan Thomas said there was a lady in Wales who cut bread so thin that you could see London through the slices

 

[Howardh]

Still the topic that keeps on giving. I've always been fascinated by the concept of that 144 mile view from Merrick to Snowdon. Imagine being able to see to England, Ireland, Wales, and the Isle of Man while standing on single spot in Scotland. Legend has it that at one point conditions allowed someone to see the west coast of Norway from the Cairngorms though this seems to have been debunked.

As for the current world record, 275 miles is utterly mind-blowing. That view was almost Spain to Switzerland!

Manchester to Dover is about that!
Once flew back to Manchester on a cold but extremely clear night and the visibility was astonishingly good, and going over the channel the pilot (at around 35k') said he could already make out Manchester, and manouvered the plane a bit so the passengers could see as well. Wish I had my camera...and wish I had a window seat

 

[StoneRoad]

I suppose you can comment on the better air clarity these days, one measure I use is if I can see the Isle of Man from near to the Candlestick or the viewpoint above the West Pier.
Like this on a good day (with a *bit* of zoom) ...

whn - Manxland par StoneRoad2013, on ipernity

 

[Jonny]

Looking at the online panoramas, it would appear you cannot see both the North Sea and the Irish Sea from a single location anywhere in England or Scotland.

The closest I've found is from the top of Ben Nevis, where it's possible to see the Atlantic and a glimmer of North Sea (just near Inverness - see link).

http://viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/GRW/NEVIS-North.gif

I've heard that it is possible from the top of some TV transmitters (e.g. Pontop).

 

[Bevan Price]

If you get a mist-free day, from the Cumbrian Coast line north of Whitehaven you can see the outline of the Isle of Man, and also part of the Galloway coast.

 

[DarloRich]

Altrhough perhaps out of scope I would say the view from the top of Snaefell - on a clear day!

 

[route101]

Not a long one but from the top floor of the City of Glasgow College building you can see the hills beyond Tinto in the Scottish Borders

 

[jednick]

I've see Blackpool Tower across the sea with the naked eye from Grange-over-Sands (27 miles) and Hoylake (29 miles).