Picture This…The 20 Greatest British Views Revealed

Snowdonia is the peak of perfection while the Scottish Highlands and Stonehenge also feature in the top three greatest British views in a new study that celebrates the most incredible sights, both ancient and modern, in the UK today.

More than 2,500 people took part in the study which asked respondents to vote from a longlist of incredible views which was created by a panel of leading travel experts from publications including Rough Guides, Mr and Mrs Smith, Wanderlust and Good Housekeeping.

The study was specially commissioned to mark the forthcoming launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone which boasts an innovative ‘Infinity Display’ screen and premium best-in-class camera which has been used to capture a series of stunning photographs of many of the views listed.

Topping the list of greatest British views was the awe-inspiring sight of the lake Llyn Llydaw from the summit of Snowdon, nestling within Snowdonia National Park, which was created in 1951.

The full list of the 20 greatest British views is:

1)    Snowdonia – view of Llyn Llydaw from Mount Snowdon summit, Wales

2)    Scottish Highlands – view of Three Sisters mountains, Glencoe Valley, Scotland

3)    Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England

4)    St Ives Bay, Cornwall, England

5)    Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, England

6)    Loch Ness – view from Dores, Highland, Scotland

7)    Buttermere, Lake District, England

8)    Parliament and Big Ben – view from Westminster Bridge, London, England

9)    Giant’s Causeway, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

10)  Loch Lomond – view from Conic Hill, Dunbartonshire, Scotland

11)   Ben Nevis, Lochaber, Scotland

12)   Edinburgh from Arthur’s Seat, Scotland

13)   Peak District – view from Stanage Edge, Derbyshire, England

14)   Brecon Beacons – view from the summit, Wales

15)   Durdle Door, Dorset, England

16)   Spires of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

17)   Bamburgh Castle – view from the coast, Bamburgh, Northumberland, England

18)   Seven Sisters, Sussex, England

19)   Bournemouth pier and beach, Hampshire, England

20)   Kings College – view from the River Cam, Cambridge, England

The study pinpointed the five key factors that make up a quintessentially British view, with rolling countryside coming top (42%), followed by rugged coastlines (21%), country villages (20%), historical landmarks (15%) and spires, cathedrals and architecture (15%).

The findings shine a spotlight on some of the most photographed sites in the UK revealing that the average British adult takes in excess of 1,000 pictures each year, predominantly on smartphones – the majority of which focus on landscapes and city views which was cited by 66% of those surveyed as their favoured photographic subject matter.

The study also revealed the subjects which are most likely to make pals envious when they were posted on social media sites.  Topping the list were awesome views (48%), followed by pictures of friends and family (10%), food and drink (6%) and selfies (5%). In addition to provoking jealousy, pictures of beautiful locations were also inspiration, with half of us (50%) admitting we are more likely to visit a place having seen a posted picture.

Sam Grant, Marketing Director at Samsung Electronics UK and Ireland said: “We wanted to mark the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S8, with its unique and groundbreaking Infinity Display, by celebrating the beautiful views in our country of mountains, highlands, beaches and urban skylines that are best enjoyed unconfined.”

Samsung has celebrated the greatest British views by commissioning a new photography project from Matthew Cattell – Britain’s reigning Landscape Photographer of the Year which will be shot entirely on a Galaxy S8.  Matthew is travelling the length of the UK in March and April to capture a series of stunning shots at locations which were named in the study, including the London skyline, the Lake District and St Ives Bay.

Selected views named in the study are also being framed by the giant Infinity Display on a 7x3m scale model of the Galaxy S8, which Samsung are taking on tour throughout April to locations which featured in the top 20, including St Ives, London and Stonehenge.

Landscape Photographer of the Year, Matthew Cattell said: “The Galaxy S8 has the most evolved smartphone camera in the world today creating impressively sharp pictures, even in low light conditions – which is just as well as we encountered a fair few spring showers and grey days whilst shooting the project! I hope people enjoy the results and are encouraged to get out and shoot the amazing views closest to them.”

Landscape Photographer of the Year Matthew Cattell’s top five tips for shooting landscape views:

1.       Look for a focal point – focal points are important to hold the viewers’ attention. Might be something physical such as an interesting landscape feature, local landmark or building. Alternatively, could be more abstract such as the texture of a surface or the way that light plays across a scene.

2.       Think about your foreground and ‘lead in’ lines – consider the scene as having a foreground, middle ground and a background; including something interesting in the foreground which relates to the wider scene helps to give your photograph greater depth.  Foregrounds can also be used to lead the viewers’ eye into the photograph. Known as ‘lead in’ lines, these features are often linear (think wall, fence line, path) and work best when positioned moving diagonally across the frame.

3.       Best time to take photos –  The best time of day are the hours around sunrise and sunset, when shadows are deep and the light is warm.  Photographers call this period just after sunrise and before sunset the ‘Golden Hours’.

4.       How much sky to include – Imagine dividing a photograph up into three equal rows. Compositionally, it is better to place the horizon on either the upper or lower third, rather than through the centre of the frame. The amount of sky to include is then entirely dependent on the quality of the sky; if the sky is bland look to minimise it, or exclude it from the frame entirely.

5.       Additional equipment to consider –

• A tripod and mount help to keep the smartphone steady, to fine–tune compositions and use long exposure times.
• A Bluetooth shutter release – Pressing the screen to take a photograph will cause the camera to shake and this can result in blurry photographs. Using a Bluetooth shutter release (or the smartphone’s self-timer) eliminates this problem.
• Filters – If you want to get creative with your photography then it is worth investing in a set of filters, which clip over your smartphone’s lens.  Use a circular polarising filter to remove reflections and give blue skies a punch, or an ND filter, which reduce the amount of light getting into the camera and have the effect of lengthening shutter times, allowing the camera to record the passage of time.

The Samsung S8 is available for pre-order until 19th April and launches in the UK on 28th April, and will be available from selected retailers as well as the Samsung e-store – for more information and stockist details visit www.samsung.com/uk.

Images Top British Views: https://www.flickr.com/gp/taylorherringpr/n7fF9w

Images Giant Phone Tour: https://www.flickr.com/gp/taylorherringpr/32i3R9