24 Epic Journeys To Take Across Britain Before You Die

    There are so many spectacular ways to see this isle.

    Tim Chester
    by Tim Chester

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    Flickr: lapseoftheshutter / Flickr: ben-kreunen / Flickr: 23899307@N05 / Creative Commons / BuzzFeed

    Britain is a big island.

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    It's criss-crossed with routes.

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    And there are loads of different ways you can traverse it.

    Creative Commons / Flickr: lapseoftheshutter

    1. You could cycle 874 miles from Land's End...

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    ...to John O'Groats.

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    Land's End in Cornwall is the far southwestward point of Great Britain while John o' Groats is the generally acknowledged most northern point of mainland Scotland.

    2. You could sail round the whole thing, and Ireland too.

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    It's about 1,800 miles and costs about £4,000.

    3. You could cycle up Buttertubs Pass and the rest of the 2014 Tour De France route.

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    4. Or some of the climbs the Tour De France skipped, like Britain's steepest road.

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    5. You could hike up Ben Nevis.

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    The British Isles' highest mountain reaches to 4,400 feet and is scaled by 125,00 people a year. A further 100,000 climb some of it.

    6. Or scale, scramble over, and abseil down Cuillin Ridge.

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    It's quite a job getting up and over it.

    7. You could take a train on the stunning Exeter to Penzance line.

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    The stretch, which includes views of Dartmoor, a spin through some South Hams valleys, and an unforgettable slice by the sea at Dawlish, is arguably England's best rail journey.

    8. Or the Glasgow to Mallaig route.

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    From the initial views of the Clyde as you leave Glasgow to some stunning glimpses of Loch Lomond, this is prime rail real estate.

    9. Or perhaps the Ffestiniog Railway in northwest Wales.

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    It's not that long, but it's one non-stop jaw-dropper of a rail line passing mountains and forests along the way from Porthmadog to Blaenau.

    10. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway ain't bad either.

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    Fan of gentle '90s TV police show Heartbeat? No? Well, a ride on the steam train featured in every gran's favourite is worth it anyway, as the 18-mile track carves through some breathtaking landscapes. It also stops at a place called Goathland.

    11. You could drive up the A82 to Glencoe.

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    A roads don't get much sexier than this. Think Skyfall.

    12. Or down the Bealach na Bà.

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    This road, which translates as Pass of the Cattle, is a twisting and turning concrete snake worthy of the Alps, that cuts through the Applecross Peninsula in the Scottish Highlands.

    13. You could drive across the Humber Bridge.

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    At 7,280 feet across it's the seventh longest suspension bridge in the world, a bargain at £1.50 each way. You could also cross it twice if you ran the Humber Bridge Half Marathon.

    14. Or wobble across the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.

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    Erected by salmon fishermen in County Antrim, this National Trust walkway requires nerves of steel. Apparently there are several people a year that can't face the return journey and have to be rescued by boat.

    15. Or take a train across Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland.

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    Follow in the ghostly wake of the Hogwarts Express train across these 21 concrete arches from Fort William to Mallaig on the West Highland Line.

    16. You could kayak round the Shetland Islands.

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    For £75, Sea Kayak Shetland will take you round the remote rocks for a paddle, in and out of sea coves and hidden caves.

    17. Or raft down the River Tryweryn.

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    Snowdonia is home to some of the wildest rapids in Wales and the National White Water Centre employs the River Tryweryn's mountain runoff to chuck people about in rubber boats.

    18. You could explore the Brecon Beacons by electric car.

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    The Welsh wilderness has a network of battery powered cars to get you around.

    The place looks - and feels - more epic when you have no windows.

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    19. You could stow away on the Caledonian Sleeper.

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    One of only two night trains in Britain, the Sleeper rolls for 500 miles between London and Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. Alain de Botton calls journeys "the midwives of thought" and this monster - from London at twilight to Loch Lomond at dawn - will birth untold imaginings.

    20. You could hike over the Bochlwyd Horseshoe.

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    One of the finest scrambles in Snowdonia, it culminates atop the majestic Glyder Fach.

    21. Or take the Snowdon Mountain Railway.

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    Another gift from the Victorians, these steam locomotives make scaling Snowdon a lot easier.

    22. You could take a canal barge across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

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    Looking for the longest and highest aqueduct in Britain? This Welsh legacy from the Industrial Revolution spans the Dee valley and forms the centrepiece of the Llangollen canal.

    23. There's no end to the options. You could take a helicopter over London.

    Peter Macdiarmid / Getty

    Make out you're filming cut scenes for The Apprentice on a flight from the new(ish) London Heliport near Battersea.

    24. Or even take a flight to Britain's most basic airport.

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    Skip the airborne zoos heading towards Spanish resorts and take a Flybe from Glasgow to Barra in the Outer Hebrides. There are only twenty seats, and takeoff and landing depend on the tides, but it's worth the effort.

    So what are you waiting for? Go off and explore...

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