UKH

From the top of Sneachda last week I could clearly make out Ben Wyvis... 85km away.

Must be getting close to the theoretecial maximum view distance in the UK? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:How_far_away_is_the_horizon.png

In reply to iksander: There was a topic on this last year. I'm very sure I made out Ben Nevis off Ben Griam More up in the far north. It was a crystal clear winter day.

In reply to iksander: Thought it would be much longer than that..

Snowdonia to the Lakes, or the Isle of Man must be well over that.

In reply to iksander:

N Wales is regularly visible from the southern Lakes fell tops. Have also seen N Ireland from the Lakes as well. Not sure of distances.

ALC

In reply to iksander: Snowdonia from the Lakes, don't know how far that is.

In reply to iksander:

Braes of Angus from The Cheviot and the long tail out to Wick right of Morven from Cairn Gorm. Pretty much the length of Scotland in two!

In reply to iksander:

I saw Southern Ireland from Cadair Idris back in September last year, my friend Arny saw Penyfan from Arenig fawr also last year. The latter must have been a good 100 miles

Jason

In reply to iksander:
I've been able to see the hills/mountains of Ireland from the tops of the Glyderau on a clear day - that's about 85 miles.

In reply to iksander:
Yup, comes up from time to time.
I've still to better the Pentland Hills from Macdui which is about 80odd miles.

In reply to iksander:

About 2 weeks I reckon ....... ;0)

I can actually see the sun on somedays too believe it or not , I think thats quite far away isn't it ?

In reply to a lakeland climber:

Coniston Old Man to Carnedd llewelyn is 146Km or about 92 miles. (calc done using OS grid refs and pythagoras so might be slightly wrong)

ALC

In reply to iksander: I've got a photo of the Merrick from Beinn Dorain (152km)

In reply to iksander:
On Hedgehope Hill in the Cheviots one winter we could see large snowy hills in the eastern Highlands. Compass bearing on the biggest one made it to be Ben y Ghlo. That's 182 km (113 miles) by Pythagoras from grid refs.

To extend the question, what's the longest view people have had worldwide? I once saw K2 (unmistakable!) from a mountain near Gilgit: 225 km/140 miles according to Google Earth coordinates.

In reply to LaMentalist:
On a really good night you can see the andromeda Galaxy - that's somewhat further.

In reply to iksander:

Longest claimed is here -
http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas.html#longlines

When I was on the Marmolada last year I was hoping to view some of the hills >200km away but unfortunately it was too hazy.

In reply to iksander:

Five minutes usually. Then the clouds come back in!

In reply to iksander:
The other Half. Ive been able to see her for nearly 21 years.
The view has changed but it is still beutiful.
Dan

In reply to kwoods:

Merrick to Snowdon is supposed to be the longest achievable view in the UK at 232 km.

In reply to iksander:

Not the longest but maybe the widest: from the top of Winter Hill near Chorley you can see Liverpool, North Wales, Blackpool Tower and the South Lakes peninsulas.

In reply to iksander: I was on Cadair Berwyn last summer and you could clearly make out most of the southern Snowdonia peaks Aran Fawddwy, Cadair Idris, the Rhignogs etc, but on the horizon you could make out the coast of Ireland.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

No reliable reported sightings, though!

In reply to Mark Bull:

This site is a good one for working out what is visible at what distance etc. http://www.udeuschle.selfhost.pro/panoramas/makepanoramas_en.htm

In reply to Steve Perry:

Interesting: Beinn Tarsuinn (NW of Wyvis) ought to be in the way, unless there were some strong refractive effects going on. Creag Meagaidh at 155km is the longest direct sightline from Ben Griam Mor.

In reply to Rigid Raider:

Ditto.

D

In reply to Mark Bull: I think you're right, looking at the bearings again I think that it was Morven - 125km away!

In reply to iksander: I can see Scafell Pike and Snowdon from my road!

In reply to iksander: you can seeminly see ben hope on a clear day from the northern corries, we seen Morven which is a fair bit further north than Wyvis about 10 days ago. could also make out the Ficial (sp?) ridge from Liathach the day after

In reply to Mark Bull:

That's interesting because I was sure Creag Meagaidh was in the view too along with Ben Nevis. It was a very long way for sure and I could obviously be wrong, it just certainly looked like Nevis. How do you know CM is the furthest you can see from BGM?

In reply to Steve Perry: Nevis definitely seems stuck behind Beinn Tharsuinn on Google Earth. Not definite but probable becuase Tharsuinn's pretty prominent.

In reply to iksander:

Moel Famau to Northern Ireland a few years ago. Had to take a bearing and check from the 'big' map as we didn't believe it...

The Lake District from Snowdonia isn't uncommon.

In reply to Steve Perry:


That's according to http://www.udeuschle.selfhost.pro/panoramas/makepanoramas_en.htm
If you get a panorama from BGM on there, it marks the furthest visible point.

In reply to Mark Bull: I did it on there myself, doesn't seem to show as many hills as I saw that day, there were ones more distant than Tharsuinn. I'll have to go up again next time I'm home (clarity permitting) and have another butcher's, maybe with some binoculars.

In reply to iksander:


Flying south over Montrose on the east coast pieced together landmarks until the Cuillin on Skye could identified.

On a very clear January day a few years ago picked out Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh from Kerloch, a minor hill in Aberdeenshire.

S

In reply to Steve Perry:

And take a camera with long lens! I do wonder if refraction effects could be part of the story....

In reply to iksander:
Not in a straight line but from the top of Chapel Carn Brea just outside Sennen you can see the whole of the Penwith peninsula from St Ives round to Lizard point. (and the Scillies)

I've heard that this is the longest stretch of coastline visible in the UK but I have no way of knowing if this is true.

In reply to Rigid Raider:

There was a similar thread on this last year - someone had taken a photo from the moors above Oldham and Tryfan was clearly visible.

E

In reply to iksander:

i could have thrown a snowball from tiny normans law to ben more crianlarich on sunday -around 87 k . so the limit of what you can see is a lot more. ben nevis is also clearly visble from sgurr alasdair and ben macdui which are both just under 90 k.

In reply to iksander:

One a really clear day you can see the Cheviot from one location near Quarrington Hill in County Durham at a distance 92km away. You are only 188m above sea level so it does need an exceptionally clear day. The Cheviot is also regularly visible from the moorland roads north of Stanhope, for example from Horseshoe Hill which is 76km away.

In reply to iksander: If you go up the Zuqspitze in Germany you can see all the was across Austria to the Dolomites in one direction, and the southern half of Germany in the other. Plus all the Alps in between. It's a pretty spectacular view.

In reply to Mark Bull:

Probably so, but OP was talking about theoretical maximum for UK and that's it, I believe.

In reply to Tom Valentine:


Yes, you're absolutely right!

In reply to Mark Bull:

There's a claim here for Cheviot from Macdui which is 200km.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/50972

I think that's probably hard to beat except by Merrick-Snowdon.

In reply to Mark Bull:
Backed up by the panorama here - http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/GRE/MACDUI.gif
(Distances are in miles not km despite what it says)

In reply to iksander: From the top of Snowdon, one very clear January day some years ago, I could see down what seemed the full sweep of Cardigan Bay. Ireland, not that unusually as it isn't that far away, the Isle of Man and the Lake District hills were also in view. Majestic day; I wish I'd taken a camera...

T.

In reply to Mike_Watson_99:

Looks quite tricky to get a solid ID, though: the surprisingly prominent top of Spartleton in the Lammermuirs lies in almost the same direction. A snowline above 500m would help, I guess.

Looking the other way (i.e from Cheviot) is even worse: only a tiny slice of Macdui is visible over the shoulder of Carn a'Gheoidh.

In reply to iksander: I'm pretty sure i saw Ben Macdui from the top of Culter Fell one day.

In reply to iksander:

Maximum that I know of is 93 million miles though some stars may be further away...................

In reply to iksander:

Back of our 'ouse - Darwen Tower to Isle o' Man - 100 miles (160 km in foreign) plus.
Scafell Pike to Snowdon - 100 miles plus.

In reply to Cobbler:

I was at Kingshouse last November and I'm sure I could make out The Buichaille

In reply to coinneach: St Kilda from Sgurr nan Gillean.
Cheviot from Lochnagar.

In reply to Fat Bumbly2:

At first I thought in possible but yeh I reckon st Kilda would be in a nice clear day. I could see it very clearly from the graham peak on Uist so must be visible from Skye.

Impressed you managed to recognise it over the W isles.

In reply to Cobbler:

You can see Arran from Coatbridge. ( top of the hill at Greenhill Drumpark primary)

In reply to iksander:I plainly saw the Malverns from Farmborough just west of Bath once.

Here's a note on that panorama website regarding Snowdon from Merrick suggesting that it's likely that it is only possible to see Snowdon from Merrick and not vice versa.

http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas.html#longlinesbrit

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Well it's certainly the longest view that I experienced on winter's day with stunning clarity. Not only the Galloway hills and the Lakes, but the Wicklow hills and the group of hills south of there.
Apparently from some place in the Brecon Beacons area, because there is no high ground inbetween, all the way to Moscow???

In reply to fmck: It lines up with the Sound of Harris, used Pabbay as a guide.

In reply to iksander: No idea of the distances but Sgurr Mor Fannich from Ben Alder & Arran hills from Scald Law in the Pentlands are quite memorable.

In reply to iksander:

One day from the top of Pillar I could see across to Scotland to the North, the Pennines to the East, the Isle of Man to the West, and Snowdonia far to the South.

In reply to iksander: I've seen Snowdon from the Roaches several times. I've photographed it from Shutlingsloe too. We've also had one evening where it was doubly prominent due to that fata morgana effect. That's 82 miles away.

In reply to iksander:

The Mourne from Coniston Old Man.

In reply to Cardi:

peakfinder also a good site where you can put in your own co-ordinates and get a sketchy view of the panorama from that point.

If you are a Dark Peak regular, however, you will probably find both sites a bit dishonest about the view from the top of Black Hill.

In reply to iksander:
As others have, I've seen both the Pentlands and Morven from Ben Macdui.
Also, back in August I could clearly see the North Sea and the Atlantic (and Hebrides) from Beinn Dearg.
I've also seen St Kilda from Skye, not sure how far away that is, but lovely to see.

In reply to graeme jackson:

Oh aye, on a recent visit to the Ling Hut I could see Andromeda on the Friday night... come Saturday morning there was no chance of seeing Liathach!

From Plynlymon on a good day, I calculate that I saw this
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/311343_934172454120_962025106...

It is possible (at 106 miles), though Macdui is not very prominent in the view. Glas Maol appears as the highest hill in the Cairngorms from this direction. http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/UPL/CULTER.GIF


Just under 100 miles from the Cuillin. http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ISL/SKYE_Alasdair.GIF


SMF doesn't seem to be visible from the summit of Ben Alder, though Ben Dearg is (at 70 miles)! http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/GRW/ALDER.GIF
Arran from Scald Law is ~77 miles. http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/UPL/SCALDLAW.GIF


That's interesting! Apart from the top of Slieve Croob to the north of the Mounres, they should be entirely hidden by the Isle of Man!

In reply to iksander: A number of years ago I saw the island of North Rona from the top of Quinag. Took some time after till I found out exactly what it was I saw as North Rona doesn't appear on any map I've seen. It was through a sailing friend who checked his charts and was able to tell me.

Just had a quick look on Google and it's 50 miles north of Cape Wrath. Its claim to fame if Wikipedia is to be believed is that it's the closest neighbour of the Faroe Islands and the remotest of the British Isles ever to have been inhabited on a long term basis.

May not be the longest view on the thread but I feel quite chuffed about it.

In reply to Jim Braid: I was pretty sure that's what I'd seen from Quinag too - thanks for confirming it. I was a bit thrown to see land far to the north of Lewis, til I remembered N.Rona

In reply to iksander:

I can see the French coast, the cliffs at Cap Griz Nez from Fairlight hill on a good day which must be 30/40 miles. You can also see the headlights of cars in certain weather conditions.

In reply to Jim Braid:

Nice one. It is theoretically visible from most of the main hills north of Ullapool, and even as far south as An Teallach.

In reply to Mark Bull: When I sent in my post I did wonder about other hills in the NW and An Teallach crossed my mind. Thanks for confirming it.

It was strange to see a small smudge on the horizon in a place where I was unaware of there being any land. Fortunately the chap I was with confirmed it though it did take a while to discover what it actually was.

One to treasure.

In reply to iksander: From top of Lochnagar one winter, I could see the Pentlands above Edinburgh. Unsure what the distance is.

In reply to Mark Bull:



I based my observation that what I could see from Ben Alder was Sgurr Mor Fannaich, on the SMC Central Highlands Guide 5th edition p152. As described "Sgurr Mor.. stands out above Creag Meagaidh" 112Km. Interesting.

In reply to Fat Bumbly2:

Similarly a pal and I could see St Kilda - both main island groups quite distinctly - from the summit of Beinn Edra on the Trotternish ridge on 19 October 1999, a very clear day. Re Lochnagar views, the Cheviot could be seen from the summit on 18 April 1983 (suspect it's in view relatively often).

And rather frustratingly in retrospect, I've been up Merrick on an exceptionally clear day (5 September 1992), but although I can remember seeing Ireland and various Highland peaks (including Cruachan, at 93 miles according to JdF's panoramas), I can't remember looking for Wales. There wasn't any early snow, however, so chances are I'd have struggled to see Snowdon even had I looked.

In reply to sarongboy:


Hmm. Curious!

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

70 odd miles.
Arthurs seat also visible which on a clear day is a great viewpoint.

In reply to Dave Hewitt: Seen St Kilda from Meall nan Suireamach above the Quiraing a couple of times, and North Rona from Foinaven, but my most extensive would have to be Cheviot to the Caithness Morven from Macdui one very cold December (Minus 24 at Derry Lodge that night). Snowdonia, the Mournes & Wicklow from Scafell must be up there too, and Donegal from Rum. Never seen more than 50 feet from a Galloway summit, despite 10 visits!

In reply to Iain Thow:

Hi Iain, hope you're well. Macdui to Cheviot is a great spot - JdF gives it as 125 miles, which must be one of the longest views from any Scottish hill without Ireland coming into play.

It's interesting how marginal these long views can be. A friend and I once had a great snowy March day on the Coniston fells when from the Old Man a long line of the big hills in North Wales could be seen quite distinctly - we spent some time trying to identify what was what. We then wandered down to Goat's Hawse and up Dow with nothing apparently having changed in weather/light terms, but all the Welsh hills had now vanished despite our being slightly nearer and not much lower.

In reply to iksander:

I've seen Betelgeuse from Stockport.

Not as long as some, but I got a very good view of the crags of Glen Clova from Cross Law on the Berwickshire coast. The glen lines up well from this direction. Distant views of the Mounth are common from the Lammermuir Hills, and the brae above Gifford on the Duns road often gives views to Arrochar and beyond as well.

In reply to iksander:

a couple of weeks ago I could see Black Combe in the southern Lake District from Hoylake on the Wirral, which isn't bad considering I was at sea level.

In reply to Glyno:

60 miles from sea level is exceptional but Peakfinder shows it to be possible in your example.

In reply to Mark Bull:

I could clearly see the Isle of Man and some stuff much further away than that. I assumed it was the Mourne.

In reply to iksander: I climbed a gully on Bowfell with my bro Christmas 1968 or thereabouts, got to the top at sunset (the descent down the Band was interesting, to say the least!)

The Isle of Man was so clear and close you could almost touch it.

Same on the top of Snowdon, winter 1984, the whole Welsh coast was laid out like a map.

In reply to iksander: I collapsed on top of Ben Dearg a few weeks ago and found myself wondering how long I could keep climbing these hills. Then I realised I could see into the future, does that count?

John Burns

Johndburns.WordPress.com

The Cheviot was very clearly visible today from Carn an t-Sagairt Mor today.
If up there, it lines up nicely with the mast on Craigowl.

In reply to iksander:

I've seen attack ships ablaze off the shoulder of Orion.

In reply to lowersharpnose:


Possibly Snowdonia to the south, or the Mull of Galloway to the north.

In reply to Fat Bumbly2:

Here's the output from Ulrich Deuschle's site:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8085/8524150288_f1c393af70_o.jpg

The obvious distant summit directly behind Craigowl isn't the Cheviot, its Spartleton! A very thin sliver of the Cheviot is theoretically visible from Carn an t-Sagairt Mor but it lies on a bearing approx. 2 degrees further east.

I'm beginning to wonder if this is a common case of mistaken identity in views from the Cairngorms....

In reply to iksander:
Pentlands were very clear from lochnagar yesterday. Need to have a good look through the zoomed I'm photos to see what else might have been viewable.

In reply to iksander:
I reckon I do have a bona-fide photo of the Cheviot from Lochnagar. Theres a very faint outline of a hill in exactly the right spot for it in one of my shots.

In reply to Mark Bull: That had me - I considered Spartleton, but it looked too big and snowy, and I expected it to be lost against the windfarm infested main Lammermuir plateau.

I took a photograph at the time and it matches the panorama exactly - including the unrecognised at the time Cheviot. That was behind the other mast near Dundee. Meanwhile to the north, it was claggy.

In reply to iksander: Similar to Dave H and Fat Bumbly, I've seen St Kilda from Bruach na Frithe. Very faint, but the shape of it was unmistakable. Slightly over 90 miles I believe.

http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr322/fasgadh/Carnant-SagairtMor156.jpg

View from Carn an t-Sagairt Mor. Bulge in the right place, but I did not spot the signifigance yesterday - fooled by Spartleton, a hill I see nearly every day.

In reply to lowersharpnose:
I've seen the low hills east of strangford lough from st bees, in the space between the isle of man and the mull of galloway. Initially i'd assumed it was the mournes, considering the distances involved, until i checked a map. I reckon you've done exactly the same.

The caithness hills can be seen from the top of the cliffs at rosehearty on a good day.

Jase

In reply to JCurrie:

OK, ta. It is a long view.

In reply to iksander:

It's interesting to come across precise dates for these great-view days. I've recently been writing a piece on the late Clem Clements (early Munroist, astronomer, hill-list compiler, lovely bloke), which will appear in the next Marilyns newsletter. During the research I re-read all of Clem's letters to me, and one included mention of Boxing Day 1944, when from Cader Idris he could see the Wicklow hills at 105 miles, along with some Lakes fells at 130 miles. Clem said it was “indelibly etched on my mind more clearly than hundreds of other mountain views since”.

Incidentally, it's not a long view at all, but the time I climbed Beinn na Lice at the foot of the Kintyre peninsula it felt odd to see the glint of car windscreens across in Northern Ireland.

In reply to Bulls Crack:

All these things will be lost like munros in the haze?

In reply to Bulls Crack:


C-beams glittering in the dark by Hadrian's Wall Direct?

In reply to iksander: I had a quick peak last week but then got slapped around the head for being rude.

In reply to iksander: The Urals from Harrow-on-the Hill.

In reply to iksander:

Here's a panorama I took a few years ago from Ben MacDui. Ben Hope is very clear at just under 100 miles.

http://www.sealga.co.uk/west_from_summit_cairn_ben_macdui_12dec2009.html

In reply to gavin_shaw:
Cracking picture! Our paths must have crossed as I was up there too on that day but didnt think to point the camera in that direction as the inversion was too distracting.