Open data, gratefully used
Data sources
Everything on the map is built from open data published by the bodies that look after these places. Each dataset below is used under its stated licence, with sources recorded feature by feature.
National Parks
England's ten National Parks — the finest landscapes in the country.
- Source
- Natural England
- Features
- 10
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2024.
National Parks (Wales)
Wales's three National Parks — Eryri, Bannau Brycheiniog and the Pembrokeshire Coast.
- Source
- Natural Resources Wales
- Features
- 3
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. All rights Reserved. Contains Ordnance Survey Data. Ordnance Survey Licence number AC0000849444. Crown Copyright and Database Right.
National Parks (Scotland)
Scotland's two National Parks — the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond & The Trossachs.
- Source
- Scottish Government
- Features
- 2
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Scottish Government
National Landscapes
England's 34 National Landscapes — formerly Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
- Source
- Natural England
- Features
- 34 — 32 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2024.
National Landscapes (Wales)
Wales's National Landscapes (AONBs), from Anglesey's coast to the Clwydian hills — the cross-border Wye Valley appears with England's set.
- Source
- Natural Resources Wales
- Features
- 4 — 3 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. All rights Reserved. Contains Ordnance Survey Data. Ordnance Survey Licence number AC0000849444. Crown Copyright and Database Right.
National Scenic Areas
Scotland's 40 National Scenic Areas — the country's finest landscapes, from Wester Ross to the Cuillin.
- Source
- Scottish Government
- Features
- 40 — 38 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Scottish Government
Islands
Islands you can get to that have something to go for, outlined from OpenStreetMap and chosen by the Albion Guide.
- Features
- 137
- Licence
- Open Database Licence 1.0
- Attribution
- Island outlines © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0
Hills & peaks
Every summit on the great British hill lists — Munros, Wainwrights, Hewitts, Marilyns and county tops.
- Features
- 2,341 — 2,329 with pages, the rest map-only
- Attribution
- The Database of British and Irish Hills v18.5 (hill-bagging.co.uk), CC BY 4.0
National Trails
The flagship long-distance paths of England and Wales, from the Pennine Way to the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
- Features
- 16
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2024. · Contains Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. All rights Reserved. Contains Ordnance Survey Data. Ordnance Survey Licence number AC0000849444. Crown Copyright and Database Right.
Scotland's Great Trails
Scotland's Great Trails — 29 officially promoted long-distance routes, from the West Highland Way to the Southern Upland Way.
- Features
- 29
- Licence
- Open Database Licence 1.0
- Attribution
- Trail routes © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0
England Coast Path
The King Charles III England Coast Path — the trail gradually opening around England's entire coastline.
- Source
- Natural England
- Features
- 1
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2024.
Wales Coast Path
The first path to trace an entire country's coastline, 870 miles from the Dee to the Severn.
- Source
- Natural Resources Wales
- Features
- 1
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. All rights Reserved. Contains Ordnance Survey Data. Ordnance Survey Licence number AC0000849444. Crown Copyright and Database Right.
Regional trails
Prominent regional long-distance paths beyond the National Trails — the Monarch's Way, the Dales Way, the London LOOP and more.
- Features
- 83
- Licence
- Open Database Licence 1.0
- Attribution
- Trail routes © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0
Waterways
Great Britain's navigable canals and river navigations — from the Kennet & Avon and the Llangollen to the non-tidal Thames and the Broads rivers.
- Features
- 99
- Attribution
- Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 · Data provided by Scottish Canals, licensed under the Open Government Licence · Waterway routes © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0
Waterfalls
Britain's great waterfalls — forces, spouts, linns and rhaeadrau, from Aira Force to An Steall Bàn, located and verified by the Albion Guide.
- Features
- 125 — 120 with pages, the rest map-only
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide; locations verified against Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) · Location data from Wikidata, CC0 · Some locations © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0
Lakes & lochs
Britain's great standing waters — the lochs of the Highlands, the lakes and tarns of Lakeland, the llynnoedd of Wales and the loughs of Ulster, located and verified by the Albion Guide.
- Sources
- Albion Guide editorial, Wikidata
- Features
- 221 — 213 with pages, the rest map-only
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide; coordinates from Wikidata (CC0) · Coordinates from Wikidata, CC0
Lighthouses
Britain's great coastal lights — the rock towers, headland beacons and island stations that guard the shipping lanes, located and verified by the Albion Guide.
- Sources
- Albion Guide editorial, Wikidata
- Features
- 71 — 67 with pages, the rest map-only
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide; coordinates from Wikidata (CC0) · Coordinates from Wikidata, CC0
Other sights
Hand-picked places no official dataset names — sea stacks, slot canyons, caves, follies, gorges and viewpoints, located and verified by the Albion Guide.
- Features
- 1,043 — 943 with pages, the rest map-only
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide; locations verified against Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) · Location data from Wikidata, CC0 · Some locations © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0
National Nature Reserves
England's National Nature Reserves — the country's most important places for wildlife and geology.
- Source
- Natural England
- Features
- 225 — 201 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2024.
National Nature Reserves (Scotland)
Scotland's National Nature Reserves — the best places to see the best of Scotland's nature.
- Source
- NatureScot
- Features
- 48 — 39 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © SNH. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right (2020).
Heritage Coasts
The best stretches of undeveloped coastline in England, defined for conservation.
- Source
- Natural England
- Features
- 32 — 30 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].
National Trust
National Trust places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland — houses, gardens, coast and countryside.
- Source
- National Trust
- Features
- 916 — 623 with pages, the rest map-only
- Attribution
- © National Trust 2024. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Historic parks & gardens
Registered parks and gardens — three centuries of designed landscape, from Stourhead's lake to the great Victorian city parks.
- Source
- Historic England
- Features
- 1,721 — 621 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Swimming spots
England's officially designated swimming spots, with the Environment Agency's latest water-quality verdict. Merged with curated beaches into the /beaches index.
- Source
- Environment Agency
- Features
- 464
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- Environment Agency bathing water data © Environment Agency and database right. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Beaches, coves & lidos
Curated beaches and coves — shell-sand strands, tucked coves and the great tidal bays — plus Britain's notable lidos and tidal sea pools, located and verified by the Albion Guide.
- Features
- 340 — 326 with pages, the rest map-only
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide; locations verified against Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) · Location data from Wikidata, CC0 · Some locations © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0
Ancient stones
Great Britain's prehistoric monuments — stone circles, henges, hillforts, standing stones, chambered tombs, brochs and Pictish stones.
- Features
- 4,483 — 1,173 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown Copyright: Cadw, Welsh Government 2026. · © Historic Environment Scotland 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Trig pillars
Ordnance Survey triangulation pillars — the concrete monuments of the retriangulation, still crowning thousands of British summits.
- Source
- Ordnance Survey
- Features
- 6,064 — 0 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026
Castles & strongholds
Castles, mottes, tower houses and artillery forts — the fortified ruins of England, Wales and Scotland.
- Features
- 2,096 — 1,436 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown Copyright: Cadw, Welsh Government 2026. · © Historic Environment Scotland 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Abbeys & priories
Ruined abbeys, priories, friaries and holy wells — the monastic landscape dissolved in 1536 and weathering beautifully since.
- Features
- 946 — 557 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown Copyright: Cadw, Welsh Government 2026. · © Historic Environment Scotland 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Battlefields
Britain's registered battlefields — from Hastings and Bosworth to Bannockburn, Culloden and Killiecrankie.
- Features
- 87
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. · Contains Historic Environment Scotland and Ordnance Survey data © Historic Environment Scotland - Scottish Charity No. SC045925 © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Roman Britain
Forts, villas, amphitheatres, roads and the great frontier walls — four centuries of Rome, still underfoot.
- Features
- 1,037 — 397 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown Copyright: Cadw, Welsh Government 2026. · © Historic Environment Scotland 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
England's Sites of Special Scientific Interest — legally protected land for wildlife and geology.
- Source
- Natural England
- Features
- 4,100 — 3,756 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2024.
Ancient Woodland
Woods that have existed continuously since at least 1600 — England's richest, most irreplaceable woodland (parcels of 5 ha and up).
- Source
- Natural England
- Features
- 15,937 (map layer only)
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Natural England [Year]; © Crown Copyright and database rights [year]. Ordnance Survey AC0000851168; © 2015 Getmapping plc and Bluesky International Ltd; © Woodland Trust; © Forest Commission; Contains, or is based on, information supplied by the Forestry Commission. © Crown copyright and database right [Year] Ordnance Survey [100021242]; © and database right Crown copyright and Landmark Information Group Ltd. All rights reserved [year]; © Ancient Tree Hunt
Country Parks
England's Country Parks — managed countryside on the town's doorstep, made for a day out.
- Source
- Natural England
- Features
- 415 — 409 with pages, the rest map-only
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2022.
Wildlife reserves
Nature reserves run by the RSPB, WWT, the Wildlife Trusts and councils, Wales's National Nature Reserves, and country parks beyond England's register — located and verified by the Albion Guide.
- Features
- 67
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide; locations verified against Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) · Location data from Wikidata, CC0 · Some locations © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0
Pubs & restaurants
Country pubs, celebrated gastropubs and destination restaurants — walkers' locals, historic inns and the esteemed, awarded rural tables, located and verified by the Albion Guide.
- Features
- 1,382 — 1,373 with pages, the rest map-only
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide; locations verified against OpenStreetMap (ODbL) and Wikidata (CC0) · Some locations © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0 · Some locations from Wikidata, CC0
Farms, vineyards & producers
English wine country and the farm producers that welcome visitors — cellar-door vineyards, cider makers, farm shops, distilleries and breweries, located and verified by the Albion Guide.
- Features
- 664 — 663 with pages, the rest map-only
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide; locations verified against OpenStreetMap (ODbL) and Wikidata (CC0) · Some locations © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0 · Some locations from Wikidata, CC0
Villages & towns
Villages and small towns worth the walk for themselves — greens, historic high streets, estate villages and old harbours, chosen and located by the Albion Guide.
- Features
- 2,052 — 1,631 with pages, the rest map-only
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide; locations verified against Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) · Some locations from Wikidata, CC0 · Some locations © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0
Gardens & arboretums
Visitor gardens and arboretums open to explore — plantsmen's borders, walled gardens and artists' gardens, located and verified by the Albion Guide.
- Features
- 418 — 413 with pages, the rest map-only
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide; locations verified against Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) · Some locations from Wikidata, CC0 · Some locations © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0
Churches
Parish churches worth popping into — wall paintings, round towers, medieval fabric and downland settings, chosen and located by the Albion Guide.
- Features
- 722
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide; locations verified against OpenStreetMap (ODbL) and Wikidata (CC0) · Some locations © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0 · Some locations from Wikidata, CC0
Windmills
Historic windmills — post mills, tower mills and smock mills that survive as downland landmarks, located and verified by the Albion Guide.
- Features
- 112
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide; locations verified against Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) · Some locations from Wikidata, CC0 · Some locations © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0
Outdoor saunas
Outdoor saunas you can book on their own — wood-fired barrels, horseboxes and cabins by the sea, lakes, lochs and rivers, located and verified by the Albion Guide.
- Features
- 238
- Attribution
- Curated by the Albion Guide from operators' own sites; locations checked against the British Sauna Society map and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) · Some locations © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0
Access information
Every place page that carries an access note uses one of three:Open access (free to walk in at any reasonable time), Open to visitors (welcome, but with a gate, a charge or set opening times) or Access unclear. Places run by the National Trust, English Heritage, Cadw or Historic Environment Scotland take their note from that body. Elsewhere the judgement is derived — not asserted — by testing the location against the nation's statutory access mapping: a feature on mapped access land, or inside a National Nature Reserve or country park, is shown as open access. Being inside a National Park or National Landscape doesn't count on its own, because most of that land is private. Everywhere else we say so plainly rather than guess.
- England
- CRoW Act 2000 Access Layer (open country & registered common land) — Natural England, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right.
- Wales
- Open Country and Registered Common Land (CRoW access land) — Natural Resources Wales, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right.
- National Trust land
- National Trust Open Data: Land — Always Open (land open on foot, by right or by the Trust's permission) — © National Trust, under CC BY 4.0.
- Scotland
- Scotland's near-universal right of responsible access under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, exercised in line with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
The map itself
Base cartography by OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles, data from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Hill shading from Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Linux Foundation; contains NASA SRTM and other public elevation data).
Places near any town or postcode
The town, village and postcode lookup behind places to explore near you uses OS Open Names — Ordnance Survey, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Rock and ice maps
The maps on Why Britain looks the way it does are simplified and regrouped from two open datasets.
- Bedrock
- BGS Geology 625k (DiGMapGB-625) — British Geological Survey, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI.
- Last ice sheet
- BRITICE-CHRONO empirical reconstruction — Clark, Ely, Fabel & Bradley (2022), PANGAEA, under CC BY 4.0.