20 most beautiful mountains in the UK

Britain may not be tall, but it does have majesty. We scoured the home nations to find the most beautiful mountains in the UK

Alpine, Britain is not. In the UK, there are no sky-scraping summits; there are just 141 peaks over 1,000m (3,281ft), let alone the atmosphere-kissing eight-thousanders found in the great ranges of Asia. In fact, with an average mean elevation of just 162m (531ft), the UK is one of the world’s lowest countries.

While we can’t contend with the Rockies, Andes or Himalaya, fortunately, around 20,000 years ago, during the last ice age, glaciers covered most of Britain’s landscape. Thanks to those colossal creaking chunks of ice, we can see and enjoy some arresting topography around the British Isles, which deserves to be celebrated.

Most beautiful mountains in the UK

Our list of the most beautiful mountains in the UK is unashamedly subjective. We haven’t used complex metrics or assessed their prominence, summit views or difficulty to scale. Instead, we’ve chosen aesthetically striking peaks, be it the pyramidal shape of Buachaille Etive Mòr or the jagged spine of Chrome Hill.

These mountains are all remarkable in a specific way and, we believe, deserve a place on this list. So, without further ado, and in no particular order, here is our list of the most beautiful mountains in the UK.

1. Suilven

Height: 731m (2,398ft)
Location: Scotland

Suilven’s aesthetic power lies not just in its shape, but in its sheer improbability – a lone sentinel sculpted by time, standing proudly in a sea of wilderness.

Rising like a sleeping giant from the ancient landscape of Assynt in northwest Scotland, Suilven is a mountain that defies expectation with its surreal, otherworldly form. Though not particularly high by Scottish standards, its steep-sided, whale-backed ridge towers above the lochs and moorlands in stark isolation, creating a profile that’s both graceful and terrifying.

2. Buachaille Etive Mòr

Height: 1,021m (3,350ft)
Location: Scotland

Buachaille Etive Mòr, often simply called ‘The Buachaille,’ is one of Scotland’s most iconic mountains, standing like a majestic stone sentry at the gateway to Glen Etive. Its pyramidal shape, especially when viewed from the A82 road near Glencoe, gives it an almost mythic presence – steep, symmetrical and instantly recognisable.