Longest line of sight (UK)

[Ianno87]

I've see Blackpool Tower across the sea with the naked eye from Grange-over-Sands (27 miles) and Hoylake (29 miles).

Also visible heading down Chorley Old Road from Bottom o' th' Moor to Horwich - possibly slightly more than those distances. Albeit helped by being up a hill!

 

[eMeS]

This is not a particularly long view, but it's in Mid-Wales, and is the view from Kerry Hill Stone Circle to the summit of Drygarn Fawr. Back in the 1990s I was into surveying stone circles, and with relatives in Mid-Wales, we visited the circle at Kerry Hill (near Newtown) several times. On just one visit the conditions were good enough for us to see the summit of Drygarn Fawr to the south-west. What I considered of significance was that Drygarn Fawr was only easily visible from the stone circle. From lower down Kerry Hill, it was below a closer ridge, and from higher up Kerry Hill, it merged into the background. I wondered if this line of sight had been the reason for the stone circle being sited where it was.
Link to my website:
http://www.users.waitrose.com/~emes1938/Circles.htm

 

[Dai Corner]

Fascinating, Main TV masts will be intervisible making relaying the programming easy.

in the analogue days they did just that once a year as a test. The picture was probably pretty ropey by the time it got to the Shetland Isles!

https://ukfree.tv/article/1107051527/The_last_BBC_ReBroadcast_Standby_test_

 

[Requeststop]

It's said that there is a place on Dartmoor where you get a great view of Plymouth. From the same place you can see Brown Willy (stop sniggering at the back) the highest point in Cornwall.
Many times I have stood on the Island in St Ives and spotted Trevose Head, very clearly, and many times from Lands End I've spotted the Isles of Scilly. Each distance is about 27 miles.
There are a three places where you can see both the north coast and the south coast. Badgers Cross, above the town of Nancledra, and at Trencrom Hill. OK! they are all about 5 miles from each side.

 

[Requeststop]

in the analogue days they did just that once a year as a test. The picture was probably pretty ropey by the time it got to the Shetland Isles!

https://ukfree.tv/article/1107051527/The_last_BBC_ReBroadcast_Standby_test_

Wonder if they ever tried to relay a signal from Redruth to Bressay in Shetland? or From Les Platons in the Channel Islands to Eitshal in the Western Isles.

 

[route101]

Seen the Isle of Man from the Galloway Coast last week .

 

[chorleyjeff]

My two favourite viewpoints would be

• Jubilee Tower, near Lancaster (coincidentally, the site of my current avatar), from which to the SW you can easily see Blackpool Tower (about 20 miles away) as well as much the intervening countryside. I was told that you can also see the Welsh mountains on a clear day from there, although I'm not convinced that I have ever done so . Simultaneously, you can see some of the hills of the Lake District to the NW, while to the West is the coast, framed by Heysham Power Station. And of course, much closer, Lancaster University and part of Lancaster is very clearly visible. Not huge distances, but the sheer number of different places you can see from one spot makes for very interesting viewing.
• Dover Castle, from which you can see not only the town of Dover and some of the surrounding countryside, but on a clear day you can see what I /think/ is the hills around Calais, France. Nothing like the distance of some of the lines of sight being quoted in this thread, but there is something somehow very satisfying about being able to see across the sea to another country - and knowing how much history has taken place across that very sea.

On a different note, I'm curious about some of the longer lines of sight being mentioned here. My own experience has tended to be that beyond about 30 miles, even if you have a clear line of sight, everything looks too hazy to be very impressive (even through binoculars) - all you can make out are perhaps a few outlines of hills against the sky. Is that not other people's experience?

From Jubilee Tower you can see Northern Island - Mourne Mountains.
When I lived in Brinscall near Chorley I could see from my bedroom window in mid summer, the outlines of the central Lake District mountains with light bouncing across Morecambe. On any clear day I could see Black Coombe beyond Barrow in Furness then if I turned left could see the Great Orme and Welsh mountains. But, of course, with 55 inches of rain a year the usual view was of rain showers coming off the Irish sea and up the Ribble estuary before landing on us.

 

[Dai Corner]

Wonder if they ever tried to relay a signal from Redruth to Bressay in Shetland? or From Les Platons in the Channel Islands to Eitshal in the Western Isles.

No, the system only worked outwards from Crystal Palace (London).

Before the days of fibre and satellite the Channel Islands got their TV via a receiver on Alderney that picked up the signal from the mainland.

http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/gallerypage.php?txid=860

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/reports/1978-08.pdf


(Off topic, so I better stop there. There's plenty for broadcast engineering geeks on the sites I've linked to).

 

[Foggy Dewhirst]

From Jubilee Tower you can see Northern Island - Mourne Mountains.
When I lived in Brinscall near Chorley I could see from my bedroom window in mid summer, the outlines of the central Lake District mountains with light bouncing across Morecambe. On any clear day I could see Black Coombe beyond Barrow in Furness then if I turned left could see the Great Orme and Welsh mountains. But, of course, with 55 inches of rain a year the usual view was of rain showers coming off the Irish sea and up the Ribble estuary before landing on us.

Glad to hear this from someone else. One August, early evening , high cloud, I saw from Jubilee Tower, what could only have been Slieve Donard in the Mournes.
It was through binoculars, and only the top part visible. This set me thinking of a stranger possibility. If you can see Ireland from Lancashire , what about higher in the Bowland fells. A bit behind and you’d be in the (historic) West Riding of Yorkshire. Could you see Ireland from Yorkshire ??

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Glad to hear this from someone else. One August, early evening , high cloud, I saw from Jubilee Tower, what could only have been Slieve Donard in the Mournes.
It was through binoculars, and only the top part visible. This set me thinking of a stranger possibility. If you can see Ireland from Lancashire , what about higher in the Bowland fells. A bit behind and you’d be in the (historic) West Riding of Yorkshire. Could you see Ireland from Yorkshire ??

I just had a check on Google Maps and it looks to me like the Isle of Man lies directly between Jubilee Tower and Slieve Donard - which would imply that if you are correct, you were seeing directly across the Isle of Man, which would be even more remarkable. I don't know enough about the geography there to know if that's possible. Presumably if Slieve Donard was very high and that part of the Isle of Man had no high hills blocking the line of sight?

 

[chorleyjeff]

Glad to hear this from someone else. One August, early evening , high cloud, I saw from Jubilee Tower, what could only have been Slieve Donard in the Mournes.
It was through binoculars, and only the top part visible. This set me thinking of a stranger possibility. If you can see Ireland from Lancashire , what about higher in the Bowland fells. A bit behind and you’d be in the (historic) West Riding of Yorkshire. Could you see Ireland from Yorkshire ??

Above Quernmoor( spelling) on the way to Wards Stone someone pointed out the Mournes - just a smudge on the horizon to me. Also I think the view from Parlick would be similar. Both part of the Bowland Fells.
I would guess the view from the top of Inglborough would reach Ireland on a clear day but I have not tested that yet.

 

[Altrincham]

Manchester to Dover is about that!
Once flew back to Manchester on a cold but extremely clear night and the visibility was astonishingly good, and going over the channel the pilot (at around 35k') said he could already make out Manchester, and manouvered the plane a bit so the passengers could see as well. Wish I had my camera...and wish I had a window seat

The possibility of this is something that I’ve often pondered. Good visibility, along with a keen eye for identifying cities/towns and the motorway networks by streetlight, would make this a fabulous sight.

On a separate note, I wonder how many lines of sight it would take to cover the length of Britain (e.g how many lines of sight could it take to see from Cape Wrath to Dover).

 

[DynamicSpirit]

The possibility of this is something that I’ve often pondered. Good visibility, along with a keen eye for identifying cities/towns and the motorway networks by streetlight, would make this a fabulous sight.

On a separate note, I wonder how many lines of sight it would take to cover the length of Britain (e.g how many lines of sight could it take to see from Cape Wrath to Dover).

If, as implied by that comment, you're going to allow flying (and I thought you'd originally specified land-only viewpoints) then the answer is going to be precisely two: Cape Wrath to the Moon and then the Moon to Dover should do nicely (Probably don't even need to go that far up)

(EDIT: Just thought: The moon presumably counts as solid ground, so that one should work even with the restriction of, only viewpoints on the ground)

 

[route101]

The possibility of this is something that I’ve often pondered. Good visibility, along with a keen eye for identifying cities/towns and the motorway networks by streetlight, would make this a fabulous sight.

On a separate note, I wonder how many lines of sight it would take to cover the length of Britain (e.g how many lines of sight could it take to see from Cape Wrath to Dover).

Flying back to Glasgow last month from Greece , i could see the dutch , Belgian , french coast and the lights of SE England

 

[Howardh]

The possibility of this is something that I’ve often pondered. Good visibility, along with a keen eye for identifying cities/towns and the motorway networks by streetlight, would make this a fabulous sight.

On a separate note, I wonder how many lines of sight it would take to cover the length of Britain (e.g how many lines of sight could it take to see from Cape Wrath to Dover).

If you had a TV mast standing 400,000' high at Cape Wrath, then Dover should be visible from the top. No good if it's a bit cloudy though!!

https://www.everythingrf.com/rf-calculators/line-of-sight-calculator

 

[Altrincham]

If, as implied by that comment, you're going to allow flying (and I thought you'd originally specified land-only viewpoints) then the answer is going to be precisely two: Cape Wrath to the Moon and then the Moon to Dover should do nicely (Probably don't even need to go that far up)

(EDIT: Just thought: The moon presumably counts as solid ground, so that one should work even with the restriction of, only viewpoints on the ground)

If you had a TV mast standing 400,000' high at Cape Wrath, then Dover should be visible from the top. No good if it's a bit cloudy though!!

https://www.everythingrf.com/rf-calculators/line-of-sight-calculator

It’s the land-based line of sights from Cape Wrath to Dover that I’m interested in, although aerial lines of sight are just as intriguing. I’d be interested to know how many land-based lines of sight there are between Cape Wrath and Dover. It could be an easy thing to find out, but I think the southern half of England might be tricky to work out because it’s fairly flat.

 

[Altrincham]

Flying back to Glasgow last month from Greece , i could see the dutch , Belgian , french coast and the lights of SE England

That sounds fabulous. I’ve never been lucky to see such distances so clear from a plane. It seems like night-time flying gives a better chance of seeing distances, if the conditions are right.

 

[Ianno87]

That sounds fabulous. I’ve never been lucky to see such distances so clear from a plane. It seems like night-time flying gives a better chance of seeing distances, if the conditions are right.

I did a 2200 hrs departure off 09R at Heathrow last year, right hand window seat. Beautifully clear night. Standard Dover departure I think, bound for Hong Kong.

The lights of London on departure (The Eye, o2, etc.) were spectacular.

 

[Howardh]

Today I'm pretty sure I saw one of the Ormes (42m) from just above sea level at Lytham. Pretty sure it's Great Orme.
Maybe a local can confirm from these two pics? Looking at a map it's more than plausible.


https://ibb.co/dCjdUU
https://ibb.co/dMzCpU
Welsh mountains (edge of Snowdonia)


...and I suspect at the end is the Great Orme.

 

[nlogax]

Today I'm pretty sure I saw one of the Ormes (42m) from just above sea level at Lytham. Pretty sure it's Great Orme.

That's a great shot. The usual maps confirm what you suspect - bottom two viewpoints.

http://viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ENG/BLACKPOOL.GIF

 

[Howardh]

That's a great shot. The usual maps confirm what you suspect - bottom two viewpoints.

http://viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ENG/BLACKPOOL.GIF

Yeah, pretty much nails it. The amazing thing was that it was quite a cloudy day, low clouds at that, so good viewing doesn't always mean a clear, cloudless dry day with a NE flow!

 

[Bald Rick]

Today I'm pretty sure I saw one of the Ormes (42m) from just above sea level at Lytham. Pretty sure it's Great Orme.
Maybe a local can confirm from these two pics? Looking at a map it's more than plausible.


https://ibb.co/dCjdUU
https://ibb.co/dMzCpU
Welsh mountains (edge of Snowdonia)


...and I suspect at the end is the Great Orme.

Yes definitely Snowdonia. You can see them regularly from there.

 

[Howardh]

Yes definitely Snowdonia. You can see them regularly from there.

Oh yes, can only be as there's nothing else in the way. My main issue was - was the lump at the end either of the Orme's and if so, which one? Looking at maps and that landscape view then I would bet it's the Great Orme, now I'd like a photo taken from there towards the Fylde coast to see how far beyond one can see - as it's higher up than I was! A quick search turns up the Isle of Man from the Great Orme, impressive!
https://llandudnopictures.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/isle-of-man-from-the-great-orme.jpg

 

[Bald Rick]

Oh yes, can only be as there's nothing else in the way. My main issue was - was the lump at the end either of the Orme's and if so, which one? Looking at maps and that landscape view then I would bet it's the Great Orme, now I'd like a photo taken from there towards the Fylde coast to see how far beyond one can see - as it's higher up than I was! A quick search turns up the Isle of Man from the Great Orme, impressive!
https://llandudnopictures.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/isle-of-man-from-the-great-orme.jpg

Yes it is the Ormes. Not sure which one from memory.

 

[Bobdogs]

Slightly off topic, I was parked up for the night on the high point of South Ronaldsay, Orkney and could see 7 lighthouses flashing away. I live in West Wales and the clearest skies that I remember were after 9/11, when there were no flights to North America and during the ash cloud (2010?) when there were no flights at all.

 

[DarloRich]

How far do you think you can see form Beachy Head?

 

[Teflon Lettuce]

How far do you think you can see form Beachy Head?

depends on whether you jump head first or feet first surely?

 

[DarloRich]

depends on whether you jump head first or feet first surely?

Tasteless. ( but accurate )

 

[Howardh]

How far do you think you can see form Beachy Head?

Dunno, but there will be a whole load of Tory MP's queuing to jump off the cliff-edge

 

[Howardh]

Talking of Beachy Head, doing some googling it appears that Belgium can't be seen at all from anywhere in the south-east, even on the cleares day, we just don't get quite high enough between Dover and Deal, but I think in thoery a 500' tower in the right location could.
I wonder, though, if atmospheric conditions could make Belgium visible, the mirror effect and if it's ever happened?