The most photographed national parks in the UK

Words by Georgina Groom-Rietschy

The UK’s national parks stretch from the granite mountains of the Scottish Highlands to the chalk cliffs of the South Downs – landscapes that shift in colour and character with every season. Many of the parks are bounded by major cities, with the suburbs of Sheffield and Manchester flanked by the Peak District, and the South Downs on the doorstep of London. We've analysed millions of customer photos using a rigorous, data science-led approach to reveal the parks that dominated camera rolls in 2025, and the viewpoints that continue to draw crowds.

The Lake District sits unchallenged at the top, its fells, tarns and ridgelines proving as compelling to photographers as any landscape in the country. But look further down the rankings and the picture shifts. Scotland’s vast wilderness parks remain curiously underloved despite their dramatic landscapes, while parks holding International Dark Sky Reserve status – including Northumberland and Exmoor – are quietly drawing a new wave of night sky photographers.

To learn more about how the data was analysed and ranked to determine the photo index scores, see the methodology at the end of this article.

1. Lake District National Park, Cumbria

Photo index score: 100

England’s largest national park packs remarkable variety into a single frame, with craggy fells, shimmering lakes and jagged peaks that shift in colour and shadow as the light changes. Tarn Hows and Buttermere remain firm favourites, their still waters reflecting the rugged surroundings. Wastwater – England’s deepest lake – offers a darker, moodier composition, particularly in autumn when low cloud clings to the russet grassland. For elevated shots, the Catbells ridge provides accessible panoramas of Derwentwater without the commitment of a strenuous climb, while Scafell Pike rewards the effort with sweeping views best captured at sunrise before valley mist lifts.

2. South Downs National Park, Hampshire & West Sussex

Photo index score: 79

The UK’s newest national park stretches 100 miles from the chalk cliffs of Seven Sisters to the ancient woodland of Itchen Valley. Seven Sisters draws crowds for its dramatic coastal composition, a succession of white cliffs above the Channel – best photographed from Seaford Head at golden hour. The park’s designation as an International Dark Sky Discovery Area makes it one of the most accessible places in southern England for night sky photography, with clear, low-horizon views that occasionally display the Northern Lights during peak periods of solar activity.

3. Peak District National Park, Derbyshire

Photo index score: 53

Britain’s first national park is split into two distinct landscapes. The Dark Peak’s dramatic gritstone edges lend themselves to sweeping moorland compositions, best shot at dawn when low light rakes across the rock. To the south, the White Peak’s limestone dales and dry-stone walls impress, while Mam Tor’s ridgeline delivers showstopping vistas over Hope Valley. Don’t miss the Victorian arches of Headstone Viaduct, framed by the wooded Wye Valley below and best reached via the eight-mile Monsal Trail.

4. New Forest National Park, Hampshire

Photo index score: 38

England’s most ancient royal hunting ground offers a quieter, more intimate photographic experience, with free-roaming horses, deer and cattle among its most distinctive subjects. Woodland around Bolderwood and Mark Ash Wood delivers atmospheric scenes year-round – from bluebell carpets in spring to mist-hung oaks in autumn and vibrant heathlands in summer. Brockenhurst serves as a hub for wildlife spotting, while Beaulieu dazzles with its wild gardens and riverside setting.

5. Eyri National Park, Gwynedd

Photo index score: 32

Wales’s celebrated national park is anchored around Snowdon, whose summit delivers sweeping views across jagged ridgelines and glacial lakes. The Pyg Track and Miners’ Track offer compelling compositions on the ascent, while Llyn Glaslyn’s glistening waters make for a striking foreground. Elsewhere, the Lonely Tree on the shores of Llyn Padarn frames Snowdon in one of the park’s most photographed shots.

6. Pembrokeshire National Park, Pembrokeshire

Photo index score: 28

A dramatic lineup of limestone arches, sea stacks, hidden coves and wide bays characterise the UK’s only coastal national park. Pembrokeshire’s 186-mile coastline shifts with the light and tide, with Barafundle Bay’s turquoise waters drawing crowds at low tide when the full arc of sand is revealed. If you’re visiting between April and July, head to the cliffs of Skomer Island for puffin colonies at close-range, while grey seals haul out along quieter coves year-round – particularly around Ramsey Island in autumn when pups arrive.

7. Cairngorms National Park, Highlands

Photo index score: 27

Covering more than 6 percent of Scotland’s land area, the UK’s largest national park is a playground of granite mountains, pine forest and shimmering lochs. Loch Morlich’s sandy shoreline frames the Cairngorm range, while Loch an Eilean’s castle ruin reflected in the water remains one of the park’s most favoured compositions. In August, the Rothiemurchus and Abernethy forests erupt in purple heather, best shot at sunrise when low light catches the moors. In winter, the Cairngorm Mountain offers one of Britain’s few reliably snow-covered landscapes.

8. Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Stirling

Photo index score: 26

Scotland’s most accessible national park straddles the Highland Boundary Fault, offering contrasting landscapes within an hour of Glasgow. Loch Lomond is best captured from Conic Hill or Balmaha’s shoreline, where Ben Lomond rises dramatically above the loch’s wooded islands. To the east, the Trossachs offers a quieter setting – Loch Katrine’s dark waters framed by Beinn Venue is a highlight, while the Falls of Falloch are flanked by dense woodland.

9. Yorkshire Dales National Park, North Yorkshire

Photo index score: 24

This quintessentially English landscape has inspired writers for centuries. A patchwork of limestone paths, dry-stone walls and sweeping moorland define the Dales. Malham Cove’s vast curved cliff face is the standout shot, while Ribblehead Viaduct’s Victorian arches make for a striking composition. The Settle-Carlisle railway line offers unparalleled views through inaccessible valleys, while an extensive network of bridleways are ideal for cyclists and hikers.

10. Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, Powys

Photo index score: 20

Formerly the Brecon Beacons, Wales’s newly named national park offers a landscape that goes beyond its flat-topped peaks. Pen y Fan’s distinctive silhouette is best captured at dawn from the Storey Arms, while the waterfall circuit in the Mellte Valley captivates those who venture into wooded gorges. After dark, its International Dark Sky Reserve status transforms the landscape, with Usk Reservoir and Llangorse Lake both accessible locations for astrophotography.

11. North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire

Photo index score: 19

Heather moorland decorates the North York Moors in vivid purple each August, with Goathland and Blakey Ridge among the finest vantage points as dawn mist lifts. The coastline offers a contrasting setting, with Whitby’s Gothic abbey ruins – the inspiration of Bram Stoker’s Dracula – looming dramatically above the harbour and Robin Hood's Bay’s tiered rooftops tumbling to the shore. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway threads through the heart of the park, with steam trains crossing open moorland at Newtondale.

12. Dartmoor National Park, Devon

Photo index score: 17

Set on a granite plateau shaped over millennia, Dartmoor is defined by ancient tors rising from open moorland in formations found nowhere else in the country. Haytor and Hound Tor are the headline shots – best captured at dawn when low cloud rolls across the moor and the rock faces catch the first light. Wild ponies roam freely, offering unpredictable wildlife compositions that reward patience, while the Bronze Age stone rows at Merrivale provide a dramatic foreground against open sky. Few landscapes in England change mood as quickly – mist, sun and storm can arrive within the same hour thanks to its exposed Atlantic position.

13. The Broads, Norfolk

Photo index score: 10

The Broads offers a photographic experience defined by absence – no peaks, just vast skies, mirror-still waterways and an ever-changing quality of light that rewards those who slow down. Best explored by boat, the network of rivers and lakes opens up compositions only accessible from the water, with Hickling Broad and Horsey Mere among the best stretches for dawn photography when mist sits low across the surface. Home to one of England’s highest concentrations of birdlife, marsh harriers quarter the reedbeds year-round and bitterns boom in spring, while otters, now thriving after decades of decline, offer elusive wildlife shots.

14. Exmoor National Park, Somerset

Photo index score: 9

Where Dartmoor broods inland, Exmoor meets the sea, its moorland dropping dramatically to the Bristol Channel in wooded combes and sea cliffs that offer a photographic range its granite neighbour cannot match. The Valley of Rocks near Lynton delivers the park’s most distinctive coastal composition, while Exmoor’s red deer – the largest wild land mammal in Britain – roam the high moor above Dunkery Beacon, offering wildlife shots best attempted at dawn during the October rut.

15. Northumberland National Park, Northumberland

Photo index score: 4

England’s most remote national park offers a sense of scale and solitude found nowhere else in this list. Hadrian’s Wall snakes across the Whin Sill in an ancient and dramatic composition – Steel Rigg and Cawfields are among the finest stretches for both dawn landscape and night sky photography. As Europe’s largest protected dark sky park, the Milky Way arches overhead on clear nights with a clarity impossible to find further south, while the Cheviot Hills to the north offer vast, empty moorland that appears untouched.

Methodology

To determine the most photographed national parks in the UK, Popsa’s data science team analysed millions of photos uploaded by customers in 2025. Using location metadata, we identified images taken within the boundaries of UK national parks and ranked them based on total photo volume.

Each park was assigned a photo index score, which reflects the relative volume of photos taken there compared with all other parks in the dataset. Scores were then normalised on a scale of 0-100, with the most photographed park set as the benchmark. The result is a ranking that reflects real traveller behaviour, highlighting not just where people visit, but where they are most inspired to capture and keep their memories.