The Best National Parks For Romantic Walks
Keeping romance alive isn’t technically our area of expertise, but the outdoors and the activities that go with it are – and one thing we do know is that the outdoors are synonymous with romance. Your search for nature's most romantic locations ends here.
We won’t deny the great effects that jetting off to an exotic land can have, but you needn’t go too far to stir up the romance between you and your significant other. Spending time on outdoor activities such as camping and hiking is proven to increase vitality, and when we’re happier, we’re more likely to have a better headspace and more energy to focus on our relationships.
If you’re looking to celebrate a special day or you're just in the mood for a romantic getaway, you'll find plenty of inspiration in our latest study. Considering the cost of overnight stays, hashtags, search volumes, ratings and film appearances, we’ve discovered some of the UK’s best national parks for sparking some romance.
Ranking as the top three ‘Most Romantic’ are the Peak District, Wales’s Snowdonia and the Lake District. The Peak District takes first place largely due to its ‘picture-perfect’ backdrops. The celebrated locale has the highest number of hashtags (just under 2 million!). It also ranks as the cheapest spot for overnight camping; a two-person camping stay costs an average of £41.
As far as popularity goes, the Peak District is the UK’s third most popular nature spot, receiving an average global interest of 932,000 searches in the last year.
Also doing well in the popularity stakes, ranking second for social tags, global searches and as second most romantic overall, is Wales’s Snowdonia. Home to one of the longest zipwires in Europe, Snowdonia has been searched for 1 million times on average in the last year and has a near equal amount of hashtags too, at 1.1 million.
Completing the ‘most romantic’ trilogy in third place is the Lake District. The Cumbrian nature spot ranks as the most ‘silver-screen’ friendly, appearing in more than 170 on-screen hits, including Jane Eyre, The Witcher, Snow White and The Hunstman and even Paddington 2. Rated at 4.9 stars, the Lake District is also the UK’s most searched for national park, pulling in an average of 2.4 million global searches since 2021.
Following the Lake District as the second and third most documented on screen are the Pembrokeshire Coast and New Forest National Parks. The Pembrokeshire Coast is most known for featuring in the Harry Potter franchise and Me Before You, while the New Forest was the location for iconic romantic blockbusters Anna Karenina and Brief Encounter.
When it comes to social media popularity, joining the Peak District and Snowdonia in the top three most tagged beauty spots is the New Forest, tagged in just under 1 million Instagram posts.
Along with its Hollywood-worthy scenery, the Pembrokeshire Coast also has the second most affordable camping stays on offer, costing an average of £52 per night. The next most affordable for a camping stay is Exmoor National Park, averaging at around £57 per night.
If you’d prefer slightly warmer accommodation, then we’ve also investigated the best value hotel stays, based on average prices for the peak romantic time of year, Valentine’s Day. In doing so, we found that North York Moors, Brecon Beacons, and Cairngorms offer the best value one-night stays, all of which cost an average of £80-£100 for an overnight stay for two. The most expensive stay comes in at an average £255 for the night if you stay in the Lake District.
With Valentine’s Day looming, we think there’s no better time to explore the best that UK nature has to offer. Whether you prefer a night camping under the stars, getting pampered in a hotel after an exhilarating hike or you’re in it for the picture-perfect memories, we hope our research will help you choose your next romantic getaway.
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