Wild places

Morcambe Bay, Lancashire: The untamed beauty of the tidal sands stretch 10 miles from the shore. Treacherous quicksands and rapid tides mean crossings can only be made with royally appointed local guides. Photograph: Simon Coning/Christopher Somerville

Inverpolly, Scotland: A bewitching wilderness deep in the Scottish Highlands. Out on a ragged limb between Assynt and the Atlantic, there are thousands of acres of lonely bog, loch, mountain and moor Photograph: Christopher Somerville/Christopher Somerville

Cairngorm, Aberdeenshire, Scotland: The Cairngorm Mountains rise over 4,000ft and their high plateau is subject to prolonged spells of arctic weather Photograph: Christopher Somerville/Christopher Somerville

Oxfordshire, South Midlands: Wayland's Smithy is a Neolithic burial chamber guarded by massive stones off the Ridgeway. It is named after the Viking hero who worked in the forge of the Gods Photograph: Christopher Somerville/Christopher Somerville

Shingle Street, Suffolk: This lonely shore once faced the invading forces of Napoleon Bonaparte at the turn of the 19th century. Today four Martello towers 'bear witness to that era of tension and defiance' Photograph: Christopher Somerville/Christopher Somerville

St Mary's Well, Llyn, Gwynedd, Wales: A triangular slit in the the rocks under an overhang, St Mary's Well offers a tricky-to-reach but spiritually cleansing drink. For medieval pilgrims, a sip of the water brought a blessing, as the Blessed Virgin is said to have visited the well Photograph: Christopher Somerville/Christopher Somerville

Upper Teesdale, County Durham: A rare gem of landscape that is not only wildly beautiful but also beautifully wild. From the Pennine Way National Trail, you get a grandstand view of it all Photograph: Christopher Somerville/Christopher Somerville

Nephin Beg Mountains, Co Mayo, Republic of Ireland, The widest expanse of blanket bog and the remotest mountain range in Ireland Photograph: Christopher Somerville/Christopher Somerville

Great and Little Skellig, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland: Located nine miles off the tip of the Iveragh Peninsula, Great Skellig slants fiercely out of the sea - a truly wild, storm-whittled place that for 500 years was home to a community of monks Photograph: Josh Roberts/Christopher Somerville

Wenhaston Doom, Suffolk: A medieval doom painting depicting heaven and hell, restored to the interior of St Peter's church at Wenhaston Photograph: Christopher Somerville/Christopher Somerville