The Most Extreme Points of the United Kingdom

A marker showing Ness Point, the easternmost point of the United Kingdom.
A marker showing Ness Point, the easternmost point of the United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Although the UK is a state, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales gained a degree of sovereignty through devolution. Great Britain, on the other hand, consists of England, Wales, and Scotland. It is therefore uncommon to refer to the United Kingdom as the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The following are the extreme point of the UK.

6. Northernmost Point in the UK

The northernmost point of the UK is Oosta/ Out Stack in Shetland, Scotland. The island lies less than half a mile northeast of Muckle Flugga and 1.8 miles north of Unst Island. Oosta is part of the Hermaness National Nature Reserve. The island is the last landmass north of the UK before reaching the north pole.

5. Southernmost Point in the UK

The southernmost point of the UK is the island of Pednathise Head. The Island is part of the Isles of Scilly and it is uninhabited.

4. Westernmost Point in the UK

The Westernmost point of the UK is Rockall. Rockall is an uninhabited island in the North Atlantic Ocean. The UK laid claim to the island in 1955 before incorporating it as Scottish in 1971. Ireland objected to the incorporation, but it did not also claim the island for itself. The island is fairly small with an area of 8,442 sq ft and an elevation of 56.27 ft.

3. Easternmost Point in the UK

The easternmost point of the UK is Lowestoft Ness, Suffolk. It is also the most easterly point of England. The furthest easterly point of the town center is marked by a Euroscope marker that shows the direction and distance to other European cities and a plaque denoting the point as the most easterly point of the British Isles.

2. Highest Point in the UK

The highest point is the Ben Nevis summit at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in Scotland. The summit stands 4,411 ft above the sea level. It is a popular tourist destination that attracts about 100,000 ascents a year. The northern end of the features rocky cliffs that attract rock climbers. The summit was formed from a collapsed volcano. Between 1883 and 1904 the summit hosted a meteorological observatory.

1. Lowest Point in the UK

The village of Holme in Cambridgeshire, England is the lowest point in the UK. The village lies 9 ft below the sea level. It is 7 miles south of Peterborough.

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