The insider’s guide to snapping National Lottery-funded sites

After all, it’s thanks to you and the £30MMillion you raise every week by playing The National Lottery, that these incredible venues can do what they do.

The choice of places to visit is incredible. From majestic castles to spectacular gardens, there are plenty of picturesque sights across the home nations worthy of your ‘Insta’. Whether you love a good selfie or prefer to stay behind the lens, here’s the inside scoop on just a few of these incredible venues.

Venue: Buxton Crescent, Derbyshire, England

Good to know: Buxton Crescent became a spa destination in Roman times, when a settlement was built around a clear, warm-water spring providing more than 1M litres a day.

Insta tip: All the rooms have great views, but for a special snap head to the Card Room at the East Corner of the Crescent. It has sweeping views of the building’s facade as well as the Pump Room and slopes (and gets the best light throughout the day).

Venue: Crom, Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

Good to know: Crom’s famous Yew Trees can be found near the Old Castle ruins. The trees are actually a conjoined pair of male and female trees and have a combined circumference of 377 feet. The female yew is larger and older, with the earliest known reference to it being 1739. The male tree was probably planted in the 1800s.

Insta tip: Hire a boat at the jetty to see this incredible landscape from another angle.

Venue: The Japanese Garden Cowden, Clackmannanshire, Scotland

Good to know: This beautiful garden is the only one of its kind in the world to have been designed by a Japanese woman - Taki Handa. It was described as “the most important Japanese garden in the Western World” by Japanese practitioner Professor Jijo Suzuki in 1925.

Insta tip: From the top of the north bank in the traditional Japanese Garden you get a great view of the pond and surrounding garden. On a clear day, you’ll see the bridges, plants and sky reflected in the pond.

Venue: Dyffryn Gardens, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales

Good to know: Reginald Cory, whose father built the house in 1893, commissioned and took part in plant hunting expeditions all over the world. Luckily, his family was in the coal business, so he had access to a fleet of ships. Dyffryn Gardens’ plant collections are unique and incredibly important from a horticultural perspective.

Insta tip: Visit the glasshouse to take photos of the impressive cacti and orchid collections.

Originally published 17th March 2022; Updated 28th March 2022