AN “EXTRAORDINARY” Scottish attraction has been named among the most underrated places across the UK.
Scotland is home to several unique and quirky places, so it’s no wonder that many receive nationwide attention.
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Jupiter Artland is located in Livingston, just outside of EdinburghCredit: Alamy
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The Cells of Life areas by Charles JencksCredit: Alamy
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It is full of amazing sculptures like Gateway by Portuguese artist Joana VasconcelosCredit: Alamy
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It also has an intricately designed swimming poolCredit: PA
And a new study has found that one standout location actually ranks among some of the top underrated spots across Britain.
Experts at The Telegraph have ranked the 12 best spots after exploring the country.
They compiled the list by considering attractions that have a special quality that makes them worth visiting but are also quiet enough that “you don’t need to shuffle shoulder-to-shoulder with the masses for a grand day out”.
And one of these is Jupiter Artland near Livingston in West Lothian, which the experts describe as “extraordinary”.
This is a huge sculpture park which is packed full of woodland walks, rolling hills, sculptured greens, pools and caves.
The attraction, which most people have never heard of, is set over 100 acres of woodland and meadows.
You’ll find an entirely new perspective on modern art in this extraordinary sculpture park
Experts at The Telegraph
And it’s home to a massive collection of artwork from some of the world’s best-known artists, including Antony Gormley and visiting exhibitions from the likes of Tracey Emin
It’s only open from May to September, and during this time visitors can explore the vast array of exhibits and sculptures whilst taking in fabulous countryside views across the Pentland Hills.
Several of the artworks incorporate islands or terraced slopes. For example, there is a humanoid steel sculpture by Anthony Gormley or brave a caged hole by Anish Kapoor called Suck.
The five-star Visit Scotland-rated attraction was founded in 2009 by owners Nicky and Robert Wilson.
Secret 100 acre woodland walk just outside Edinburgh
At the time, the pair were on a mission to provide a free school visit for every child in Scotland and tens, if not hundreds, of thousands have passed through the gloriously lavish sculpted gates since.
Various artists were given the freedom to express themselves in the landscape and create what is an astonishing outdoor gallery.
This includes the ‘Life Mounds’, which are visible when entering the park.
Praising the park, the team at The Telegraph said: “You’ll find an entirely new perspective on modern art in this extraordinary sculpture park set in a wooded estate on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
“Moving around, on and through works of world-class artists like Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley and Ian Hamilton Finlay is uniquely absorbing, with children (and adults) welcome to get up close, touch, even swim in a work of art in the Joana Vasconcelos Gateway Pool.”
But Jupiter Artland wasn’t the only Scottish attraction to make the list.
Kilmartin Glen in Argyll and Bute was also praised by the experts as being “evocative” and “magnificent”.
The glen, carved by glaciers in the last Ice Age, is located between Oban and Lochgilphead, surrounding the village of Kilmartin, on the west of Scotland.
Britain’s best underrated attractions
HERE is the full list of The Telegraph’s best attractions that most people have never heard of across the UK.
- Southern Cemetery – Chorlton, Manchester
- Kerdroya, Colliford Lake – Bodmin Moor, Cornwall
- Woodchester Mansion – The Cotswolds
- Jupiter Artland – Edinburgh
- The Thames Path – London
- St Peter and St Paul’s church – Pickering, North Yorkshire
- The Regency Town House – Brighton
- Johnny Wood and Borrowdale Yews – Borrowdale, Cumbria
- Castle Acre – Norfolk
- Kilmartin Glen – Argyll and Bute
- Salmesbury Hall – Salmesbury, Lancashire
- Grime’s Graves – Suffolk/Norfolk
It is home to at least 250 ancient monuments, 150 of them pre-historic.
Nether Largie standing stones and Temple Wood stone circle are some of the best examples of standing stone monuments in Scotland.
The Telegraph said: “It’s hard to find ruins quite as evocative as those of Kilmartin Glen on the west coast of Argyll.
“Begin by overlooking successive burial cairns from the roadside, then pass through fields of black-face sheep to a prehistoric collection of stone circles, cist chambers and henge monuments that are older than Stonehenge, older even than the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
“Perhaps, though, the wooded glen’s most wonderful feature isn’t its extra layer of Neolithic or Bronze Age remains, or the rock art sites that are denser than anywhere else in Britain (there are more than 800 at the last count).
“The most magnificent attraction is that its stories are still being unearthed from the soil by archaeologists — and so much of this history is still waiting to be discovered.”
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The attraction has been named among the best underrated places in the UKCredit: Alamy
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The Weeping Girl statue at Jupiter ArtlandCredit: Alamy
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The standing stones at Nether Largie in Kilmartin Glen, which was also mentioned on the listCredit: Getty