20 amazing locations for classic car photoshoots

You love your classic and you want to document – and show off to others – just how beautiful and iconic it is. Beyond presenting it in the metal, some beautiful photos are the next best thing.

And a classic car needs a classic photographic backdrop. Here are some of our favourites. We've chosen a fairly far-flung list of locations – getting to some of these will mean quite a trip, so make sure your vintage car insurance is fully up to date before you set off.

1. Bath

The largely Georgian city of Bath is crammed full of beautiful locations for a car photoshoot. If you can find space, why not head for one of the amazing crescents – Royal Crescent in the centre of town, Lansdown Crescent just a few streets north or Camden Crescent a 10-minute walk to the north-east?

Among these, the former also offers a cobbled road surface if you're looking for even more period detail. Or try Cavendish Crescent, just beneath Lansdown, for a smaller, more intimate atmosphere. Just be careful to get the correct parking permit for the day and time of your visit.

2. Valley of the Rocks, Exmoor

This dramatic section of coastline on the northern edge of Exmoor has an extraordinarily windswept, otherworldly feel. The valley is famous for its strange, lunar outcrops, the Lynton Beds – among the oldest Devonian rocks in north Devon. It's a dramatic place, either in the valley itself or when seen from the summit of the nearby Hollerday Hill, and would make a great classic car shoot.

3. Gospel Pass

The drive over the Gospel Pass, at the northern edge of the Black Mountains on the England-Wales border, is a magnificent spot. Its acres of windswept, close-cropped grassland and bracken provide panoramic views across great expanses of both countries.

There are many places to stop and set up your tripod. A particular favourite is the crest of the ridge onto the Pass, driving from Capel y Ffin towards Hay on Wye, with the imperious mass of Hay Bluff rising up on your right. You might even want to pick a bright winter's day, when a dusting of snow may cover the hills.

4. Duncansby Head car park, John O’Groats

The fact that this is the most north-easterly car park in mainland Britain doesn't of itself guarantee it an entry into our list. However, the views from the car park do make it a must-see. The small car park sits next to a picturesque whitewashed lighthouse, while a clutch of natural rock formations, the Duncansby Stacks, rise up out of the water just beyond the headland. On a clear day, you may even get a view of Orkney's tall sandstone cliffs.

This is remote Britain, so you may want to make a proper trip of it. Make a checklist before you go: hotel, driving licence, classic car insurance…

5. Kylesku Bridge, Sutherland

For a combination of both man-made and natural drama and beauty, it's hard to beat the Kylesku Bridge, a distinctively curved box girder bridge in north-west Scotland. The bridge, one of the most graceful man-made spans we've ever encountered, carries the A894 road over the Loch a' Chàirn Bhàin, a sea inlet that empties into the sea near Ullapool. Fascinating fact: the Loch was the site of Port HHZ, a midget submarine training base during World War Two.

6. Rannoch Moor

If you want some edge-of-the-known-world drama in your vehicle photoshoot, Scotland's remote Rannoch Moor would be a great choice. One of Europe's last remaining genuine wildernesses, the Great Moor of Rannoch (to give its other, slightly more imposing name) stretches for miles to the north and west of the remote Rannoch Station.

A vast expanse of peat bog, small lakes, rivers and rocky outcrops, it's a truly arresting landscape. A drive across it is a thrilling experience – and there are numerous backdrops that will make excellent photo opportunities. The moor is traversed by the dramatic A82 road, one of Scotland's most attractive driving routes.

7. Primrose Hill

Undoubtedly one of London's most picturesque corners, Primrose Hill is filled with beautiful squares, streets and crescents, many of the houses painted in achingly pretty pastel hues that would make the perfect backdrop to that E-Type or Elan photoshoot. Why not try Chalcot Crescent, one of the neighbourhood's most beautiful streets?

A series of elegant townhouses in shades of pink, blue, green and yellow describe a shallow arc – if you can park outside one of these you're guaranteed a symphony of beautiful colours to offset your classic. Take a look at our recent blog on how to take perfect pictures of your classic car for some top tips.

8. Hutton-le-Hole

Nestled into a natural hollow within the North York Moors and surrounded by beautiful moorland and riverside scenery on all sides, Hutton-le-Hole can stake a decent claim to be one of Yorkshire’s – even England's – most perfect villages.

The centrepiece is the pretty village green, with the clear moorland stream that flows right through the middle. Sheep graze here, children splash in the water, families picnic and that classic of yours would look wonderful in the centre of such bucolic surroundings.

9. Broadway

If you're looking for beautiful, meticulously preserved high streets for an oh-so-English rural photographic backdrop, the Cotswolds are a rich hunting ground. Burford, Stow on the Wold, Chipping Campden, Bradford on Avon and Bourton on the Water are all full of beautiful old buildings in that characteristic golden Cotswold stone that photographs so well: but if we had to pick one picture-perfect Cotswold town it would probably be Broadway.

Its high street is full of wonderful Tudor and Georgian buildings, and a photo anywhere here will show off your classic at its absolute best. Try bagging a space outside the famously opulent Lygon Arms hotel for ultimate classic chic.

10. Sennen Cove

Right down at Cornwall's far south-western tip, Sennen Cove is a beautiful and dramatic stretch of sand with wonderful views up the coastline. Here, the Atlantic Ocean crashes against the rugged cliffs, making for some dramatic photographic backdrops. You have a choice of car park options: one right down by the beach itself for more of a beach sand backdrop, or a 'top' car park on the top of the cliffs for a more commanding view of cliffs and ocean.

11. Derwent Water and Borrowdale

The Lake District is packed with beautiful locations, offering a wonderful range of lakeland, woodland, moorland and mountain scenery. As such, you're really spoilt for choice when it comes to photo locations. But if you had to choose one location, the beautiful lake of Derwent Water and its valley of Borrowdale is hard to beat.

There are no fewer than nine National Trust car parks throughout the valley, all set in stunning countryside. One great shot would be beside the packhorse bridge at Ashness Bridge, deservedly one of the Lakes' most photographed locations. It's a good idea to get there either early or late in the day to guarantee an unimpeded view! Oh, and if you decide to drive across the bridge, take it steady (it's narrow) and make sure your classic car cover is up to date in case of any mishaps.

12. Tak Ma Doon Road

Now, this one takes a degree of dedication to get to – but is manifestly worth it once you do. The evocatively named Tak Ma Doon Road heads out of the central Scottish town of Kilsyth and up into the Campsie Fells. From the car park at the road's summit, on a clear day, you get some wonderful, panoramic views of much of central Scotland, from Glasgow to Edinburgh.

13. Putney Embankment

If you want a dramatic shot of the Thames as it snakes through London, Putney Embankment makes a great choice. We say this for two reasons: for one, the Thames makes a beautiful leisurely arc at this point, giving river shots a lovely sense of drama. Also, and perhaps more importantly, there are a fair few options for parking along this stretch, unlike some of the other more congested sections of the Thames.

14. Peak District

The Peak District National Park is blessed with some of the UK's very best landscape photography locations. Steep sided valleys, breathtaking ravines, sweeping views and foaming waterfalls: it's all here. Of the many options, we'd recommend the dramatic Winnats Pass, a huge limestone gorge dotted with craggy rocks.

The Pass looks equally impressive whether viewed from the summit or the winding road (the A6187 from Castleton to Chapel en le Frith) that runs beneath it. Your best bet might be to approach from Castleton to the east, where the natural drama of the geology makes for some brilliant photo opportunities.

15. Dunstable Downs

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Dunstable Downs offer some wonderful views of rolling chalk grasslands, while an apparently endless sky spreads out above you. Head for the car park right on the top for some enormous views across Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

16. St Michael's Mount Car Park

A tidal island just offshore from the town of Marazion in southern Cornwall, St Michael's Mount is linked to the mainland by a man-made causeway of granite cobbles, passable at low and mid tide. The castle and its chapel have been the property of the St Aubyn family since around 1650.

So much for the history: what interests us here is that the Mount (like its more famous counterpart, Mont St Michel in Brittany) makes an absolutely stunning photographic backdrop. The car park back on the mainland offers views of the Mount in the background: you can simply choose whether you want a high- or low-tide backdrop.

17. Clifton, Bristol

Around the elegant Georgian streets, squares and crescents of Bristol's western suburb of Clifton, you're spoilt for choice when it comes to beautiful photography locations. Royal York Crescent is perhaps the ultimate showpiece of pastel-hued Georgian architecture; around the corner, the wrought-iron balconies of Caledonia Place and The Mall make a very pleasing visual ensemble. Or, if you can find a spot, park on Sion Hill for a view of the majestic Clifton Suspension Bridge in the background: a marvel of human engineering to complement the one you're driving.

18. A303, Wiltshire / Somerset

The A303 is a road steeped in history along much of its length, from Basingstoke in Hampshire to Honiton in Devon. The road has evolved from a series of historical routes, some of them thousands of years old: it first came together as a single route in the early 19th Century, as a faster coaching route from Exeter to London.

The A303 also passes through some uniquely beautiful and/or historic locations, such as Stonehenge in Wiltshire and the Blackdown Hills on the Somerset / Devon border. One of our favourite spots is at Chaddenwick Hill right on the border of Wiltshire and Somerset, where you can park the car at a layby and enjoy the beautiful views.

19. Amersham

We've singled out the pretty Buckinghamshire market town of Amersham before, in our roundup of brilliant road trips from London. And we feel it's worth another mention here. Not only is it a beautiful place to spend a few hours mooching about in: Amersham's amazingly well preserved high street also makes a wonderful photographic backdrop for your classic car.

Wherever you can park along the high street will serve you well, but if you can why not try parking outside the Market Hall, with its octagonal bell tower and arcaded ground floor, or the beautifully tumbledown, Tudor Amersham Museum?

20. Lake Vyrnwy

Not far from the Shropshire border, the mid-Wales reservoir of Lake Vyrnwy is a fascinating and beautiful place. The natural landscape features a wonderful mix of lakes, forests, streams and waterfalls, while there are some beautiful man-made features too, such as the hugely impressive Victorian dam that forms the lake, and its fairytale, Gothic Revival straining tower nearby.

There are plenty of car parks and laybys around the perimeter of the lake where you will be able to set your classic against a dramatic and beautiful backdrop.

Protect your picture-perfect ride with classic car insurance

Your classic car is a source of pride to you. That's why you want to take some beautiful images of it – and that's why you also want to protect it with some classic car insurance while you’re driving around trying to find the perfect spot!

Contact us today to discuss your policy.