Britain’s 15 biggest walks

Is there any higher place to have a strolling vacation than Britain? The variability and magnificence of the terrain! The depth of historical past! The excellence of OS Maps! The proliferation of helpful pubs and tea rooms!

Even the climate works: we might bitch about rain, nevertheless it retains issues inexperienced. Our temperatures are not often too sizzling or too chilly, and we even get 4 correct seasons – all a pleasure to stroll in, for various causes. 

After which there may be our community of footpaths. Whereas countryside entry might actually be improved, we’re nonetheless lucky to have a cornucopia of various routes – from quick ambles to great multi-day hikes. 

There are at present 16 Nationwide Trails in England and Wales, and 29 official Nice Trails in Scotland – however that’s the tip of the iceberg: the Lengthy Distance Walkers Affiliation at present lists greater than 1,300 trails 15 miles or extra in size.

This makes an try to decide on 15 of one of the best British walks extraordinarily troublesome. However that’s what we’ve tried to do right here, selecting one thing for everybody, whether or not your concept of an important stroll takes two weeks or an extended weekend; whether or not you need improbable surroundings or luggage of cultural curiosity; an excellent high quality path, fewer individuals to take care of, or just a route that’s nicely marked and straightforward to observe. 

Spring is sort of right here, the countryside is beginning to bloom, and the times are getting longer. It’s time to plan your first out of doors journey of 2024.

Following its namesake river from supply (a Cotswolds damp patch) in direction of the ocean, the Thames Path is the nation’s best Nationwide Path. It’s principally flat the entire approach, and also you’re unlikely to get misplaced – simply maintain the waterway by your facet. Upriver of Oxford is extra rural, dotted with fairly thatch villages and websites like William Morris’s Kelmscott. Past the ‘Metropolis of Dreaming Spires’ are Studying Abbey, good-looking Henley, Windsor Fort, Runnymede’s Magna Carta web site and Hampton Courtroom.

Then, after all, all London’s treasures. So, oodles of cultural curiosity, and absolutely extra world-class eating places than another hike (not least in Michelin-starry Bray and Marlow). The pay-off? You by no means really feel that removed from human noise and improvement. 

Macs Journey (01415 303721; macsadventure.com) provides a 21-day self-guided journey from £3,035pp. See nationaltrail.co.uk/thames-path.

This quick hike from Loch Ness into the Glen Affric Nature Reserve solely opened in 2015, however is already one for the bucket checklist, reckons Paul Webster of specialists Stroll Highlands (walkhighlands.co.uk). “It leads by way of the size of what connoisseurs regard as probably the most stunning of all Scottish glens, an space now on the coronary heart of an unlimited rewilding mission,” he says. 

A lot of the best way is on forestry tracks; for 2024, the primary stage has been rerouted away from roads utilizing newly created trails. “Scenically it’s unsurpassed,” Paul provides. “It heads by way of actually wild, distant landscapes, but all the time with the advantage of a path.” Distant certainly: when strolling Glen Affric you’ll spot reminders of previous settlements, however now Altbeithe’s lonely youth hostel is the one signal of civilisation.

Thistle Trekking (07375789173; thistletrekking.co.uk) provides a five-night guided journey from £829pp. See affrickintailway.com.

If we had been awarding factors for ‘loopy’, the Monarch’s Method would win arms down. In an try to observe King Charles II’s frantic flight after his Civil Conflict defeat in 1651, it staggers drunkenly throughout the Midlands, the Cotswolds, the south-west and into Sussex, even doubling again on itself. This implies it comprises an enormous selection – not least two World Heritage Websites, a Nationwide Park and 6 Nationwide Landscapes – although additionally some less-interesting linking terrain, in an effort to stay to Charles’s path. Its continued existence depends on volunteer Path Minders, who every monitor their patch – an enormous enterprise.

It was the LDWA web site’s most-visited path-page in 2021, although possibly as a result of individuals had been Googling the then-monarch’s upcoming Jubilee. Few walkers thru-hike it. However have a look at a map – there could also be a stunning bit close to you.

No tour operators supply the total Monarch’s Method, although different journeys overlap with it. For instance, the Cotswold Strolling Firm’s seven-night Cotswold Most interesting journey, which prices from £815pp (cotswoldwalkingco.com). To plan your personal stroll, you may order the guidebooks (£11) from monarchsway.50megs.com.

The Cotswolds Method Nationwide Path is scrumptious, the path equal of a field of goodies. You’ll get a style of thatch-and-honeystone hamlets, contemporary inexperienced hills, cool beech woods and loads of singular websites: Jacobean Stanway Home, regal Sudeley Fort, Belas Knap lengthy barrow, Cooper’s Hill (of cheese-rolling fame). That mentioned, it plots a really particular course, following the Cotswold Hills Nationwide Panorama’s western escarpment. That is nice for views in direction of Wales, however would possibly shock these anticipating to hike between all of the area’s cutest villages. Transport hyperlinks aren’t overly useful both. Nevertheless, this path remains to be a terrific solution to spend every week, with well-maintained paths, plenty of good (if dear) locations to remain and a hard-to-beat ending, on the doorways of Tub Abbey.

The Carter Firm (01296 631671; the-carter-company.com) provides a luxe 11-night self-guided journey from £5,570pp. See cotswoldwayassociation.org.uk.

Scottish climbing purists don’t price the Nice Glen Method. The Cape Wrath Path will seemingly be their favorite; an unmarked, path-less wilderness expedition that’s in all probability Britain’s hardest trek – transcendent for individuals who can. However for regular individuals, the Nice Glen Method holds far better attraction. The route traces the pure fault-line that divides Scotland from coast to coast, continuing from the bottom of Ben Nevis by way of the Caledonian Canal and three main lochs – Lochy, Oich, Ness – utilizing towpath, forest tracks, again lanes and drove roads. Whereas not as epic, it provides clear, stable, easy entry to some smashing Highlands scenes. For those who nonetheless desire a problem, 10 years in the past, 10 miles of variant ‘Excessive Route’ had been waymarked, introducing more durable climbs, together with 422m Creag Dhearg, with placing views.

Absolute Escapes (0131 610 1210; absoluteescapes.com) provides a six-night self-guided journey from £710pp. See highland.gov.uk/greatglenway.

Although coming in at tenth right here, the Norfolk Coast Path Nationwide Path will certainly be some walkers’ favorite. For those who love that endless-sky vibe, it might’t be overwhelmed. And if we had classes for ‘wildlife’ and ‘winter’, the NCP would prime them: it has Britain’s largest seal colony, birds of their hundreds of thousands and one of the best choices for low season strolling, given its shorter size, beneficial terrain and great darkish skies. 

There’s additionally drama within the path’s nature reserves, tidal marshes, sandy seashores and seaside cities. Plus a lot intrigue on the Deep Historical past Coast, the place finds have offered a few of Europe’s earliest proof of human occupation. It’s an important path for day-trippers too, who can use the buses that hop alongside the coast year-round. For some, although, it’ll be too darn flat.

Norfolk Strolling Holidays (07765 668188; norfolkwalkingholidays.com) provides an eight-night self-guided journey from £964pp. See nationaltrail.co.uk/peddars-way-and-norfolk-coast-path.

Climbing doesn’t get far more history-packed than Hadrian’s Wall Path Nationwide Path, a route tracing the Unesco-listed rampart constructed by the Romans in AD 122. Granted, there isn’t a lot of the particular wall left, however you’ll see sections of it, in addition to remnants of milecastles and the fascinating forts of Segedunum, Chesters, Housesteads and Birdoswald. You’ll additionally go rugged Northumberland Nationwide Park, Cumbria’s gentler hills and the bird-filled Solway estuary. 

It is a fairly distant a part of the nation, although the AD122 Hadrian’s Wall Nation Bus may help with entry. Marks are docked for some stretches of city and road-walking, particularly on the jap finish. However, because the shortest coast-to-coaster, it provides supreme satisfaction for minimal effort.

Stroll the Wall (07813 050 344; walkthewall.uk) provides a six-day self-guided journey from £499pp. See nationaltrail.co.uk/hadrians-wall-path.

It’s thought people have been strolling the safer, drier uplands of the South Downs for round 8,000 years; there’s actually loads of artifical proof right here, from Iron Age Cissbury to Ring, and the Roman’s Bignor Villa to the Lengthy Man of Wilmington chalk determine. The South Downs Method Nationwide Path itself was opened in 1972. It sits virtually fully inside the South Downs Nationwide Park, following the grassy chalk ridge to the ocean, providing advantageous views all through and good going underfoot. There are charming villages en route – Alfriston, Amberley, Rodmell, Litlington – although they typically require a hoik down from the ridge to achieve, and a hoik again up once more to proceed. Being within the populous South East, transport hyperlinks are glorious however the route can get busy, particularly because it’s open to cyclists and horse riders too.

Footprints of Sussex (01903 813381; footprintsofsussex.co.uk) provides an eight-night self-guided journey from £825pp. See southdownsway.org.

Mixing dramatic surroundings, non secular significance, a manageable size, solely reasonable issue, a border crossing, some correctly distant uplands and a novel finale, St Cuthbert’s is our highest rating non-national path. Certainly, it was rated finest UK path of all by members of out of doors app AllTrails.

It follows within the footsteps of the seventh-century saint, utilizing footpaths, bridleways and a few minor roads to get from the magnificent ruins of Melrose Abbey, close to the place he started his ministry, to Holy Island, his eventual resting place. The cherry on prime is the stroll throughout to the isle, which should be timed with the tides: both stroll throughout the causeway or, as historical pilgrims as soon as did, throughout the uncovered seabed. 

Northumberland-based Shepherds Walks Holidays (01669 621044; shepherdswalksholidays.co.uk) provides a seven-day self-guided St Cuthbert’s Method journey from £785pp. See stcuthbertsway.data.

Offa’s Dyke provides an terrible lot. Finishing this Nationwide Path offers you an enormous historical past hit – it follows a defensive earthwork that dates again to the eighth century (although, admittedly, there isn’t a lot left), and can also be pocked with historical hill forts, Marcher castles and romantically ruined Tintern Abbey. As well as, it offers you the satisfaction of strolling the size of Wales, and hopping the England-Wales border 20-odd instances en route. 

The surroundings is magnificent: there’s the Wye Valley, the Black Mountains, the Clwydian Hills and a rolling wildness of sparsely-populated inexperienced. The draw back is that this remoteness limits transport and lodging choices. And the terrain means you may anticipate loads of ups and down, and doubtless a little bit of ‘climate’.

Hay-based Drovers Holidays (01497 821134; droverholidays.co.uk) provides a 12-day self-guided journey from £785pp. See offasdyke.org.uk.

The Pembrokeshire Coast Path is the South West Coast Path in miniature, minus the worst of the crowds – although missing a smidgen of the ‘wow’. Nearly fully wending inside the Pembrokeshire Coast Nationwide Park, this Nationwide Path is all craggy cliffs, golden seashores, cute fishing harbours, rocky isles, ample seabirds and crashing waves – look out for dolphins and seals. There are additionally cultural highlights, such because the teensy metropolis of St David’s (birthplace of Wales’ patron saint), vibrant Tenby, Neolithic cromlechs and cliff-hanging St Govan’s chapel. True, the stretch round industrial Milford Haven isn’t so fairly, and the trailheads are a bit so-so. Nevertheless it’s an exquisite route for these ready to place in some effort: the ascents on the path are the equal of climbing Mount Everest.

Celtic Trails (01291 689774; celtictrailswalkingholidays.co.uk) provides a 14-night self-guided journey from £1,800pp. See pembrokeshirecoast.wales.

When members of the LDWA had been surveyed in 2022, this mammoth tramp alongside England’s spine was voted the highest path – by a good distance. Which is unsurprising, maybe, because the unforgiving Pennine Method – Britain’s first Nationwide Path, opened in 1965 – is actually one for the connoisseur. It takes a sure kind of hiker to like all the things about it; to understand not solely its wild and majestic surroundings – together with bits of Peaks, Dales, Cheviots and even a slice of Hadrian’s Wall – but additionally its soul (and boot) sucking bogs, brutally uncovered tops and demanding terrain. Services and civilisation are sparse in locations, too, making planning a problem. However whenever you do come throughout a village, pub or café, you’ll seemingly obtain the warmest welcome. 

Walkers Britain (0208 875 5070; walkersbritain.co.uk) provides a 20-day self-guided journey from £2,120pp. See nationaltrail.co.uk/pennine-way.

“The West Highland Method has all of it,” believes Bryn Thomas of Trailblazer Guides, whose guidebook to the path is amongst its hottest. “There’s an exquisite number of surroundings, transferring from the lowlands round Glasgow to the dramatic Highlands, combining loch strolling with wild moorland, and passing under Ben Nevis. And it’s a stroll most individuals can simply do, regardless of sections – the Satan’s Staircase, for instance – sounding more durable than they’re.”

With wild tenting permitted, it may be performed cheaply in case you select. The downsides? These midges! Plus the trail will be onerous underfoot. And whereas there’s plenty of wilderness, don’t anticipate solitude: round 120,000 individuals a yr use the West Highland Method, with 36,000 thru-hiking – it’s Scotland’s most-hiked path.

Macs Journey (01415 303721; macsadventure.com) provides a seven-night self-guided journey from £780pp. See westhighlandway.org.

Such is the renown of the Coast to Coast – the country-spanning path designed by Alfred Wainwright – that the majority are shocked it isn’t already a Nationwide Path. However by the tip of 2025 it is going to be, which ought to assist deal with its points. Proper now it has no official waymarks, upkeep is carried out by volunteers and signage will be patchy – a fear when navigating Lakeland fells, rolling Dales or sweeping North York Moors in inclement climate. It’s a difficult outing too, and requires ahead planning: there’s well-spaced lodging though it will get booked up quick. However, blimey, it’s good – in a 2022 LDWA members’ survey of favorite trails, the C2C got here second. And it is onerous to prime on the subject of selection. 

Mickledore (017687 72335; mickledore.co.uk) provides a 15-night self-guided journey from £1,561pp. See wainwright.org.uk.

Massive, stunning and brimming with smuggling lore, Arthurian legend and maritime magic, the South West Coast Path Nationwide Path is Britain’s finest. It’s virtually unrelentingly spectacular. OK, there are just a few sub-par bits (Newquay, Land’s Finish, er, Par) however what do you anticipate over 630 miles? And the highs far, far out-weigh the lows. 

Constructed to permit coastguards to patrol the shore, this well-waymarked path rollercoasters alongside chic turquoise seaside, cute coves, fishing villages, nature reserves and world-class sights, from the cliff-side Minack Theatre to the Jurassic Coast’s epic rocks. Keep away from excessive summer season: packed seashores and booked-up B&Bs can taint even the SWCP’s sparkle. However, as most vacationers don’t stray removed from the principle honeypots, the path is one of the simplest ways to seize some southwest for your self.

Contours (01629 821 900; contours.co.uk) covers the entire path, in sections; a seven-night Padstow to St Ives self-guided journey prices from £895pp. See southwestcoastpath.org.uk.

All tour operator journeys embody B&B lodging and baggage transfers except in any other case acknowledged.