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JAMES FORREST’S GUIDE TO LONG DISTANCE UK WALKS
HIKING
BRITAIN’S BEST LONG-DISTANCE WALKS
FANCY A LONG-DISTANCE HIKING ADVENTURE THIS SUMMER? HERE ARE SIX OF THE UK’S MOST EPIC TRAILS
Words & Photos James Forrest
“In every walk with nature,
one receives far more than he seeks.” John Muir’s famous quote says all you need to know about long-distance, multi-day hiking. It will restore your mood, rejuvenate your spirit and help you unplug from the tech-centric buzz of modern life. A therapeutic cocktail of fresh air, big views, escapism and exercise will help you de-stress, while the slow pace of a self-propelled journey will deliver an intimate interaction with your chosen landscape and a wonderful sense of achievement at the fi nish line.
The UK boasts a myriad of world-class long-distance trails. England and Wales have 2,500 miles of hiking paths across 16 National Trails (nationaltrail.co.uk), including classic walks such as the Thames Path and South West Coast Path. Scotland has a further 1,900 miles of routes across its 29 Great Trails (scotlandsgreattrails.com). These include the West Highland Way and John Muir Way. On top of these high-profi le trails, the Long Distance Walkers Association (ldwa.org.uk) lists a further 1,500 lesser-known trails. From hardcore mountain missions and coast-to-coast odysseys to historical journeys and rural bimbles, there’s a walk for everyone. But, if you’re struggling to decide, here are six of the very best.
WAINWRIGHT’S COAST-TO-COAST, ENGLAND
182 miles (293km), 11-13 days
“One should always have a defi nite objective, in a walk as in life – it is so much more satisfying to reach a target by personal eff ort than to wander aimlessly.” So wrote Alfred Wainwright about his coast-to-coast hike, a poetic turn of phrase that captures the magic of long-distance walking. While the much-celebrated writer is best-known for his seven guidebooks describing 214 fells in the Lake District, his long-distance coast-to-coast route across northern England is a close second in the hearts of British ramblers. It traverses the width of England from St Bees Head in the west to Robin Hood’s Bay in the east. Hikers start on the shores of the Irish Sea and up to two weeks later arrive at the North Sea, having walked across the Lake District, Pennines, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors. The countryside covered is “beautiful almost everywhere, yet extremely varied in character, with mountains and hills, valleys and rivers, heather moors and sea cliff s combining in a pageant of colourful scenery”, as Wainwright put it. For sheer diversity and drama, this walk is perhaps unsurpassed.
CAPE WRATH TRAIL, SCOTLAND
230 miles (370km), 20+ days
Often billed as the UK’s toughest long-distance walking route, the Cape Wrath Trail is a rite of passage for experienced ramblers, imbuing completers with kudos and respect for a lifetime. Journeying 230 miles from the Highlands hub of Fort William to the remote lighthouse at Cape Wrath (the most northwesterly point of mainland Scotland), the trail takes in some of Scotland’s most iconic landscapes including Knoydart, Torridon and Assynt. You’ll experience everything from domineering peaks and far-fl ung coastlines to remote lochs and glens where you’ll be more likely to see rutting stags than a fellow hiker. The going is undoubtedly arduous, and the trail will demand fi rst-rate fi tness, die-hard determination, and excellent mountain knowhow—including competency in wild camping, river crossings and precise navigation over pathless terrain. It’s worth sticking with it though. As Alex Roddie, author of The Farthest Shore: Seeking solitude and nature on the Cape Wrath Trailin winter, puts it: “There’s nothing quite like long-distance walking on the Cape Wrath Trail – you’ll learn to see the landscape in a completely diff erent way when you spend days outside, going to sleep with the sunset and waking at dawn.”
WEST HIGHLAND WAY, SCOTLAND
96 miles (154km), 5-7 days
From the isle-dotted expanse of Loch Lomond to the towering peaks of Glen Coe, this iconic walk from Milngavie (near Glasgow) to Fort William is a wonderful introduction to the grandeur of the Scottish Highlands. More than 100,000 people walk the trail each year, but apparently only 36,000 reach the finish line – the others fall victim to blisters, midges, brutal Scottish weather, and the toughness of the terrain. In other words, the West Highland Way is not a walk for the faint-hearted, but those who persevere are amply rewarded. Conic Hill serves up eye-watering panoramas across Loch Lomond, Crianlarich and Tyndrum look out over a towering backdrop of Munros, and the sprawling wilderness of Rannoch Moor has an eerie quality. But the real highlight is Glen Coe - perhaps Scotland’s most dramatic glen. The West Highland Way brings you up close and personal with this alluring valley. From Kingshouse you’ll climb the Devil’s Staircase towards Kinlochleven, a far-easier-than-it-sounds ascent, and feast on grandstand views of The Buachaille – a mountain fashioned from a gnarled, burly chaos of crag and cliff, with a distinctive pyramidal profile. It’s a truly mesmerising moment.
COTSWOLD WAY, ENGLAND
102 miles (164km), 6-7 days
Following the oolitic limestone escarpment of the western edge of the Cotswolds between Chipping Campden and Bath, this 102-mile trail is all about creamy limestone villages, thatched roofs and a quintessential English rural idyll. It is never spectacular in the way Scotland or the Lake District are – there are no lofty summits or razor-sharp arêtes or glistening lakes here. There is no great wilderness amidst this historic, humanaltered landscape. But the classic English scenery oozes timeless character. Think sheep-dotted rolling hills; fields of hay bales separated by work-of-art-like dry-stone walls; ancient beech woods backed by treeless scarp ridges; and never-ending acres of pleasant arable land. Then there are the real stars of the show – the villages built of lavish, creamy limestone, with their perfectly-manicured greens, blooming gardens, thatched roofs, honey-coloured cottages, vintage lamp-posts and iconic red telephone boxes. If you can get over the inevitable house envy, it’s almost impossible not to be charmed by this walk through the very heart of traditional England.
DALES HIGH WAY, ENGLAND
90 miles (145km), 6 days
Not to be confused with the more famous Dales Way – an 80mile trail heading north-west from Ilkley in West Yorkshire to Bowness-on-Windermere in Cumbria – the Dales High Way is a newer trail, conceived in 2007 by husband and wife duo Tony and Chris Grogan. It’s 90 miles long and journeys from Saltaire, near Bradford, to Appleby-in-Westmorland in Cumbria, loosely following the famed Settle to Carlisle railway. As a long-distance route, it has several excellent selling points: it can easily be walked in a week’s annual leave, the transport links by train are excellent, and the terrain hits a sweet spot between challenging and achievable - neither too gnarly or sheer, nor too boring and uninspiring. The hike takes you across the charming high country of the Yorkshire Dales: you’ll battle the bleak moors of Ilkley and Rombalds, explore the striking limestone scars of Malhamdale, meander along the banks of the River Ribble, ascend almighty Ingleborough (Yorkshire’s second highest peak), skirt the fl anks of Whernside, plod over the grassy Howgills, and fi nally drop into the verdant Eden Valley to fi nish in Appleby-in-Westmorland.
SNOWDONIA SLATE TRAIL, WALES
83 miles (134km), 5-6 days
Opened in 2017, this relatively new trail starts in Bangor, heads inland for Bethesda and then completes an 83-mile circular loop around Snowdonia National Park. Devised to connect walkers with the area’s industrial heritage, it’s part journey through time, part epic mountain scenery – a great combination. In the late 19th century, Snowdonia was responsible for over 90 percent of the UK’s slate exports and was home to some of the world’s largest slate works. Now mostly disused, this walk visits the remnants of this once great industry – ruined slate mines, abandoned quarries, mountaintop barracks, heritage railways and much more. But the trail is not just about the slate industry. It visits hidden corners of Snowdonia, passes through all of the major mountain ranges (the Yr Wyddfa Massif, Glyderau and Carneddau), and gives hikers a holistic view of the national park – everything from sleepy villages to the bustling tourist centres at Llanberis and Betws-y-Coed, and from majestic peaks to remote cwms. The pièce de résistance, however, is exploring the Arthurian landscape of the Ogwen Valley, with its incredible views of triangular Tryfan – one of the UK’s best mountains.
