Long-distance hiking trails in the UK

There’s something quite satisfying about setting off on a long-distance hike which will take you a number of days to complete. The UK alone has many trails and paths you could choose from varying in the length it should take to complete and different challenging levels.

What’s more you can plan and walk these routes by yourself, organising your own accommodation, or if you prefer to have someone else plan the route and make all the room bookings then companies like www.mickledore.co.uk can do all the planning for you, but you essentially walk the route yourself.

So where do you even start on deciding what route to take?? A good place to start is which area you’re most interested in seeing. You could walk in the Lake District, Wales, Scotland or you’ll also find many long-distance walks in Southern England.

Once you’ve decided where you want to go, next you’ll need to decide on how long you want to walk for. Even if you have a 3/4 day schedule but technically the whole walk should take double that, then ‘Highlight’ trips are available so you can walk the best bits and miss out the rest!

If you have more time to spare then you could walk shorter days but spread out of the time there, this way you don’t have to walk so much in a single day.

Whichever you choose, the walk can be adapted to suit you best.

Finally, you need to consider how hard you want the walk to be. If you want to take in hills and mountains on the route like the Coast to Coast where you’ll be heading over the Lake District or if you want something a little gentler then a route like the Cotswold Way is less Hilly but equally as spectacular.

To help you decide which long-distance walk you can do here’s a couple to whet the appetite…

Hadrian’s Wall Walk

This path was opened in 2002 and proved an immediate success with walkers from both the UK and abroad. The route follows the line of Hadrian’s Wall which was constructed by Roman emperor Hadrianus between AD120 and AD128 to protect the northern extreme of the Roman Empire.

The path crosses the country from coast to coast – from Wallsend, near Newcastle, through the rolling border countryside of Northumberland, continuing on to the historic city of Carlisle and finally to the flat plains of the Solway Coast. At every mile along the Wall there is a milecastle with two watchtowers in-between. Although parts of the wall have been plundered for local houses, the central section is very well preserved, as are the various forts and milecastles on the way.

The average time to walk the Hadrians’s Wall walk is around 7 days, but you can lengthen or shorten the walk as required. If you opt for the 7 day walk then you can expect to walk on average 13 miles a day.

For this particular walk you’d be looking to pay between £580 – £678 with the lowest covering accommodation, guidebook, maps and a personal itinerary with optional extras like luggage transport or packed lunches and arrangements to return to starting point (if needed to get back to car).

West Highland Way

The West Highland Way was the first long distance footpath to be established in Scotland. The route begins in Milngavie near Glasgow and after 95 miles of outstanding scenery, finishes in Fort William, at the foot of Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain. The West Highland Way connects with the Great Glen Way, which is available to walkers, who want to walk all the way from Milngavie to Inverness.

The West Highland Way threads through Scotland’s history, following in the footsteps of drovers, pilgrims, soldiers, clansmen and cattle-rushers. Some of the walking is straightforward and some of it involves scrambling. It is important to note that some areas can be very exposed and must be taken seriously, as the weather in Scotland is very unpredictable.

The average time to walk the West Highland Way is around 7 days, but as before you can lengthen or shorten the walk as required. If you opt for the 7 day walk then you can expect to walk on average 14 miles a day.

For this particular walk you’d be looking to pay between £596- £699 with the lowest covering accommodation, guidebook, maps and a personal itinerary with optional extras like luggage transport or packed lunches and arrangements to return to starting point (if needed to get back to car).

Cotswold Way

The Cotswold Way is a long distance walk that runs for 102 miles (163km) from the medieval market town of Chipping Campden in the North Cotswolds, to the historic City of Bath. Following the western edge of the Cotswold Hills, the Cotswold Way route journeys through gently rolling, sheep-grazed pastures, stunning beech woodland, and dreamy, honey-coloured villages built from the delightfully warm Cotswold stone. You will cross ancient commons in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, pass Neolithic burial barrows, beautiful stately homes, and historic battle sites. The path along the escarpment twists and turns, affording ever-changing views to the west towards the River Severn and the Malvern Hills

The average time to walk the Cotswold Way is around 8 days, but as before you can lengthen or shorten the walk as required. If you opt for the 8 day walk then you can expect to walk on average 13 miles a day.

For this particular walk you’d be looking to pay between £611- £711 with the lowest covering accommodation, guidebook, maps and a personal itinerary with optional extras like luggage transport or packed lunches and arrangements to return to starting point (if needed to get back to car).

There are so many long-distance walks you can choose from, I have only just scraped the surface! Whichever walk you decide to tackle always do your research, make sure you take enough gear with you to cover all weather conditions and most of all make sure you have emergency back-up in case needed (although the beauty of booking with a company means you have that back-up already in place).