The Best Walking Holidays In The UK

You may think you know the UK but there are plenty of surprises yet to be found and a walking holiday is the best way to do it.

Wherever you live, don’t let the cosy familiarity of the UK’s cultural icons and famous landmarks deter you from exploring the rest of the country – ideally by foot!

These four nations are densely packed with variety. Away from Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, there are an enormous number of sights that most people, locals and visitors alike, have never heard of. And there's no better way to see it all than on a walking holiday, following the countless miles of footpaths through landscapes that are always rich in tradition, varied in scenery and full of history.

Rolling, rural landscapes stretch away into the distance; a green-and-gold patchwork of farmland, criss-crossed by wildlife-filled hedgerows and fringed with deep-scented woodlands of oak, ash, beech and hazel. Further afield there are windswept moors, remote hills and valleys, and of course, a never-ending coastline, topped by cliffs and dotted with smugglers coves and long sandy beaches.

Here's our essential guide to the best walking holidays in the UK. Happy rambling!

With well marked paths, excellent walker-friendly services, and a cosy country pub always within walking distance, there can't be many places better suited to a walking holiday than the familiar old UK. Here's a smattering of our top rated walks, along with a few lesser-known you may not have heard of. Dust off your rain jacket, strap on your rucksack and head for the hills.

The South West Coast Path is England’s longest trail but also one of its most famous and highly rated. In the Lonely Planet Guide to Great Britain it is the first attraction mentioned and often features in lists of the world’s best walking trails.

Very few walkers complete the path in one go; for most it’s a longer-term project that’s broken up into more easily-manageable sections. Exactly how you split it up depends on how much time you have for each stretch, and how challenging you want to make it.

This unique walking trail not only crosses the width of England, but also follows the course of Britain’s largest Roman monument – a 1,900-year-old, 73-mile long fortification that once marked the northern boundary of the Roman Empire.

Accommodation is plentiful along the route, and includes campsites, hostels and B&Bs. Where you break for the night depends not only on how far you’re able to walk each day, but also on how interested you are in the numerous Roman sights along the way. It can take a few hours to visit a museum or the ruins of a Roman fort, but not every walker visits them all, so factor this into your plan.

Whisper it quietly; this might just be the best coastal path in Britain. Pembrokeshire has it all – dramatic clifftop vistas, seemingly endless beaches, secluded coves and tiny fishing villages, but best of all; almost no one knows about it, so you get pretty much all of it to yourself.

You’ll need two or three weeks to complete the trail in one go, most people do it in shorter segments. Some of the more remote stretches have a dearth of accommodation so you may need to adjust your daily distances accordingly. In general, there’s a good range of places to stay, from campsites and hostels, to B&Bs and guesthouses. Don’t forget to factor in one or two rest days; walking for 16 days on the trot is a tough ask.

The Great Glen fault line bisects the Scottish highlands to create an epic backdrop for this spectacular hike. The largely low-level Great Glen Way has beautiful and varied scenery throughout as you follow canal towpaths, pass forests, moorland and mountains on a well-marked path.

The Great Glen Way is well served by various walking holiday companies and services. You can book your own accommodation and baggage transfer, or let a specialist organise your entire trip.

Considered by some to be the best long-distance walk in England, Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Path has many remarkable qualities, but it’s the walker camaraderie that is so often the stand-out take-home of this hugely popular cross-country hike. The scenery is at times stunning – looking at you, Lake District – but the sense of community you experience with fellow walkers is felt here on this walk perhaps more than on any other in Britain.

Scotland's oldest and most popular long-distance walking route – the West Highland Way – appeals to serious walkers, strolling day trippers and even runners who race the 96 miles in under 35 hours! Walkers take around a week to complete the distance, travelling from the outskirts of Glasgow, past Loch Lomond’s wooded banks, via Tyndrum and across the wilds of Rannoch Moor before a final stretch to finish in the Highland town of Fort William.

This path takes in the big sights on Northern Ireland’s blockbuster shore. You’ll encounter the mesmerising Giant’s Causeway, wobbly Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and photogenic Dunluce Castle, as well as a clutch of Game of Thrones film locations.

Inevitably the big-name sights get busy, but tucked in between are vast sandy beaches and stretches of uncrowded cliffs.

Unshowy yet stunning and dramatic in places, the Wye Valley Walk is an underrated long-distance route from mid-Wales through quiet, leafy valleys, across austere moorland and through the bucolic farmland of Herefordshire to Chepstow. The Wye Valley itself is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the trail calls at various historic landmarks and picturesque villages.

Do the full route in seven to 10 days, or in shorter segments at your leisure.

The Monarch’s Way loops down from the West Midlands to the south coast of England, following the lengthy route taken by Charles II to evade capture following defeat by Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.

The Monarch’s Way is so long that it is usually broken into three sections for convenience of description and mapping. It’s customary to start at Worcester, as Charles did. He escaped rapidly after watching the Royalist defeat in the final battle of the English Civil War from the cathedral tower, so the grand gothic church is a good place to begin.

You’ll walk through landscapes of rolling hills and breezy fields of corn, passing numerous pretty villages with thatched cottages, historic pubs and gardens bursting with blooms. And there’s a fitting final-day climax as you rollercoaster your way up and down the majestic chalk cliffs known as the Seven Sisters before reaching the beaches of Eastbourne for a celebratory ice cream.

Most of the gradients are reassuringly manageable along the pleasant chalk hills of the South Downs Way, and the weather down here is usually pretty favourable.

Wherever you find yourself you'll never be far from a public footpath of some sort and, once outside of the urban sprawls, almost any patch of countryside makes for a pleasant stroll. But for a truly special trip, here are a handful of the UK's top-rated walking holiday regions.

Best for: mountains & wilderness walking holidays

This vast, sparsely populated area is the closest thing to true wilderness in the UK and is a justifiably popular region for serious hikers and casual walkers alike. There are plenty of waymarked long-distance routes, along with some excellent places to base yourself for a centre-based walking holiday.

Best walking holidays:

The Great Glen Way: 78 miles from Fort William to Inverness, over five to seven days. Suitable for all levels, and supported by abundant accommodation and organised walking holiday companies.

Cairngorms National Park: The largest national park in the United Kingdom, with several long-distance routes (65-mile Speyside Way the 64-mile Cateran Trail) but also a great place to base yourself for a centre-based walking holiday.

Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park: Bordering Scotland's populated Central Belt, the Trossachs is a great spot for an accessible but varied walking holiday.

Best for: short and picturesque walking holidays

The Peak District is the UK's first national park, established in 1951 to carve out a protected space between the encroaching industrial cities of the midlands and northern England. The national park and the UK's 'right to roam' laws owe their existence to the struggles of ordinary working people who, in the 1932 Kinder Trespass, forced private landowners to grant public access to the nation's beautiful but previously restricted countryside.

Divided by a geological fault line between the gritstone 'Dark Peak' and the limestone 'White Peak', the landscape switches from open, even severe-looking, moorland to the north and secluded dales and quaint farming villages to the south.

Its proximity to motorways and several major cities means the Peak District gets busy in places, particularly around pleasant but popular honeytraps such as Dovedale, Castleton and Matlock. But with nearly 2,000 miles of public footpaths and rights of way, it's still very easy to find yourself alone and enjoying empty trails and wide open views. The Dark Peak is generally quieter, as is the far south on the border with Staffordshire.

Best walking holidays:

Edale & Kinder Scout: Base yourself in Edale, Castelton or Hope for easy access to the famed Kinder Scout and surrounding area. You can spend three or four days in the area, good day walks include the climb up to Kinder Scout (check conditions, it can get treacherous up there) and the popular ridge walk from Castleton to Lose Hill via Mam Tor.

Lathkill Dale: Base yourself in Bakewell, Monyash or Over Haddon for access to the stunning and historical Lathkill Dale, which you can follow all the way to Youlgreave and beyond.

The Pennine Way: The 251-mile waymarked route begins in Edale and runs north all the way to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders. Can be booked as an organised self-guided or guided walking holiday, most commonly broken up into shorter segments. Read more: The UK's best long distance walks.

Peak District Boundary Walk: Roughly 190 miles following the boundary of the entire national park. Can be booked as an organised self-guided walking holiday, 11 to 16 nights in total but can be broken up into segments.

Best for: remote hills and desolate castles

There’s a large area between the Tyne and the Scottish border that is little troubled by tourists but full of walking possibilities. It’s not a widely marketed destination for inn-to-inn walking holidays and luggage transfer services may be patchy.

In fact England’s least populated countryside includes no cites and few towns, so expect to have to plan inn-to-inn holiday routes carefully around limited accommodation and transport links. Much easier is a centre-based walking trip, either based on the coast or in the Cheviots.

Best walking holidays:

The craggy Cheviot hills in Northumbria National Park offer some of the quietest and most remote walking in England. St Cuthbert's Way cuts through here en route to Scotland, and the Northumberland Coast Path follows the county's historic and extremely scenic coastline.

Best for: gentle and flat walking holidays

Hillwalkers look away now. This is Britain’s flattest region with pancake landscapes stretching to the hazy horizon in all directions. Walkers will be able to explore easy flat paths through gorgeous examples of rural lowland England, with frequent pastoral scenes looking like Constable paintings.

Expect a good transport network but plan accommodation ahead because in rural parts options can be limited whether you are travelling inn-to-inn or based in one spot.

Best walking holidays:

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t some delightful walking and the regional highlights, the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts, and the Norfolk Broads National Park, are a great place to base yourself for a centre-based walking holiday.

Way-marked, full-supported long distance trails include the 228-mile triangle formed by Peddars Way, Norfolk Coast Path, and the Angles Way while other less well-known routes celebrate local historical figures as divergent as Boudicca, Nelson and Hereward the Wake.

Best for: long distance walking holidays

England’s biggest county includes the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire Moors and a big chunk of the Peak District National Park, a Heritage Coast and dozens of outstanding natural areas. For walkers, its offerings range from challenging hill trails to more relaxed lowland hikes.

Best walking holidays:

Most routes include some rugged moorland stretches and Yorkshire’s long distance trails include tough options like the Dales Top Ten, a 77-mile trek round the ten highest hills in the Dales or the Pennine Way, a 251-mile iconic trail along the mountainous spine of the country.

There is a good choice of guided walking holidays along waymarked long distance trails, or centre-based stays in any of the national parks. The availability of accommodation varies greatly between areas but all styles of walking holiday are possible, with choices like the Inn Way trails linking country pubs or circular centre-based routes skirting Barnsley, Sheffield and Hawes in the Dales.

Best for: glorious coastal walking holidays

With a varied and fascinating coastline of 60 miles, the Isle of Wight is bigger than many outsiders expect. Safe, quiet and untroubled by mountains or wilderness areas, it has become one of England’s most popular walking destinations. There are no motorways or cities to avoid, instead expect peaceful, pretty landscapes, yachting harbours and wooded estuaries, old-fashioned seaside towns and rolling downland.

Best walking holidays:

The 70-mile Isle of Wight coast path is a highlight but other routes criss-cross the island. Yarmouth, Cowes and Ventnor can serve as attractive centres for walking holidays too.

Best for: scenic inn-to-inn walking holidays

England’s southwestern peninsular of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire has the mildest climate and a varied coastline, which explains why it’s the UK’s most popular holiday area.

Across the southwest walkers will find some serious wild moorland areas and a few cities, but generally the landscape comprises rolling farmland that’s never far from the sea.

Expect crowds at holiday times but the positive side of the area’s popularity is a huge choice of accommodation that means inn-to-inn walks are an easy option. Organised self-guided walks are commonplace, with several specialist operators to choose from.

Best walking holidays:

The 630-mile Southwest Coast Path encompasses it all but there are hundreds of others, from the 600-miles of trails in Exmoor National Park to circular day-walks like the National Trust routes around Cheddar Gorge or Stonehenge. They range in quality too: from sign-posted long distance national trails with luggage support and frequent refreshments to rugged lonely muddy tracks across Dartmoor where a compass is advisable.

Best for: hill walking holidays

Perhaps the most famous walking region in the UK, the Lake District offers a chance to wander lonely as a cloud amid impressive landscapes of mountains and water.

The choices for walkers range from England’s most serious climbing routes to gentle lakeside circuits. The two main hazards to consider are that the main roads and towns get very busy with day trippers and tour buses in the summer months, while the fells include challenging terrain to be taken very seriously.

Across the Lakes the transport network can be a limiting factor. Roads are narrow and sometimes jammed. Nevertheless there is a huge range of places to stay, from farm B&Bs and hostels to luxury hotels and suiting either inn-to-inn or centre-based walking holidays.

Best walking holidays:

There are world-class scenes to discover here whether Wainwright bagging or pottering in the footsteps of poets. Classic long distance trails include the 93-mile Tour of the Lakes circuit and the start of the Coast-to-Coast and Hadrian’s Wall routes - but there are hundreds of smaller less celebrated paths including classics like Striding Edge or Borrowdale.

The former will be way-marked and popular with walking holiday companies. Luggage support should be readily available. The latter fall into the category of mountain walking and you may require more self-sufficiency regarding navigation and luggage.

Best for: quiet country walks

Don’t let an industrial heritage and string of dour coastal cities deter you from exploring this undervalued and less visited walking region. In fact you’ll discover that most of the southern half of Wales is rural, with the Brecon Beacons National Park providing southern Britain’s highest peaks, some impressive coastal walking further west and large areas of pristine countryside to explore.

Best walking holidays:

Long distance walkers have a lot of choices of well-maintained and supported routes, including the 186-mile Pembrokeshire Coast Path, part of the massive 870-mile Wales Coast Path or scenic walks through the Black Mountains that form the southern section of the 177-mile Offa’s Dyke Path along the Welsh-English border.

Best for: rugged walking holidays

Many long distance trails span the two halves of this nation and if you completed them you’d find the north generally has a rawer, grittier nature.

With the added attraction of Snowdonia’s mountain landscape and the remote rolling moorland of the Elan Valley in Mid-Wales, this is an area with rich pickings for walkers. All of Wales, like the rest of the UK, offers extremely varied landscapes and walking conditions.

Research your routes in detail because some will have plentiful facilities on hand, luggage transfers and be an easy way-marked ramble—others will have scant infrastructure and may be a serious hiking challenge.

Best walking holidays:

Choices range from major trails like Snowdonia’s 97-mile Eyri Way to day routes visiting Wales’ highest waterfall, Swallow Falls. Try walking around Anglesey, explore the Mawddach Estuary or discover the new Pilgrim’s Way (135 miles) that links ancient churches, crosses and stone circles across the North.

Best for: accessible & easy-going walking holidays

You won’t find wilderness areas along the south coast between Kent’s ‘Garden of England’ and Poole Harbour. Instead walkers enjoy safe and generally easy, well-maintained paths with excellent infrastructure and access.

Expect a mix of coast and well-manicured countryside with long stretches of chalk downland between the two. Most walks include pretty river valleys and rolling farmland with a scattering of affluent villages and towns serving London commuters or escapees.

Accommodation and transport options are plentiful and varied, making the southeast suitable for most types of walking holidays.

Best walking holidays:

Major walks include the South Downs Way and the 1066 Country Walk while smaller routes involve the region’s landscape highlights like the Seven Sisters, Devil’s Dyke, Leith Hill, Beachy Head or the White Cliffs of Dover.

Best for: classic English countryside walking holidays

For a glimpse of classic English limestone countryside with rolling hills, leafy vales, dry stone walls and pretty, if sometimes twee, villages, try some of the paths criss-crossing the Cotswold region. Footpaths are generally good quality, waymarked and well maintained, and the en-route facilities are good.

The region suits either point-to-point trails or centre-based walkers. Walkers may find the honey-pot villages too busy with day-trippers at peak times but the comprehensive network of footpaths makes it easy to escape the crowds that rarely go beyond the teashops and car parks. Avoid the tour-bus problem altogether by sticking to the picturesque fringes of the region, like Warwickshire and South Gloucestershire.

Expect accommodation generally on the pricey but exquisite side. Gentrified gastro-pubs are plentiful, but you’ll need to search hard for traditional ‘working village’ pubs.

Best walking holidays:

The Cotswolds are hilly but never hardcore. Examples of routes range between the 100-mile Cotswold Way from Bath to Chipping Campden, to small circuits like the craggy summit of Cleeve Hill, the Cotswolds’ highest point, or the around idyllic villages like Bibury.

Best for: blissfully uncrowded walking holidays

Northern Ireland is a fantastic place to escape the UK's more crowded walking destinations. With stunning mountains, coast and moorland, it offers as much for the keen hiker as Scotland, Wales or the more rugged corners of England, just with a fraction of the visitor numbers.

The Mourne Mountains, Northern Ireland's highest hills, are a firm favourite with excellent trails that skirt granite-topped peaks and rolling foothills.

Taxis are geared up for walkers with baggage transfer services available, but most people come here for centre-based walking holidays tackling a new day hike each morning.