50 UK Walks and Trails Worth Lacing Up For
The UK's footpath network is one of the best things about the place: national trails, lakeland fells, sea cliffs and gentle riverside rambles, nearly all free to walk. Here are fifty real, named routes we rate — from ten-minute viewpoints to multi-week epics. Conditions and access can change, so check ahead for details and walk within your ability.
Entries 1–10
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South West Coast Path
England's longest national trail — 630 miles around the coasts of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset — and endlessly rewarding in day-sized pieces.
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Pennine Way
The original national trail, running 268 miles along the backbone of England from the Peak District to the Scottish Borders.
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West Highland Way
Scotland's most famous long-distance route: 96 miles from Milngavie near Glasgow to Fort William, past Loch Lomond and across Rannoch Moor.
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Hadrian's Wall Path
An 84-mile coast-to-coast national trail shadowing the Roman wall across northern England, with the classic central crags around Sycamore Gap and Housesteads.
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Coast to Coast Walk
Alfred Wainwright's celebrated route from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay, crossing the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors.
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Cotswold Way
A 102-mile national trail along the Cotswold escarpment from Chipping Campden to Bath, linking honey-stone villages and long westward views.
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South Downs Way
One hundred miles of rolling chalk downland from Winchester to Eastbourne, walkable in gentle stages and superb at either end.
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Thames Path
Follow England's most famous river from its Cotswold source through Oxford and Windsor into the heart of London — a national trail with zero navigation stress.
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The Ridgeway
Often called Britain's oldest road, this ancient chalk track runs 87 miles across the North Wessex Downs and Chilterns past Iron Age forts and Avebury's stone circle.
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Offa's Dyke Path
A 177-mile national trail tracing the eighth-century earthwork along the English–Welsh border, from the Severn Estuary to the north Wales coast.
Entries 11–20
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Pembrokeshire Coast Path
One hundred and eighty-six miles of Welsh sea cliffs, coves and beaches through Britain's only coastal national park.
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Cleveland Way
A national trail looping the North York Moors and then following the dramatic Yorkshire coast through Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay.
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Norfolk Coast Path
Big skies, salt marshes and enormous beaches on a flat, easy national trail along one of England's most distinctive coastlines.
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Great Glen Way
A 79-mile route along Scotland's great geological fault from Fort William to Inverness, much of it beside Loch Ness.
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Ben Nevis Mountain Track
The standard route up Britain's highest mountain (1,345m) — a long, hard walk rather than a climb, needing proper kit and a good forecast.
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Scafell Pike from Wasdale
The most direct way up England's highest peak, starting from the shores of Wast Water — steep, stony and hugely satisfying.
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Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) via the Llanberis Path
The longest but gentlest of the six classic routes up Wales's highest mountain, following the line of the mountain railway.
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Helvellyn via Striding Edge
The Lake District's most famous ridge scramble — an airy arete leading to Helvellyn's summit plateau, strictly for a calm day and a good head for heights.
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Catbells, Lake District
The perfect small fell: a short, sharp climb above Derwentwater with a summit view out of all proportion to the effort.
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Old Man of Coniston
A classic Lakeland fell walk through old copper-mine workings to a summit overlooking Coniston Water.
Entries 21–30
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Buttermere circuit
A flat, family-friendly lap of one of the prettiest lakes in the Lake District, ringed by high fells — about four and a half miles.
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Tarn Hows
An easy, largely level circuit of a famously scenic tarn near Coniston, with accessible paths and Lakeland views the whole way round.
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Aira Force, Ullswater
A short woodland walk to the Lake District's most celebrated waterfall, plunging 65 feet beneath a stone footbridge. Parking is charged — check ahead.
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Ullswater Way
A 20-mile route around Ullswater that can be walked in sections, with the lake steamers offering a scenic way back. Check ahead for details.
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Mam Tor and the Great Ridge
The Peak District's best-loved ridge walk, from the 'Shivering Mountain' along a paved crest to Back Tor and Lose Hill above Castleton.
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Kinder Scout
The gritstone plateau where the 1932 Mass Trespass helped win the right to roam; the route from Edale via Jacob's Ladder is the classic ascent.
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Stanage Edge
A dramatic gritstone escarpment above Hathersage with an easy path along its top, big Peak District views and climbers on the faces below.
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Dovedale stepping stones
A gentle riverside walk through a spectacular limestone gorge, crossing the River Dove on its famous stepping stones.
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Malham Cove and Gordale Scar
A Yorkshire Dales circuit taking in a vast curved limestone cliff, its surreal limestone pavement, and the gorge and waterfalls of Gordale Scar.
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Yorkshire Three Peaks
The famous 24-mile challenge circuit over Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, traditionally attempted within twelve hours.
Entries 31–40
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Ingleton Waterfalls Trail
A four-and-a-half-mile woodland trail past a series of superb waterfalls in the Yorkshire Dales. This one has an entry charge — check ahead for details.
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Aysgarth Falls, Wensleydale
Easy riverside paths link the three broad limestone steps of the River Ure's famous falls in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
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Pen y Fan, Bannau Brycheiniog
The highest peak in southern Britain, most easily climbed from the Storey Arms — a short, steep pull to a sweeping tabletop summit.
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Four Waterfalls Walk, Bannau Brycheiniog
A wooded circuit in Waterfall Country linking four falls, including Sgwd yr Eira, where the path passes behind the curtain of water.
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Rhossili and Worm's Head, Gower
A clifftop walk above one of Britain's finest beaches, looking out to the tidal serpent of Worm's Head. The causeway crossing is tide-dependent — check ahead.
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Cadair Idris via the Minffordd Path
The finest route up southern Eryri's great mountain, climbing steeply past Llyn Cau in its glacial bowl to the summit ridge.
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Conic Hill, Loch Lomond
A short, popular climb on the West Highland Way with a superb view down Loch Lomond and its islands strung along the Highland Boundary Fault.
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Ben Lomond
Scotland's most southerly Munro, climbed from Rowardennan on a well-made path with Loch Lomond spread out below the whole way.
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Old Man of Storr, Skye
A steep but short walk to Skye's iconic rock pinnacle, with otherworldly views over the Sound of Raasay. Parking is charged — check ahead.
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The Quiraing, Skye
A circuit through the strange landslip architecture of the Trotternish Ridge — pinnacles, plateaus and cliffs unlike anywhere else in Britain.
Entries 41–50
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Fairy Pools, Skye
An easy glen walk to a chain of crystal-clear pools and waterfalls beneath the Black Cuillin. Parking is charged — check ahead.
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Glen Coe's Lost Valley (Coire Gabhail)
A rough, rocky walk into the hidden hanging valley where the MacDonalds of Glen Coe once hid cattle, ringed by the Three Sisters.
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Loch an Eilein, Cairngorms
A gentle circuit of a pine-fringed loch with a ruined island castle, deep in the ancient Caledonian forest of Rothiemurchus. Parking is charged — check ahead.
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Giant's Causeway coastal path
Clifftop trails above the famous basalt columns of Northern Ireland's World Heritage coast. Access arrangements and parking vary — check ahead for details.
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Slieve Donard, Mourne Mountains
Northern Ireland's highest peak, climbed from Newcastle beside the Glen River to the summit wall — the classic Mourne outing.
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Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail
The 'Stairway to Heaven': a boardwalk climbing across blanket bog to a viewpoint stair on Cuilcagh mountain, on the Fermanagh–Cavan border. Check ahead for details.
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Cave Hill, Belfast
The basalt hill whose profile — 'Napoleon's Nose' — looms over Belfast; a steepish circuit from Belfast Castle delivers views over the whole city and lough.
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Box Hill, Surrey
The North Downs' most famous viewpoint, with wooded trails, the Salomons Memorial view over the Weald and the stepping stones across the River Mole.
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Devil's Dyke, South Downs
A short walk around the longest, deepest dry valley in Britain, with huge views north across the Weald from the downland rim.
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Cheddar Gorge clifftop walk, Somerset
A circular walk along both rims of Britain's biggest gorge, with 400-foot cliffs, wild goats and views to the Somerset Levels. Check ahead for access details.
Rankings are our editorial picks, not objective measurements. Details like hours, access and booking can change — always check ahead with the official site before you travel.