Full List of Walks

The following list sets out the complete set of walks included on this site. These have generally been ordered geographically - with coastal walks listed first, then national trails and finally any other walks that have been included. If a trail has been started, missing sections are shown in grey. Some of these walks are easy, others are hard and you may wish to make changes to make some of them more achievable. Where I spot alternate ways of doing these walks I have noted this in the writeups. In general I prefer longer walks over multiple visits, rather than a slower but longer journey across the landscape.

A lot of these trails join up with each other. So for instance, you could walk Ulverston to Carlisle on the Cumbrian Way, then to Newcastle via Haltwhistle and Hexham on Hadrian's Wall - and then either up to Berwick-Upon-Tweed along the coast or down to Hartlepool heading the other way. Over time it would be possible to essentially walk the whole country, and more walks and trails are being added as I walk them.

I have added a brief description of each of the trails to give a feel for what to see along the way - and to offer any key recommendations.

Coastal Sections (clockwise) :

Tweed to Tees (Northumberland Coast) : (★★★★☆)

This is an easy to walk stretch of coast, that can be fairly remote in sections, but offers a flatter and sandier coastline, with long stretches of beach walking. Passes through Bambugh and past Lindisfarne (not walked so far - but I will add this if I walk it one day). The sections through the North East of England are also worth checking out before you dismiss them, as they can be very pretty. The highlights along the way include Alnmouth, Amble, Craster, Seaham and Seahouses.

Tees to Humber (Yorkshire Coast) : (★★★★☆)
This often features more dramatic coastline walking, with fishing ports along the way plus larger coastal resorts in the form of Whitby and Scarborough. Bempton features numerous bird colonies and is a site where you can spot puffins - while dolphins can often be spotted along the coast. The particular highlight of this section is the walk from Ravenscar to Robin Hood's Bay (included in Whitby to Scarborough). There is overlap with the Cleveland Way which runs from Saltburn to Filey. 

National Trails :

Cleveland Way (anti-clockwise) : (★★★★☆)

This is a varied trail that if combined with the Tabular Hills Way runs in a complete loop. This includes fantastic views from the hills out to the surrounding areas - both at Sutton Bank and for much of the trip round - plus grouse moorland. This moorland is at its best in August when in flower. The coastal section is a dramatic coastline, with dolphins, fishing villages and the larger coastal resorts of Whitby and Scarborough. It is worth continuing on from Filey down to Bempton to see if the puffins if visiting at the right time of year (you can take the train from Filey). A very varied but often overlooked trail.

Cumbrian Way (south to north) : (★★★★★)

  • Ulverston to Coniston (planned in the future)
  • Coniston to Skelworth Bridge (planned in the future)
  • Skelworth Bridge to Keswick (planned in the future)
  • Keswick to Carlisle (in reverse) (★★★★★)
A generally more gentle route through the Lake District, which has some lovely walking as it passes alongside Derwent Water - with the section up to Carlisle retaining a lot of charm. I plan to split the journey at Skelworth Bridge and pop over to Windermere on my way through. Although it is generally gentle it is still tough in places, but sticks more to the valleys, rather than heading over every hill.

Dales Way : (east to west) (★★★★☆)
This walk is similar to the Cumbrian Way in that it takes a gentle route, often along the side of rivers. Heading across the Yorkshire Dales from Ilkley (via Ribblehead) and then across into the Lake District to Bowness-on-Windemere.

Derwent Valley Heritage Trail (north to south) : (★★★★☆)

This is a lesser trail that has some less exciting sections - but the real highlight is the section from Cromford Mill along the Cromford Canal, which I immensely enjoyed. The Cromford Canal is a great site to see historical sites from the Industrial Revolution. The area around Ladybower Reservoir is not included on the trail, but I explored some of it prior to the Ladybower Reservoir to Matlock section (first half of that writeup) and the walking around there, rather than the trail itself earned the 4 stars for that early section.

Hadrian's Wall Path (west to east) : (★★★★★) (ignoring poor section through Newcastle)
This is a superb history filled walk, across the far extent of the Roman Empire. In general the walk is fabulous, but does have a lesser section as it runs through Newcastle. It is generally best walked west to east as that keeps the wind behind. This can mean a slightly disappointing end at Wallsend, but what I recommend is to continue on to North Shields (or take the metro) and then take the ferry across to South Shields. Here you can find the more substantial Arbeia Roman Fort (free to visit as well), which includes a reconstructed west gate. This formed part of the defenses for Hadrian's Wall and feels a more fitting end to the walk as there is more to see - and you get that true Roman feel at the reconstructed west gate. That is probably the best possible ending point for this trail. This is probably the easiest starter National Trail.

Liverpool & Leeds Canal (west to east) : (★★★★☆)

  • Liverpool to Aintree (planned in the future)
  • Aintree to Appley Bridge (planned in the future)
  • Appley Bridge to Chorley (planned in the future)
  • Chorley to Blackburn (planned in the future)
  • Blackburn to Burnley (planned in the future)
  • Burnley to Gargrave (planned in the future)
  • Gargrave to Keighley (★★★★☆)
  • Keighley to Leeds (★★★★☆)
This is a pretty canal that meanders through the Pennines, passing some pretty towns along the way, with highlights at Skipton and Saltaire. A very easy walk as it is flat along the canal - and navigation is straight-forward, as you just keep along the towpath. Still have much to do, but full marks for it so far.

North Downs Way (west to east) : (★★★★☆)
A walk that is very convenient to do as it rarely strays too far from civilisation. You have to put up with the motorways quite a bit on this journey, but it has the history of heading along the old Pilgrim's Route to Canterbury, and has some highlights at St Martha's, Box Hill, Colley Hill and in the sections passing close to Leeds Castle. Generally it is pretty flat(ish) walking and a good easy walk to do that still covers good distance. Rochester is a good split point as it is very easy to access from anywhere in the country. A National Trail that could be done by anyone really.

Offa's Dyke (north to south) : (★★★★☆)

  • Prestatyn to Ruthin (planned in the future)
  • Ruthin to Llangollen (planned in the future)
  • Llangollen to Chirk (planned in the future)
  • Chirk to Trefonen (planned in the future)
  • Trefonen to Welshpool (planned in the future)
  • Welshpool to Knighton (planned in the future)
  • Knighton to Hay-on-Wye (walked without write-up) (★★★☆☆)
  • Hay-on-Wye to Pandy (walked without write-up) (★★★★★)
  • Pandy to Monmouth (starting at Abergavenny) (★★★★☆)
  • Monmouth to Chepstow (skipped last mile) (★★★☆☆)
A walk that follows the path of Offa's Dyke - generally along the England-Wales border with a lot of hills to overcome, but lovely views out across the countryside if the weather allows. Plus, as it is Wales, there are plenty of castles along the way. Organizing the trip can be hard as bits are remote, but if you extend a bit to meet up with more convenient spots such as Abergavenny you can make it easier.

Pennine Way (south to north) : (★★★★★) (so far!)
  • Edale to Marsden (planned in the future)
  • Marsden to Hebden Bridge (planned in the future)
  • Hebden Bridge to Gargrave (★★★★★)
  • Gargrave to Horton-in-Ribblesdale (★★★★★)
  • Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Hawes (planned in the future)
  • Hawes to Bowes (planned in the future)
  • Bowes to Middleton-in-Teesdale (planned in the future)
  • Middleton-in-Teesdale to Appleby-in-Westmoorland (planned in the future)
  • Appleby-in-Westmoorland to Alson (planned in the future)
  • Alson to Haltwhistle (planned in the future)
  • Haltwhistle to Bardon Mill (★★★★★)
  • Bardon Mill to Bellingham (planned in the future)
  • Bellingham to Byrness (planned in the future)
  • Byrness to Kirk Yetholm (planned in the future)
A rough and ragged trail that never gives away any opportunity to take you over another hill. This is one of the tougher trails to walk, but has a number of entry and exit points via the train network that allow it to be broken up into sections. Doing it all in one go is a challenge, but can be done slowly. Doing it in sections is straight-forward except for the most northerly section. Kirk Yetholm is a difficult start/end point, but I plan to extend across to the coast at Lindisfarne and finish in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Thames Path (east to west) : (★★★★☆)
Passing through the capital of London, the Thames is a major river and has many sites of interest along the way. The centre of London is full of historic sites on or near the river like Greenwich Park, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, St Pauls and Westminster - and down the Thames there remain sites of interest such as Windsor Castle and the historic town of Oxford. The full extent of the trail to its source gets harder to walk as there are fewer towns and there is a point where it feels to hard to do without camping. Walking beyond the Thames Barrier heading east is possible, but not the greatest walk. I have done a bit around the Isle of Grain but don't plan to do that again.

Weardale Way (east to west) : (★★★☆☆)
  • Sunderland to Durham (★★★☆☆)
  • Durham to Bishop Auckland (★★★☆☆)
  • Bishop Auckland to Stanhope (planned in the future)
  • Stanhope to St John's Chapel (planned in the future)
  • St John's Chapel to Source (planned in the future)
This walk takes in the cathedral city of Durham and has a few interesting sights along the way, but probably isn't a walk worth going too far out of your way to explore. I have done some further walking further up on the Weardale Way nearer the source, but the paths do have a habit of disappearing at times and are not that well maintained in places.

Yorkshire Wolds Way (south to north) : (★★★★☆)
  • Hessle to South Cave (planned in the future)
  • South Cave to Pocklington (planned in the future)
  • Pocklington to Malton (planned in the future)
  • Malton to Filey (★★★★☆)
The Yorkshire Wolds Way is hard to get on and off, but offers chalk wolds and some great country to walk through. Still have to do some planning to work out the other half of the walk, but can use Malton as an entry and exit point and just about have a (very) long section from Malton to Filey to walk (I have included a recommended split in that walk in the write up to make it easier).

International Adventures :

I mostly walk in Britain, because I know it well and understand it. But sometimes I get very brave and venture further afield. Some of the more interesting things I have done that involve at least some walking are listed above.

Other Walks :

Lake District : 
The Lake District is covered by the Cumbrian Way (see above) and by the last day on the Dales Way, but the old High Street route offers an additional rough and ragged route from Pooley Bridge along to Windermere. This is not a well walked route and you will mostly be walking on your own. 

North York Moors :
The North York Moors are covered by the Yorkshire Coast and Cleveland Way sections, but these additional walks make use of the old railways to travel through the moors. The North Yorkshire Moors are generally smaller hills (but still with lovely views and a rich variety of countryside).

Pennines : 

The Pennines span other National Parks, but this section is a catch all for all the sections that include the Pennine ranges but are outside of National Parks. Obviously the Pennine Way overlaps with this section.

Yorkshire Dales :
The Yorkshire Dales are very similar to the North Yorkshire Moors, but have higher peaks and feature dramatic limestone cliffs. The Pennine Way between Gargrave and Bowes passes through the Yorkshire Dales. See the Dales Way trail for more walks in the Yorkshire Dales.

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