The Shropshire Way

Chosen by Matt Jones, outdoors writer

Distance: 202 miles / 325km

Offering panoramic views, bucolic countryside and some of the most charming little villages in England, Shropshire is a great place to stretch the legs. Walking the Shropshire Way will take you from the iconic Stiperstones in the Shropshire Hills to Wenlock Edge, Ironbridge Gorge and the Wrekin – and that’s just the southern loop. This long, figure-of-eight trail also traverses the great Shropshire plain, a landscape of meres and mosses that are amazing havens for wildlife. I spotted dozens of buzzards overhead in the course of just a few days. There’s plenty of history and heritage on offer too, from the castles of the Welsh marches to the iron heritage of Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge, birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. At nearly 200 miles in total, doing the whole thing is no small undertaking, but it can be split into sections and is easy to follow too – in fact, there’s a great website (shropshireway.org.uk) with downloadable route guides.

 

Related: Best Walks In The Lake District
Related: Best Walks In The Peak District

The Beacons Way

Chosen by David Morgan, Chair of the Long Distance Walkers Association

Distance: 99 miles / 159km 

I have walked 10 national trails (and recorded my achievement with the Long Distance Walkers Association National Trails Register) and have thoroughly enjoyed all of the ones that I have completed. However, a long distance trail is one that is not classed as a UK national trail but is still a gem nevertheless; the Beacons Way. Wild, unspoilt, varied, great opportunities to wild camp and ranks as my favourite trail to date!

 

The London Loop

Chosen by Dee Dee O’Connell owner of The Brokedown Palace outdoor store.

Distance: 150 miles / 242km

The London Loop is the walkers’ M25; a trail that circumnavigates the capital in a 150 mile ring divided into 24 sections. One of my favourite things about it is that each section is planned for you to get there and back using public transport – figuring out the TfL routes is almost as fun as navigating the Loop itself. It takes you through a mixture of ancient woodland, bucolic countryside and industrial edgelands. Highlights include London’s longest pier at Erith (the official starting point of the Loop), the ‘Wilberforce Oak’ where William Wilberforce resolved to abolish the slave trade in Britain, several groves of giant sequoia trees, the aptly named ‘Happy Valley’, and the ending point at Rainham Marshes where you’re reunited with the Thames. After doing the Loop I’ll never see London in the same way again. 

Snowdonia Slate Trail

Chosen by Will Renwick, OM editor

Distance: 83 miles / 134km

With its wild mountains, deep green valleys and unshakeable mysticism, Snowdonia National Park has to be one of the finest parts of the UK, and this walk – the 83-mile Snowdonia Slate Trail – is the best way to see it. It’s a young path, officially opened as recently as 2017 and it would be fair to say it’s still a little bit under the radar, not yet having managed to build up its own notoriety just yet. I can definitely see it getting very popular though. I walked it over four or five sunny days a couple of years ago and remember swimming in rivers each day and having an idyllic camping spot each night. Don’t be put off by the fact the route is designed to take in the area’s industrial heritage. Think crumbling chapels made from purple stone and rusted antiquarian machinery smothered in green ferns, instead of concrete chimneys or burnt out nuclear reactors behind barbed wire fences. 

 

The Coast To Coast

Chosen by Abbie Barnes, walking vlogger (songthrushproductions.co.uk)

Distance: 182 miles / 293km

The Coast to Coast is hands down one of my favourite long distance walks in the UK. I’ve hiked it twice now and every time relished in the feeling of freedom and satisfaction gained from walking from one side of the country to the other. Starting in St. Bees on the west coast, the route heads into the Lake District National Park then works its way through the Dales and on to the North York Moors, finishing on the east coast at Robin Hood’s Bay. It is a walk of mountains and moors, forest and rivers, coasts and farmland. It is certainly one not to miss for anyone looking to enjoy some of the wilder spaces of our country. 

 

Finding Other Long Distance Trails

The reality is that those trails mentioned above make up just a snapshot of what’s out there. There are plenty more popular paths that deserve to be mentioned, like the Cape Wrath Trail and Skye Trail in Scotland, for instance, or the Pembrokeshire Coast in Wales and South West Coast Path in England. There are Northern Ireland’s options as well, most notably the 625 mile Ulster Way (time for that sabbatical?).

Don’t forget those tucked away ones either, there are little-known trails all over the UK – hundreds of them.  A brilliant resource for finding these is the Long Distance Walkers Associations website. They’ve actually got an interactive map of the UK that lets you see every trail that’s out there. Komoot is also very handy for finding trails in your local area, throughout the UK or even globally and you can use their app to navigate each one when you’re out on it as well.

Prepare to get sucked in!

 

 

For More Like This:

 

Best Walks In The Brecon Beacons

Best Walks In Snowdonia