Multi-day hikes (often known abroad as thru-hiking) are a great way to explore the British countryside at a slower pace. There are hundreds of trails to tackle, some just a couple of days long, others taking weeks.

They’re located in urban areas as well as the wildest parts of the country. Heck, you can even make up your own long distance trail. But, to give you a head start, I’ve listed some of the most well-known multi-day hikes covering the whole of the UK.

A multi-day hike can be as challenging as you want to make it. If you fancy fast and light, lace up your running shoes. If you’d rather have easy days, plan a longer trip with short mileage - and for an extra bonus, book luxury accommodation en-route. And, if you want to get away from it all, load up your backpack and wild camp or stay in bothies along the way.

6 long-distance walks on my adventure bucket list

As with my blog post about 20 of the UK’s best long-distance cycling routes for bikepacking it seemed silly to write about those already shared. If you’ve read my adventure bucket list blog post, you’ll already know about these six walks:

1. The West Highland Way: 96 miles from Glasgow to Fort William. Read about our 7-day West Highland Way walk.

2. The Peninne Way: 268 miles from Edale to Kirk Yetholm

3. The Coast to Coast: 197 miles from St Bees Head to Robin Hood’s Bay

4. The Hadrian’s Wall path: 84 miles from Bowness-on-Solway to Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne

5. The Yorkshire Three Peaks: 24 miles covering Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside, and Ingleborough.

6. The Snowdonia Slate Trail: 83 mile circular walk starting in Bangor.

I also shared information about the Lake District Wainwrights and the Peak District Ethels.

Read more: Adventure bucket list: 40 amazing ideas in the UK and Europe

The 11 regions covered by the LWDA

The Long Distance Walker Association’s website lists hundreds of walks on a searchable database. Some are national trails but many are not. You’ll also find information about challenges, accommodation, and maps or books on the walks.

The LWDA is split into 11 regions, so it seemed sensible to pick one walk from each region which stands out to me.

1. South West England: includes Dartmoor, Cornwall, and The Quantocks.

2. South East England: includes London and the south coast.

3. East of England: includes Norfolk and Suffolk (East Anglia)

4. West Midlands and the Southern Welsh Borders: includes the Malvern Hills, The edge of the Cotswolds, and Birmingham.

5. Wales: includes Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons.

6. North West England: includes the Shropshire Hills, the Cheshire ridge, and the west Pennine edges.

7. East Central England: includes the Peak District and Lincolnshire Wolds.

8. Northern England: Includes thee Pennines, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors.

9. Cumbria and Northumberland: includes the Lake District, the north Pennines, and the Cheviot Hills.

10. Northern Ireland: includes the mountains and coastline of Northern Ireland

11. Scotland: includes the lowlands, the Highland mountains, and the islands.
    

1. South West England

The South West Coast Path is undoubtedly one of the best known in the area. At 630 miles, it’s the UK’s longest National Trail, running from Minehead on the edge of Exmoor to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Many walk the trail in sections over several years but if you want to walk it in one go, expect to take between 7-8 weeks. That said, the record is just over 10 days!

More details: The South West Coast Path official website

2. South East England

The North Downs Way is a National Trail, starting at Farnham in Surrey and ending 153 miles later in Dover (Kent). It passes through two National Landscapes (formerly AONB’s), the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs. The trail is easily accessible from London and cuts across the South East of England.

More details: The North Downs Way on the National Trails website

3. East of England

Peddars Way and the Norfolk Coast Path National Trail combines two long-distance walking trails. Peddars Way starts at Knettishall Heath Country Park in Suffolk and follows an old Roman road for 49 miles to Holme-next-the-Sea on the north Norfolk coast. The Norfolk Coast Path runs for 84 miles from Hunstanton to Hopton-on-Sea.

More details: Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path National Trail website

4. West Midlands and the Southern Welsh Borders

The Offa’s Dyke Path isa 177 mile National Trail running alongside the border between England and Wales. Walkers tend to take 12 days to complete it (5 days for runners). Offa’s Dyke dates back to the 8th century when King Offa of Mercia erected a wide border rampart, separating England and Wales.

More details: Offa’s Dyke Path on Visit Wales website

5. Wales

The Cambrian way goes from Cardiff on the south coast to Conwy on the north. Classed as a challenging three-week trek, this is a high level route over the mountainous spine of Wales. I’ve seen official websites saying it’s anything from 185 miles to 295 miles. The Cicerone guidebook for the route says 470km which translates into 292 miles so I’d go with that!

More details: Walking The Cambrian Way on the Cicerone website

6. North West England

The Gritstone Trail is a 35 mile route through Cheshire’s Peak District. It starts at Disley railway station (south east of Manchester) and follows the gritstone ridges south to finish at Kidsgrove railway station near Stoke on Trent. It’s a waymarked route, classed as hilly with short steep ascents and descents. The Walkers’ Guide splits it into three days.

More details: The Gritstone Trail on Cheshire East Council’s website (downloadable PDF available on the site)

7. East Central England

The Limestone Way is a 46 mile waymarked route across the White Peak area of the Peak District National Park. It starts from Castleton in the Hope Valley and winds its way through beautiful limestone dales to finish in Rocester, Staffordshire. It’s often split into a two or three day walk.

More details: The Limestone Way on Derbyshire Dales District Council’s website

8. Northern England

The Cleveland Way National Trail is a 109 mile route in the historic area of Cleveland. It starts at Helmsley in North Yorkshire, and heads across the North York Moors National Park to end at Filey Brigg on the North Yorkshire coast. Most people walk in a clockwise direction from Helmsley because of the prevailing wind. The official website breaks the walk down into 9 days.

More details: The Cleveland Way on the National Trails website

9. Cumbria and Northumberland

This whole area is littered with incredible walking! I did think about adding the Hadrian’s Wall Path which goes right across the region, but that’s included in my outdoor adventure bucket list. So I’ve chosen a quirky one you might not know about, Isaac’s Tea Trail. This 37 mile circular walk is in the North Pennines National Landscape (formerly AONB), passing through some of the most remote countryside in England. The trail was inspired by Isaac Holden who was a former lead miner turned tea seller in the mid 19th century. He would walk for miles in the area, delivering tea to remote farms and hamlets, and raising funds for local community projects. It links the villages of Allendale, Nenthead, Alston, and Ninebanks, with many people taking two or three days to walk.

More details: Isaac’s Tea Trail official website

10. Northern Ireland

The Ulster Way is a whopping 636 mile circular walking route taking in the six counties of Northern Ireland. It was voted ‘Best long-distance walking trail in Northern Ireland’ in the 2022 WalkNI Awards. The route is split into 26 main sections and links several other walks together. On average, it’s expected to take three weeks to walk, based on an average of 20 miles per day.

More details: The Ulster Way website

11. Scotland

One of Scotland’s best known long-distance trails is the West Highland Way. But, as I’ve already written about that in earlier posts, I wanted to share something different. Scotland’s Great Trails is a website showing a map of trails all over Scotland, it’s definitely worth taking a look! I walked some sections of the Fife Coastal Path a few years ago and it was stunning. It’s 116 miles, and takes around 8-10 days. The recommended direction is starting at Kincardine-on-Forth and finishing at Newburgh due to the prevailing wind.

More details: The Fife Coastal Path on the Walk Highlands website

That’s a whopping 17 trails for you to start exploring, with links to many more on the LDWA, National Trails, and Scotland’s Great Trails websites.

I’m always interested in learning about other amazing trails so get in touch or drop a comment below with your favourite.

Happy walking 🥾

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