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Long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom
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The following long-distance footpaths can be found in the United Kingdom:
National Trails are distinguished by being maintained by the National Trails organization [1]. As of April 2008, there are fifteen such trails, one of which is not yet complete.
- Cleveland Way, 177 kilometres (110 mi) round the edge of the North York Moors National Park in England
- Cotswold Way, 163 kilometres (102 mi) in England
- Glyndŵr's Way, 217 kilometres (135 mi) in Wales
- Hadrian's Wall Path, 135 kilometres (84 mi) in England
- North Downs Way, 246 kilometres (153 mi) in England
- Offa's Dyke Path, 285 kilometres (177 mi) in Wales and England
- Peddar's Way and Norfolk Coast Path, 150 kilometres (93 mi) in England (treated as one by National Trails)
- Pembrokeshire Coast Path, 298 kilometres (186 mi) in Wales
- Pennine Bridleway, 192 kilometres (120 mi) (as of Oct 2007) in England (not yet complete)
- Pennine Way, 429 kilometres (268 mi) in England and Scotland
- The Ridgeway, 139 kilometres (87 mi) in England
- South Downs Way, 160 kilometres (100 mi) in England
- South West Coast Path (South West Way), 1014 kilometres (630 mi) in England - the UK's longest
- Thames Path, 294 kilometres (184 mi) in England
- Yorkshire Wolds Way, 127 kilometres (79 mi) in England
Long Distance Routes are proposed and financially supported by Scottish Natural Heritage, but administered and maintained by the local authority areas through which they pass.
Other UK long-distance paths
Those included here meet the definition of a long-distance path as being around 50 kilometres or more, particularly that they will take more than one day's walking to complete. Some shorter paths linking significant places (e.g. Clarendon Way) or linking between major walks (e.g. Maelor Way) are also included.
England
- 1066 Country Walk, East Sussex - 50 kilometres (31 mi) Pevensey Castle to Rye
- Abbeys Amble, North Yorkshire, 167 kilometres (104 mi)
- Abbot's Way (or Jobber's Path or sometimes Jobber's Cawse), an ancient path across Dartmoor
- Abbott's Hike, 172 kilometres (107 mi) Cumbria challenging moorland walking
- Ainsty Bounds Walk, North Yorkshire, circular from Tadcaster, 71 kilometres (44 mi)
- Angles Way, 123 kilometres (76 mi) from Great Yarmouth to Knettishall Heath, with much of the path following the Norfolk/Suffolk border. Additionally there is a link path from Knettishall Heath to Thetford.
- Avon Valley Path, 54.5 kilometres (34 mi) Christchurch to Salisbury (Hampshire and Wiltshire)
- Basingstoke Canal, 53 kilometres (33 mi)
- Beacon Way, 40 kilometres (25 mi) from West Bromwich to Gentleshaw (West Midlands/ Staffordshire [2])
- Bishop Bennet Way, 55 kilometres (34 mi) Beeston to Wirswall (Cheshire, Staffordshire)
- Boudica's Way, 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Norwich to Diss
- Bournemouth Coast Path, 59.5 kilometres (37 mi) from Sandbanks to Milford-on-Sea (Dorset and Hampshire)
- Bronte Way, 69 kilometres (43 mi) from Birstall, West Yorkshire to Padiham, Lancashire
- Bullock Smithy Hike[3], a 90 kilometres (56 mi) challenge walk, a circular walk to be completed in 24 hours (actual challenge is held on the first weekend in September), starts and finishes at Hazel Grove, Greater Manchester and takes in Lyme Park, Chinley, Edale, Castleton and many other points
- Burnley Way, a 64 kilometres (40 mi) circular trail around Burnley in Lancashire
- Calderdale Way[4], West Yorkshire, circular from Greetland 80 kilometres (50 mi)
- Capital Ring, 115 kilometres (71 mi) circular through inner London crossing the Thames at Richmond and Woolwich
- Celtic Way - runs from the west of Wales to Stonehenge and then heads south-west to Cornwall, a total of 1162 kilometres (723 mi)
- Centenary Way[5], Warwickshire - covers 158 kilometres (98 mi) from Kingsbury to Upper Quinton.
- Channel to Channel Path[6], Seaton to Watchet, 80 kilometres (50 mi)
- Chiltern Way, 200 kilometres (124 mi) circular walk from Hemel Hempstead (275 kilometres (171 mi) with extensions).
- Cistercian Way[7], Grange-over-Sands to Roa Island (Cumbria) - 53 kilometres (33 mi)
- Clarendon Way, 38.5 kilometres (24 mi) from Salisbury to Winchester
- Coast to Coast, Devon[8], Wembury to Lynmouth 186 kilometres (116 mi)
- Coast to Coast Walk, 309 kilometres (192 mi) from St. Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire
- Coleridge Way, Nether Stowey to Porlock 58 kilometres (36 mi)(Somerset)
- Cross Cotswold Pathway - see Macmillan Ways below
- Coventry Way - circumnavigates Coventry from a start point in Meriden - 64 kilometres (40 mi)
- Cumbria Coastal Way 241 kilometres (150 mi) from Silverdale in Lancashire to Gretna Green in southern Scotland.
- Cumbria Way, 112 kilometres (70 mi) from Ulverston to Carlisle
- Dales Way, runs 126 kilometres (78 mi) from Bowness-on-Windermere to Ilkley with extensions to Leeds, Shipley and Harrogate
- D'Arcy Dalton Way[9], Wormleighton - Waylands Smithy 106 kilometres (66 mi) (Warwickshire, Oxfordshire)
- Dartmoor Way, 139.5 kilometres (87 mi) around Dartmoor
- Derwent Valley Heritage Way[10], 88 kilometres (55 mi) from Bamford to Shardlow via the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site
- Devonshire Heartland Way[11] - 69 kilometres (43 mi) from Stoke Canon in the Exe Valley to Okehampton
- Downs Link - 59 kilometres (37 mi) from the North Downs Way at St. Martha's Hill near Guildford to the South Downs Way at Steyning, and on to Shoreham-by-Sea
- East Devon Way, 61 kilometres (38 mi) Exmouth to Lyme Regis
- Ebor Way, 112 kilometres (70 mi) from Ilkley to Helmsley (connecting the Dales Way to the Cleveland Way)
- Esk Valley Walk, North Yorkshire - runs 56 kilometres (35 mi) from Castleton to Whitby
- Essex Way, Epping to Harwich, 130 kilometres (81 mi)
- Exe Valley Way[12], Devon - runs 72.5 kilometres (45 mi) from the River Exe extuary to Exmoor
- Fen Rivers Way, runs 98.5 kilometres (62 mi) Cambridge to King's Lynn
- Gloucestershire Way, 161 kilometres (100 mi) Chepstow to Tewkesbury
- The Greater Ridgeway. This is the name used for the combined route of 583 kilometres (362 mi) crossing from Lyme Regis, Dorset on the English Channel to Hunstanton on The Wash, following the Wessex Ridgeway, The Ridgeway National Trail, the Icknield Way and the Peddars Way National Trail.
- Greensand Way, 169 kilometres (105 mi) from Haslemere, Surrey to Hamstreet, Kent
- Gritstone Trail, 56 kilometres (35 mi) from Disley to Kidsgrove (mainly Cheshire)
- Hampshire Millennium Pilgrims Trail, 48 kilometres (30 mi) from Winchester to Portsmouth
- Hardy Way, Dorset and Wiltshire, 342 kilometres (213) Hardy's Cottage, Higher Bockhampton to Stinsford (almost circular: end points a mile apart)
- Heart of England Way, Midlands - 161 kilometres (100 mi) Milford, Staffordshire to Bourton-on-the-Water
- Herefordshire Trail, 246.5 kilometres (153 mi) circular route from Ledbury via Ross-on-Wye, Kington, Leominster and Bromyard, waymarks are planned but not yet in place
- Hereward Way, 166 kilometres (103 mi) from Oakham to East Harling (Rutland, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk). The Stamford to Peterborough section is not fully waymarked, but walkers travelling between those two places can follow the waymarked Torpel Way.
- High Weald Landscape Trail, running 145 kilometres (90 mi) from Horsham to Rye (West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent)
- Hyndburn Clog[13], a 53 kilometres (33 mi) circular around Hyndburn in Lancashire, with a main start point at Stanhill
- Icknield Way, 206 kilometres (128 mi) Bledlow to Knettishall Heath (Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk)
- Isaac's Tea Trail[14], circular route of 58 kilometres (36 mi) from Ninebanks via Allendale, Nenthead and Alston in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
- Irwell Sculpture Trail, 48 kilometres (30 mi) from Salford Quays to Bacup, Rossendale following the River Irwell (Greater Manchester, Lancashire
- Isle of Wight Coastal Path, circular from Ryde 105 kilometres (65 mi)
- Itchen Way, 43.5 kilometres (27 mi) from Hinton Ampner to Woolston (Hampshire)
- Jack Mytton Way 100 miles in Shropshire
- Jubilee Trail, Forde Abbey - Bokerley Dyke, 145 kilometres (90 mi) (Dorset)
- Jurassic Way, 142 kilometres (88 mi) Banbury, Oxfordshire to Stamford, Lincolnshire
- King's Way, 72 kilometres (45 mi) from Winchester to Portchester
- Kirklees Way, 115 km (72 mi) circular in Kirklees, West Yorkshire
- Lake to Lake Walk[15], 267 kilometres (166 mi) from Lake Windermere in Cumbria (England's largest natural lake) to Kielder Water in Northumberland (England's largest man-made lake)
- Lancashire Coastal Way[16], 220 kilometres (137 mi) from Silverdale to Freckleton
- Land's End Trail[17], 480 kilometres (298 mi)
- Lea Valley Walk, 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Leagrave in Bedfordshire to the East India Dock in London.
- Leeds Country Way, 99 kilometres (62 mi), circular route around Leeds, West Yorkshire, within the Leeds metropolitan district
- Leland Trail[18], 45 kilometres (28 mi) Stourhead to Ham Hill (Somerset)
- Liberty Trail[19], 45 kilometres (28 mi) Ham Hill to Lyme Regis (Somerset, Dorset)
- Limestone Link, 58 kilometres (36 mi) Mendip Hills (Somerset) to Cold Aston (Gloucestershire).
- Limestone Way, 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Castleton to Rocester (Derbyshire)
- Limey Way, 65 kilometres (40 mi) from Castleton via 20 Limestone Dales to Dovedale and Thorpe
- London Outer Orbital Path ('The LOOP'), 241 kilometres (150 mi) Erith to Rainham
- Lyke Wake Walk across the North York Moors, 63 kilometres (39 mi)
- The Macmillan Ways: Macmillan Way - Abbotsbury in Dorset to Boston, Lincolnshire 464 kilometres; (288 mi) Macmillan Way West from Castle Cary in Somerset to Barnstaple in Devon, 163 kilometres (101 mi) (Boston to Barnstaple is 557 kilometres (346 mi)); the Macmillan Abbotsbury Langport Link creates a 38.5 kilometres (24 mi) short-cut for walkers from Abbotsbury to Barnstaple, a total of 202 kilometres (126 mi); the Macmillan Cross Cotswold Pathway from Banbury to Bath, 138 kilometres (86 mi), mostly on the main Macmillan Way; and the Cotswold Link, 33.5 kilometres (21 mi) from Banbury to Chipping Campden where it links to the Cotswold Way National Trail.
- The Maelor Way, is a key link path, running 38 kilometres (24 mi) from the Shropshire Way, Sandstone Trail, Llangollen Canal, South Cheshire Way, and the Marches Way all at Grindley Brook near Whitchurch to the Offa's Dyke Path National Trail at Bronygarth.
- Marriott's Way, Norfolk 34 kilometres (21 mi)
- Mendip Way, Uphill (near Weston-super-Mare) - Frome 80 kilometres (50 mi)
- The Mercian Way[20] is part of National Cycle Route 45, but is also well used by walkers.
- Midshires Way, Princes Risborough - Stockport, 363 kilometres (226 mi)
- Monarch's Way, Worcester - Shoreham-by-Sea 984 kilometres (611 mi)
- Mortimer Trail, 48 kilometres (30 mi) from Ludlow in Shropshire to Kington, Herefordshire
- Nar Valley Way[21], Norfolk - 54 kilometres (34 mi) King's Lynn to Gressenhall
- Nene Way, Badby, Northamptonshire to Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire 177 kilometres (110 mi)
- Nidderdale Way[22], a circular route of 85 kilometres (53 mi), centred on Pateley Bridge in North Yorkshire
- Northumberland Coast Path[23], from Cresswell to Berwick-upon-Tweed, part of the North Sea Trail, a 103 kilometres (64 mi) coastal walking route.
- North Worcestershire Path, 43 kilometres (27 mi) from Kinver to Major's Green
- Ouse Valley Way, 240 kilometres (149 mi) from Syresham, Northamptonshire to King's Lynn, Norfolk via Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire
- Oxford Canal Walk[24], 132 kilometres (82 mi) from Oxford to Coventry
- Oxfordshire Way, Bourton-on-the-Water - Henley 104 kilometres (65 mi)
- Pappoos 1, from London to Cambridge and The Wash
- Pathfinder March, an annual 74 kilometres (46 mi) circular around former RAF Pathfinder Airfields in Cambridgeshire, held on the Saturday closest to Midsummers Day
- Pendle Way[25], a 72 kilometres (45 mi) circular starting and finishing at Barley, incorporating Pendle Hill (Lancashire)
- Pilgrims' Trail, 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Winchester to Portsmouth
- Pilgrims' Way, 192 kilometres (119 mi) from Winchester to Canterbury, an ancient trail of which perhaps two thirds is still identifiable, much of it now incorporated into the North Downs Way National Trail
- Quantock Greenway, a figure of 8 centred on Triscombe in Somerset, the northern loop is 31 kilometres (19 mi), the southern loop 29 kilometres (18 mi).
- Reiver's Way, 242 kilometres (150 mi) from Corbridge to Alnmouth (Northumberland)
- Ribble Way, follows the River Ribble for 114 kilometres (71 mi) from Longton to Ribblehead
- River Parrett Trail, 75 kilometres (47 mi) along the river in Somerset and Dorset
- Robin Hood Way runs 169 kilometres (105 mi) from Nottingham to Edwinstowe
- Rossendale Way[26], a 75 kilometres (47 mi) circular around the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire
- Sabrina Way, 324 kilometres (201 mi), Hartington to Great Barrington (Staffordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire)
- Saint's Way, Padstow - Fowey 42 kilometres (26 mi) (Cornwall)
- Samaritans Way South West[27], runs 160 kilometres (100 mi) from Bristol to Lynton, but only the section from Bristol to Goathurst is waymarked
- Sandlings Walk, 96 kilometres (60 mi) from Ipswich to Southwold (Suffolk)
- Sandstone Trail, 51 kilometres (32 mi) from Frodsham in Cheshire to Whitchurch, Shropshire
- Sarum Way, Wiltshire, 51.5 kilometres (32 mi) circular, only part of it is waymarked
- Saxon Shore Way, 261 kilometres (162 mi) from Gravesend, Kent to Hastings, East Sussex
- Severn Way, Plynlimon - Bristol 360 kilometres (224 mi)
- Shakespeare's Way, 235 kilometres (146 mi) from Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-Upon-Avon to the Globe Theatre on London's South Bank. The route opened on 19-April-2006.
- Sheffield Country Walk[28][29], a circular walk of 85 kilometres (53 mi) which keeps as close to the City of Sheffield’s boundary as possible, starting and finishing at Eckington, Derbyshire (Derbyshire, South Yorkshire).
- Shropshire Way, 224 kilometres (139 mi) from Shrewsbury via the Ironbridge World Heritage Site to Wem with a further 19 kilometres (12 mi) northern spur to Grindley Brook
- Six Shires Circuit, 331 kilometres 206 mi - being updated - Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire & Rutland
- Solent Way, 112 kilometres (70 mi) from Christchurch, Dorset to Emsworth on the Hampshire/West Sussex border
- South Cheshire Way, 51 kilometres (32 mi) from Grindley Brook to Mow Cop
- Staffordshire Way, 147 kilometres (91 mi) from Mow Cop to Kinver Edge
- Stour Valley Path, 96 kilometres (60 mi) from Newmarket to Manningtree, (East Anglia)
- Stour Valley Walk, 82 kilometres (51 mi) from Lenham to Pegwell Bay (Kent)
- Stour Valley Way, 103 kilometres (64 mi) from Stourton to Christchurch Priory (Dorset)
- St. Cuthbert's Way, 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Melrose to Lindisfarne (Scottish borders, Northumberland)
- St Kenelm's Trail, 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Clent Hills, Worcestershire to Winchcombe Gloucestershire
- St Oswald's Way, 156 kilometres (97 mi) from Lindisfarne to Heavenfield (on Hadrian's Wall), Northumberland)
- St. Swithuns Way, 55 kilometres (34 mi) Winchester to Farnham
- Suffolk Coast and Heaths Path, Manningtree - Lowestoft 106 kilometres
- Sussex Border Path, 256 kilometres (159 mi) from Thorney Island to Rye
- Sussex Ouse Valley Way, 67.5 kilometres (42 mi) Lower Beeding to Seaford
- Swans Way, Salcey Forest - Bledlow 104 kilometres (65 mi) through Buckinghamshire (Aylesbury Vale and Milton Keynes (borough))
- Tarka Trail, Devon - 2 separate circles from Barnstaple totalling 288 kilometres (179 mi)
- Tas Valley Way[30], 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Norwich to Attleborough (Norfolk)
- Teesdale Way, 161 kilometres (100 mi) from Dufton to Warrenby
- Test Way, Walbury Hill - Eling 70.5 kilometres (44 mi) through Hampshire and West Berkshire
- Three Castles Path, Windsor to Winchester, Hampshire, 96 kilometres (60 mi) (unwaymarked)
- Three Forests Way[31], 96 kilometres (60 mi) through Epping, Hainault and Hatfield forests on the borders of Essex and Greater London.
- Three Shires Way[32], East Anglia, Grafham Water to Salcey Forest 59.5 kilometres (37 mi)
- Trans Pennine Trail, 333 kilometres (207 mi) from Southport, Lancashire to Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire
- Two Moors Way, Devon - Ivybridge to Lynmouth 166 kilometres (103 mi)
- Vanguard Way, 107 kilometres (66 mi) Croydon to Newhaven
- Viking Way, 235 kilometres (146 mi) Barton-upon-Humber to Oakham (Lincolnshire, Rutland)
- Way for the Millennium, Newport, Shropshire to Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire - 65 kilometres (40 mi)
- Wayfarers Walk, 110 kilometres (68 mi) from Walbury Hill to Emsworth (Berkshire, Hampshire)
- Wealdway, Gravesend to Eastbourne 129 kilometres (80 mi) (Kent, East Sussex)
- Weardale Way, runs 117 kilometres (73 mi) from Sunderland to Wearhead
- Weavers Way[33], 90 kilometres (56 mi) Cromer - Great Yarmouth (Norfolk)
- Wessex Ridgeway, runs 219 kilometres (136 mi) from Marlborough to Lyme Regis.
- West Deane Way in the Vale of Taunton Deane, circular 72.5 kilometres (45 mi)
- West Devon Way - Okehampton to Plymouth, 58 kilometres (36 mi)
- Wey South Path - 51.5 kilometres (32 mi) from Guildford, Surrey to Houghton Bridge, West Sussex, mainly alongside the Wey and Arun Canal
- Wherryman's Way, 56 kilometres (35 mi) following the River Yare from Norwich to Great Yarmouth (Norfolk)
- White Rose Walk, 65 kilometres (40 mi) North Yorkshire walk, starting at the White Horse - Kilburn, and finishing at Roseberry Topping
- Wild Edric's Way, 79 kilometres (49 mi) from Church Stretton to Ludlow - it shares much of its route with the Shropshire Way
- Windermere Way, 72 kilometres (45 mi) a circular walk around Lake Windermere in Cumbria
- Witton Weavers Way, a 51.5 kilometres (32 mi) circular around the West Pennine Moors, Blackburn and Darwen
- Worcestershire Way, 49.5 kilometres (31 mi) from Bewdley to Malvern
- Wychavon Way, Droitwich Spa to Winchcombe 67 kilometres (42 mi) (Worcestershire, Gloucestershire)
- Wychwood Way, Oxfordshire, a circular route of 59.5 kilometres (37 mi) in the former Royal Forest of Wychwood
- Wysis Way, (mainly in Gloucestershire, 88 kilometres (55 mi) from the Offa's Dyke Path National Trail at Monmouth to the Thames Path National Trail at Kemble
Wales
- Anglesey Coastal Path, a circular route of 200 kilometres (124 mi) around the island of Anglesey.
- The Beacons Way an east - west route of 161 kilometres (100 mi) through the heart of the Brecon Beacons National Park
- Cambrian Way, an unwaymarked high level 440 kilometres (273 mi) route from Cardiff to Conwy
- Ceredigion Coast Path - currently still being developed, so not all waymarked - 101 kilometres (63 mi) from Ynyslas to Cardigan
- Cistercian Way - 1050 kilometres (650 mi) long, circumnavigates Wales via its Cistercian Abbeys.
- Clwydian Way, 243 kilometres (151 mi), circular from Prestatyn via Llangollen, Corwen and Denbigh
- Dyfi Valley Way, 172 kilometres (107 mi) from Aberdyfi to Ynyslas
- Glyndwr's Way 206 kilometres (128 mi) from Knighton to Machynlleth
- Landsker Borderlands Trail, a 96 kilometres (60 mi) route in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, centred on Whitland.
- Llyn Coastal Path (also known as the Lleyn Coastal Path or The Pilgrim Trail), 150 kilometres (93 mi) between Caernarfon and Porthmadog in Gwynedd.
- Marches Way 320 kilometres (200 miles) from Chester to Cardiff through the Welsh Marches
- The Maelor Way, is a key link path, running 38 kilometres (24 mi) from the Offa's Dyke Path National Trail at Bronygarth to the Shropshire Way, Sandstone Trail, Llangollen Canal, South Cheshire Way, and the Marches Way all at Grindley Brook near Whitchurch.
- Monnow Valley Walk 65 kilometres (40 miles) from Monmouth to Hay-on-Wye following the River Monnow
- North Wales Path 96 kilometres (60 mi) from Bangor to Prestatyn
- Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk, 45 kilometres (28 mi) circular walk around the Caerphilly basin in South Wales.
- Taff Trail, 109 kilometres (68 mi) from Brecon to Cardiff
- Usk Valley Walk, 77 kilometres (48 mi) from Caerleon to Brecon
- Valeways Millennium Heritage Trail, a circular walk of 111 kilometres (69 mi) in the Vale of Glamorgan
- Wye Valley Walk, Chepstow - Plynlimon 218 kilometres (135 mi)
Scotland
- Cape Wrath Trail, runs around 300 kilometres (186 mi) from Fort William to Cape Wrath; as the route is unwaymarked, different guides to it suggest slightly different routes. See here.
- The Cateran Trail, a circular 101 kilometres (63 mi) walk centred on Blairgowrie
- Central Scottish Way, 251 kilometres (156 mi) from Milngavie to Byrness (just over the border in Northumberland, England)
- Cowal Way, runs 75 kilometres (47 mi) on the Cowal Peninsula from Portavadie to Ardgartan
- Fife Coastal Path, 107 kilometres (66 mi) from North Queensferry to Tayport
- Rob Roy Way, Drymen to Pitlochry, 127 or 148 km (79 or 92 mi); not waymarked. See here
- St. Cuthbert's Way, 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Melrose to Lindisfarne in England
- West Island Way, 48 kilometres (30 mi) from Kilchattan Bay to Port Bannatyne on the Isle of Bute
- West Highland Way, 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Milngavie to Fort William just above Glasgow
Northern Ireland
European walking routes
Several European walking routes pass through the United Kingdom. They all use sections of UK long-distance paths.
See also
External links
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