National Trails and classic long distance routes across England and Wales
Britain's network of long distance trails winds through some of the most spectacular and historically rich landscapes in the world — from the ancient chalk ridgeways of southern England to the dramatic sea cliffs of the Pembrokeshire coast, and from the wild Pennine moorlands to the pastoral valleys of the Cotswolds. These are routes built for the walker with time, spirit, and a good pair of boots.
One of England's oldest National Trails, the Cleveland Way sweeps around the North York Moors National Park in a dramatic horseshoe arc, taking in heather moorland, ancient earthworks, and a spectacular clifftop finale along the Yorkshire coast. The route begins in the elegant market town of Helmsley and follows the western and northern edges of the moors before turning south along the heritage coast past Whitby, Robin Hood's Bay, and Scarborough, finishing at the headland of Filey Brigg. The combination of open moorland and rugged coastline makes this one of the most scenically varied National Trails in England.
The Cotswold Way follows the dramatic western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills from the honey-stoned market town of Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire down to the magnificent Georgian city of Bath in Somerset. The route hugs the Cotswold Edge, offering repeated panoramic views across the Severn Vale and the Welsh hills beyond, while threading through quintessentially English villages of golden limestone, ancient hillforts, and rolling beech woodland. It is one of the most beautiful and accessible long distance trails in England, and is particularly stunning in spring and autumn when the beech hangers blaze with colour.
Devised by Alfred Wainwright and first published in 1973, the Coast to Coast Walk has long been regarded as one of the finest long distance walks in the world. It crosses northern England from the Irish Sea at St Bees Head to the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay, traversing three of England's most spectacular National Parks — the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors — in a single, memorable journey. Wainwright never intended it to be a fixed route; he encouraged walkers to find their own way between his waypoints, giving the walk a free-spirited character unique among British trails. Announced in 2022 as a new National Trail, it has now received the investment in waymarking and path maintenance that its status deserves. The route offers an extraordinary cross-section of northern England's landscapes, from the glaciated fells of Lakeland to the limestone pavements of the Dales and the purple heather moorlands of the Cleveland Hills.
The England Coast Path is an ambitious ongoing project that will, on completion, provide a continuous, waymarked walking route around the entire coastline of England. When finished it will be the longest managed coastal walking route in the world, offering access to beaches, cliffs, estuaries, and harbours that were previously inaccessible to walkers. Large sections are already open and walkable, with new stretches being added progressively. The path is being developed under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, which enshrines in law the right for people to walk around the English coast. The complete route will pass through some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in Europe, from the rugged sea stacks of Northumberland to the red sandstone cliffs of Devon and the vast tidal mudflats of the Wash.
Walking in the footsteps of Roman soldiers, the Hadrian's Wall Path follows the course of the most impressive Roman monument in Britain from coast to coast across northern England. Built on the orders of the Emperor Hadrian from AD 122, the Wall formed the northern frontier of the Roman Empire for nearly 300 years. The central section, following the dramatic Whin Sill escarpment through Northumberland National Park, offers the finest walking — with well-preserved fort sites at Housesteads, Chesters, and Vindolanda providing extraordinary windows into Roman military life. The route is best walked from east to west to keep the prevailing wind at your back.
The North Downs Way follows the chalk ridge of the North Downs from Farnham in Surrey to the white cliffs above Dover in Kent — where, on a clear day, the coast of France is visible across the Channel. The route passes through the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs, both Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, winding through ancient woodland, open downland, and historic hop gardens. Part of the trail follows the ancient Pilgrims' Way, trodden for centuries by pilgrims heading to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral, and the route offers an optional spur to take in the city itself.
Two distinct paths joined at Holme-next-the-Sea into a single National Trail, this route traverses the quiet, wide-skied landscapes of East Anglia. The Peddars Way follows a remarkably straight Roman road north across the Breckland heathland and the gentle undulations of west Norfolk, offering some of the most peaceful and undemanding long distance walking in England. At the coast it meets the Norfolk Coast Path, which winds along the edge of the North Norfolk Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty past saltmarshes, tidal creeks, seal colonies, and some of England's finest birdwatching sites before finishing at the Victorian seaside town of Cromer.
Running roughly parallel to its more famous neighbour the Pennine Way but designed for horse riders, cyclists, and walkers alike, the Pennine Bridleway follows the backbone of England through the Peak District, the South Pennines, and the Yorkshire Dales. The route was largely devised and championed by the equestrian adventurer Mary Towneley, after whom a shorter loop on the trail is named. It is one of the few National Trails that actively accommodates multiple user types, and its surfaces are generally firmer and better drained than the peat bogs and rough moorland encountered on the Pennine Way. The scenery is quintessentially northern English: gritstone edges, ancient packhorse bridges, drystone walls, and vast open skies.
Britain's first and most celebrated National Trail, the Pennine Way follows the spine of England from the Peak District to the Scottish Borders, described by the Ramblers as "one of Britain's best known and toughest" long distance walks. It was the vision of journalist and outdoor campaigner Tom Stephenson, who lobbied for its creation for 30 years before it finally opened in 1965. The route is uncompromising in its ambitions: it crosses the highest and wildest moorland in northern England, including the notorious peat bogs of Bleaklow and Black Hill, the dramatic gritstone edge of Kinder Scout, the limestone spectacle of Malham Cove, the remote high ground of the North Pennines, and finally the broad sweeping moorlands of the Cheviot Hills. It demands proper navigation skills, good fitness, and the mental resilience to push on through the prolonged bad weather that this exposed route regularly dishes out. Completing the Pennine Way is a genuine achievement that every serious British walker should aspire to.
Described as Britain's oldest road, the Ridgeway has been used by travellers, drovers, and traders for at least 5,000 years. It follows the chalk ridge of the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills through an ancient landscape littered with Neolithic long barrows, Bronze Age hillforts, and Iron Age settlements — including the spectacular White Horse of Uffington, carved into the chalk hillside some 3,000 years ago. The western section from Avebury to the Thames is broad, open, and largely unsurfaced — ideal for walking and cycling — while the eastern section through the Chilterns is more intimate and wooded. Walking the Ridgeway is to travel through deep layers of British history.
The South Downs Way traverses the length of the South Downs National Park along an exposed chalk ridge that commands sweeping views south to the English Channel and north across the pastoral Weald. Beginning in the ancient cathedral city of Winchester, the route passes through a gently rolling downland landscape of wide skies, prehistoric hillforts, and traditional English villages before reaching the dramatic chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters and finishing at Beachy Head above Eastbourne. It is one of the most popular and accessible of the National Trails, suitable for walkers of most abilities, and is also open to horse riders and cyclists throughout its length.
At 630 miles, the South West Coast Path is the longest of England's National Trails and one of the great long distance walks of the world. It hugs the coastline of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and Dorset, following the clifftops, coves, and estuaries of the South West Peninsula in an almost unbroken coastal journey of extraordinary beauty. The path originated as the route walked by Coastguard officers who patrolled the clifftops from lighthouse to lighthouse watching for smugglers — which is why the trail dips repeatedly into valleys and back up again rather than taking a more direct line. The total ascent of the full route is equivalent to climbing Everest four times. The scenery ranges from the wild cliffs of North Devon and the remote headlands of the Lizard Peninsula to the golden beaches of South Devon and the fossil-rich shores of the Jurassic Coast — itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walking the full route in one go typically takes eight to ten weeks; many walkers tackle it in shorter sections over several years.
The Thames Path follows England's greatest river from its source in the Cotswold meadows near Kemble to the silver expanse of the Thames Barrier on the eastern edge of London. It is a trail of remarkable contrasts: the upper Thames passes through quintessential English pastoral landscapes of water meadows, willow-fringed banks, and sleepy lock-keeper's cottages, while the lower river transforms into the tidal Thames of London — passing under Tower Bridge, along the South Bank, and through the industrial and regenerated riverside districts of east London. The path is largely flat and well-surfaced, making it one of the most accessible of the National Trails, and can be walked comfortably in twelve to fourteen days.
The Yorkshire Wolds Way explores a landscape that is often overlooked in favour of the more dramatic Dales and Moors — yet the rolling chalk wolds of East Yorkshire have a quiet, pastoral beauty entirely their own. Beginning in the shadow of the Humber Bridge at Hessle, the route winds through remote dry valleys, over airy ridges with expansive views, and past ancient earthworks and deserted medieval villages to finish at the seaside resort of Filey, where it meets the Cleveland Way. The Wolds Way is one of the less frequented National Trails, which gives it a pleasantly unhurried character — walkers can expect to go miles without seeing another soul in the more remote central sections.
Named in honour of Owain Glyndŵr, the last native Prince of Wales and the leader of a major Welsh uprising against English rule in the early 15th century, this route winds through the remote and sparsely populated uplands of Powys in an extended loop through the heart of mid Wales. It is one of the quieter and less well-known National Trails, offering a genuine sense of wildness and solitude — long days on open moorland, ancient drovers' tracks, and ridges with vast, uninterrupted views across a landscape that has changed little in centuries. The route passes through Machynlleth, where Glyndŵr held his parliament in 1404, adding a powerful layer of historical resonance to an already memorable walk.
Offa's Dyke Path follows the ancient earthwork built by King Offa of Mercia in the 8th century to mark — and defend — the boundary between his Anglo-Saxon kingdom and the Welsh kingdoms to the west. The Dyke itself, an extraordinary feat of pre-industrial engineering stretching almost the entire length of Wales, is still clearly visible for much of the route. The path passes through a succession of richly varied landscapes along the border country: the pastoral Wye Valley, the Black Mountains of the Brecon Beacons, the upland moorlands of Radnorshire and Shropshire, the Berwyn Mountains, and finally the Vale of Clwyd to the North Wales coast. It is one of the most historically layered of all the National Trails.
Widely regarded as one of the finest coastal walks in Europe, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path hugs the edge of the only coastal National Park in Britain, tracing a dramatic and constantly varied shoreline of ancient volcanic headlands, wave-cut arches, blow holes, sheltered sandy coves, and towering sea cliffs. The route lies almost entirely within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and offers a total of 35,000 feet (11,000m) of ascent and descent — more than the Yorkshire Three Peaks — as the path repeatedly dips into sheltered inlets and climbs back to the clifftop. The coast here holds some of the oldest rocks in Wales, remarkable wildflower displays in spring, and an exceptional range of seabirds including puffins, choughs, gannets, and peregrine falcons. The cathedral city of St Davids, the smallest city in Britain, is passed midway and provides a memorable overnight stop.
* The Coast to Coast Walk was announced as a new National Trail in 2022.
† The England Coast Path distance is approximate; the full route is still being developed and opened in sections.
‡ The Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path are administered as a single National Trail joining at Holme-next-the-Sea.
All distances quoted are approximate and refer to the full length of each trail. Most long distance paths can be walked in sections over multiple visits. Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer maps are recommended for navigation. Always check current trail conditions and any path closures with the relevant National Trail office before setting out, and ensure you have appropriate clothing, footwear, and emergency equipment for the terrain.