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Looking for a 6/7 day walk next summer in England.
Prefer to camp on this one.
Images in my mind of happening upon lovely villages with great pubs and eating lovely pies.
Cotswold way. About 100 miles, lots of pretty villages, great views up in the hills. It's signposted so navigation is easy.
Dales way is 5 days from Ilkley to Boness on Windermere, carry on through the lakes to Keswick to make it 7, pubs every day, I'm sure pies could be found...... lovely!
South Downs Way
100 miles
Winchester - Eastbourne
I've not done it to be able to recommend it, but I've had my eye on the Peak District Boundary Walk for a little while.
Hadrian's Wall path is 6-7 days
Jarrow Crusade?
Pub to pub, pie and pints.
Nicest one I’ve done is St Cuthbert’s way, absolutely stunning scenery throughout.
I'm planning to do the Cumbrian Way, it looks great. It's fairly short (around 80 miles I think) but I'm sure you can stretch it out to 6-7 days!
Hadrians wall is a nice walk although the pubs and pies can be varied. Bit crap either end though in my opinion.
Or a portion of the SE coast path. First part had some good pubs when I walked it. I reluctantly decided not to overly partake in a beer festival in one pub before dereluctantlising myself when the next couple of miles was a not overly wide path above the cliffs.
Depending on your definition of camping, eg wild or not, might be best to bounce around some subtle wildcamping in the lake district.
You just missed out on LD's mega sale - I bagged one of these Fjallraven* jackets at 50% and is my pub/walk doggo round the block winter jacket.
*I already own 2 old Volvo's, a Sandvik axe and a log burner for non hipster eligibility.
Anywhere Avanti or Northern operate trains...
*I own 2 old Volvo’s, a Sandvik axe and a log burner for eligibility.
and yet methinks you meant to stick this in the "Warmish casual jacket" thread?
Anywhere Avanti or Northern operate trains…
When I did the Hadrian's wall walk I had a room booked in Carlisle for the final night so needed to get the bus back from Bowness-on-Solway. Got there with time to spare and was waiting at what the guide/everything else told me was the right stop when a local walked up to me and questioned what bus I was waiting for. Told him why at which point he replied on x day (cant remember if it was a weekend or just a full moon) I needed to use the stop on the other side and in that the normal driver was a bleep and would ignore any desperate waves and pleas from this stop.
Whilst I cant confirm whether his opinions about the driver was right he was correct about using the stop on the other side.
personally I prefer making my own routes up rather than following a posted route. However I do live in Scotland where we have the scottish hilltracks book that details all the old routes to follow but england with its network of rights of way it should be possible to do similar.
Pick a start and finish point then use maps to plot a route betweeen them. or pick an area and plot a route
if pubs and villages are important then I'd recommend the Wolds Way in east Yorkshire, it's a lovely part of the country but quiet, lots of good pubs, rolling countryside, big views and plenty of historical interest along the way, at eighty miles it'd make for a leisurely walk over six days
https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/yorkshire-wolds-way/
one other thing I realised a few years ago is that the route does not have to make sense as a point to point if its the walking and the scenery you are looking for - so some of my more recent long distance walks have been very meandering routes taking in the best scenery and the best camping spots rather than the shortest route between to points
Some of the SW coast path.
I did Hadrian's wall path last year with my eldest. Did it over 5 long days but that was staying in hotels and b&bs. Camping would probably take it to 7.
I thought it was great, and starting in Newcastle/finishing in bowness on solway was great. You get a real different mix of places (urban grot, wild beauty, farmland and estuary). I thought the mix was very enjoyable.
Yeah, I was going to say Dales Way or the SW coastal path. I think just west of Plymouth to Lizard Point is about the right length from memory.
The Ridgeway?
87 miles from Avebury to Ivinghoe. Plenty of camping opportunities along the way.
I have walked some of the south coast path years ago in Devon and cornwall. Really enjoyed it. so IMO thats a good suggestion from jambo above. I did day walks from a book that set out day routes with a pub halfway.
Its something very different from any other walking I did and lots of nice villages and pubs to visit
Hadrian’s is not too bad of a walk, it’s would be slow plod at 7 days though. 5 wouldn’t be too bad, we did it in 3 for a charity challenge. My dodgy hip wasn’t best pleased.
Northern end of the Ridgeway is okay for pubs & villages, southern end is a bit of a divert to get to them. Some parts of Hadrians Wall you really have to think about provisions, so definitely not so good for great pubs either.
charlie.farley
Full Member
South Downs Way100 miles
Winchester – Eastbourne
Some STWers probably know I'm a bit keen on the SDW. LOL
I want to walk it someday so I can spend a bit more time taking in the scenery and picking up parts of my skin and bike I left along the way.
It's an absolutely beautiful route and you'll get to see the white cliffs part near the end that riders like me never get to see. Unless they are naughty boys.
I just went and looked at all my pics of my sdw adventures and got a little emotional a I've not ridden it since 2020. It's such a lovely route and I met some wonderful people asking the way.
Whichever route you walk, enjoy!
Another vote for the Dales Way. Lovely walk.
Sandstone Way, Hexham in the Tyne Valley to Berwick through Northumberland? Hoping to bike it at some point.
My first thought would be to string something together in the Lakes.
Plenty of campsites and nice pubs/pies.
ok for the Wolds Way, some temptations here!
I’ve not done it to be able to recommend it, but I’ve had my eye on the Peak District Boundary Walk for a little while.
This runs about 200yds away from my house, so feel free to pop in 🙂 Plus, I can recommend a very mild detour that will provide a really quite excellent cheese and onion pie, chips and beans...
I have walked some of the south coast path years ago in Devon and cornwall. Really enjoyed it. so IMO thats a good suggestion from jambo above. I did day walks from a book that set out day routes with a pub halfway.
Its something very different from any other walking I did and lots of nice villages and pubs to visit
I’ve not walked very much of the SW Coast path, just a few miles either side of Beesands, to Torcross and along the beach, and along to Start Point and around to East Prawle. The Cricket Inn in Beesands is great for beer, and exceptional for food, especially seafood. In fact, if you stand by the sea wall and look out into the bay, you can see the food! Or at least where a lot comes from. It’s beautiful down there, a really lovely part of the world.
The view across to Dartmouth from my camp site at Sugar Park, between Beeson and Beesands:
The ruined village of Hallsands, Start Point in the distance:
This thread has inspired me to do the South Downs Way. Although I have done loads of Scottish Hill walking. And I've done multi month bike tours. I can't think of any walk I've done longer than 45 or 50 miles.
The downs would be a contrast in scenery and compared to Scotland probably better weather and more frequent pubs. Midge free. Getting to the start/finish by public transport is surprisingly not much different timewise to getting to parts of the highlands.
Thinking May might be a good time. Long daylight hours and not full summer heat.
Some more photos from either side of Start Point…
Just to give an idea of the SW Coast Path distances involved. Somewhere along this bit is Kate Bush’s seaside house… 😁