The best UK walks for 2025

The best walks in the country are mostly found along the coast – that's according to 1,310 Which? members, who we asked to rate the nation’s favourite routes.

Looking for a scenic jaunt somewhere a little less sandy? Our list of great hikes includes peaceful, pastoral routes year-round in the Lake District, along rolling hills in the Midlands, and along the Fife coast.

Wherever you are in the country – and however fit or unfit you might be – there's a walk for you. Members scored routes of between one mile and 12 miles on everything from the scenery and wildlife, to signage and accessibility, and those that offered the best food and drink options nearby. 

Our detailed results table will help you find a thrilling route that is the right difficulty and length for your needs, to ensure you get maximum enjoyment from your hike

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Walks in the UK rated

Unfortunately, we were unable to rate any walks in Northern Ireland, as we can only include the ones with a minimum of 30 responses from readers. If you’d like to join the Which? Connect panel, and share your experiences as a consumer and traveller, head to the sign-up page.

Best walk in the UK: Lizard Peninsula Circuit

Score 87%
Difficulty 3 out of 5
Distance 7 miles
Approx duration 3 hours
Start/finish Lizard Village
Food and drink Kynance Cove Cafe 

The wild and unruly southernmost point of England is the place to head for a blow-away-the-cobwebs walk. The coastline of the Lizard Peninsula, indented with caves and coves, has witnessed many shipwrecks, and was the top-rated walk not only in the South West of England, but also across the entire UK, in our latest survey.

From the safe distance of the coastal path, however, the pounding of waves on the ragged shoreline is exhilarating rather than terrifying. This walk starts and ends in Lizard Village, then heads toward Kynance Cove, once a popular destination with Victorian daytrippers who spread their crinolines on its sandy beach, sheltered by rocky outcrops. 

These days, you can enjoy wrap-around sea views while you eat your sandwich or baked potato from the beach café. Visitors told us they appreciated the dramatic scenery, the abundance of wildflowers and the possibility of spotting a red-legged chough or bobbing seals and basking sharks in the tumbling waves. 

Read our beginner's guide to walking holidays to plan a successful trip

Best walk in South East England: The Needles and Tennyson Down

Score 85%
Difficulty 2 out of 5
Distance 4 miles
Approx duration 2 hours
Start/finish Bus terminus at Alum Bay
Food and drink The Needles Old Battery and New Battery

Getting to the best walk in South East England involves a ferry – but it’s worth the trip. Jump on a boat to the Isle of Wight to discover The Needles, one of the Isle of Wight’s most famous landmarks. 

Which? members gave this walk five stars for its scenery, and the route has plenty to offer, from panoramas of the sea and mainland England on a clear day, to grass-topped white chalk cliffs with grazing cows.

You’ll also explore Alum Bay, with its 21 shades of sand. Don’t skip the cable car, which is a pleasant and gentle ride, with the opportunity to take home a souvenir photo of yourself suspended in front of this epic scenery.

Despite all that’s on offer, this four-mile walk still scored an impressive four stars for peace and quiet.

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Best walk in North West England: Buttermere Circuit

Score 86%
Difficulty 1 out of 5
Distance 4.5 miles
Approx duration 1-2 hours
Start/finish Buttermere village car park (behind Bridge Hotel)
Food and drink Syke Farm Tea Room

It’s easy to see why Which? members favour this Lake District valley circuit, giving it full marks for its scenery. After all, for a relatively easy walk through woodlands and along lakeside paths, the views of the fells and mirrored waters are magnificent.

Along the way, you’ll spot little wooden bridges over streams, small waterfalls and even a 15 metre tunnel carved through rock, originally commissioned by the mill owner George Benson, to enable him to more easily wander around the lake.

After that, you can follow a gravel path back to the village, to enjoy a well deserved ice cream, pub lunch or even afternoon tea at the famous Syke Farm Teahouse.

The Lake District is the joint third best National Park, according to our most recent survey. The two that beat it are much quieter in the summer.

Best walk in North East England: Craster to Dunstanburgh

Score 86%
Difficulty 2 out of 5
Distance 2.6 miles
Approx duration 1 hour
Start/finish Craster Quarry car park
Food and drink The Jolly Fisherman

The romantic ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle are constantly in view on this short walk, looming ever closer and giving the stroll along the rocky shoreline an epic, almost heroic feel. No wonder then that Which? members voted it their favourite walk in the North East, with five stars for scenery.

It all starts modestly in Craster, a village wreathed by the aroma of its 130-year-old smokehouse, L Robson & Sons, famous for its kippers. Leaving the harbour and its boats’ rigging clinking behind, the path snakes through grassland towards the distant castle. 

It also got four stars for wildlife spotting opportunities – look out for fulmars and razorbills as you see if you can hear the haunting call of the curlew. And further out to sea, you might even spot a grey seal. 

Dunstanburgh Castle can only be reached by foot, so arrival at its massive gatehouse and its twin turrets feels virtuous. Walk back to Craster for reviving crab sandwiches and crab soup at The Jolly Fisherman. 

Best walk in East of England: Wells Beach and Pinewoods Walk, Norfolk 

Score 81%
Difficulty 2 out of 5
Distance 7.5 miles
Approx duration 2-3 hours
Start/finish Wells-Next-the-Sea
Food and drink Well Beach Cafe

Crowned Which? members’ favourite in the East of England for another year, this walk is worth trying if you’re visiting and fancy a longer circuit (it is around 7.5 miles). 

Starting in Wells, this easy and fairly flat route will take you past golden sand dunes, a bustling harbour and through a woodland of tall pine trees. It scored four stars for its scenery and wildlife – and also for its parking facilities.

The mile-long beach at the halfway point is ideal for a brisk walk before looping back to Wells. You can lunch in the beach café or head to one of the fish-and-chip shops once you're back in town after working up an appetite.

Find the best AONBs, also known as National Landscapes and Scenic Areas, for your next day out in nature.

Best walk in the Midlands: Worcestershire Beacon circuit, The Malverns

Score 82%
Difficulty 2 out of 5
Distance 3 miles
Approx duration 1.5 hours
Start/finish Beacon Road car park
Food and drink Cafe H2O (GeoCentre)

Rather than going to the top of the Worcestershire Beacon – the highest peak in the Malvern Hills range – this gentler route circumnavigates its lower slopes and provides panoramic views of the Worcestershire Plain, Severn Valley, the rolling hills of Herefordshire and distant Black Mountains. At three miles, it’s another easier ramble – not to mention the best walk in the Midlands for another year running.

Refill your water bottle en route at one of numerous springs: it’s purified by percolation through fissures in the ancient rocks. This is a popular destination, especially in the summer, so get there early to ensure a space in the car park – it only scored two stars in this category.

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Best walk in Scotland: Crail to Anstruther

Score 84%
Difficulty 2 out of 5
Distance 4 miles
Approx duration 2 hours
Start/finish Crail/Anstruther
Food and drink Anstruther Fish Bar

Neuk is an old Scottish word for ‘corner’ – an appropriate name for the East Neuk of Fife, which feels like a nook. The Fife Coastal Path links its fishing villages with their stone harbours, pantile-roof cottages  and Dutch-style merchants’ houses – all of which remain steadfastly unspoilt. Which members give it full marks for peace and quiet, indicating that it is an underrated gem of a trail.

This comfortable, level walk starts at much-photographed Crail. Its twisty streets run down to a harbour stacked with lobster pots and the walk ends at the lively town of Anstruther, once known for its herring fishing, celebrated in its museum. 

The town is now home to the award-winning Anstruther Fish Bar & Restaurant – famous for its light and crispy batter. Perfect for an end-of-walk reward. If you need to get back to Crail, it takes 15 minutes by bus and these run once an hour. 

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Best walk in Wales: Rhossili headland

Score 87%
Difficulty 2 out of 5
Distance 3.5 miles
Approx duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Start/finish National Trust car park, Rhossili
Food and drink The Lookout

The three-mile scenic sweep of Rhossili beach, rinsed clean by thundering waves, is the highlight of this walk – and likely what earned it full marks for scenery.

But there’s much else to enjoy: start at the National Trust car park then circle round the headland, taking in views of Worm’s Head (a tidal island snaking into the sea) passing the skeletal ribs of shipwrecked Helvetia exposed at low tide. It’s a 2 out of 5 for difficulty, but well signposted – scoring 4 stars in this category.

The walk takes a pastoral turn as the path passes ponies munching wayside grass and The Vile, a medieval open-field strip system, then returns along drystone walls to the same car park and the Worm’s Head Hotel for traditional pub food, plus Welsh rarebit, cockles and laverbread. 

Best walk in Northern Ireland: Dunseverick Castle to Giant’s Causeway (previous winner)

Difficulty 3 out of 5
Distance 5 miles
Approx duration 2-3 hours
Start/finish Dunseverick Castle to Causeway Coast Way Car Park
Food and drink Causeway Hotel Bar & Restaurant

The extraordinary sight of 40,000 basalt columns at the end of this walk is a justified reward for the number of steps you have put in. It’s no wonder that in our previous survey of the best UK walks, Which? members awarded it five out of five in the scenery and places of interest categories.

The well-maintained route begins at the ruins of Dunseverick Castle and continues over seabird-rich cliffs, and dramatic bays and headlands, passing National Trust-managed farmland brimming with wildlife and flowers. 

Weir’s Snout, the final headland, offers the first view of the Causeway before a descent down the 162 Shepherd’s Steps.