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- Herausgeber: Vertebrate Publishing
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
Walk Britain by Elise Downing is an inspirational collection of 90 walking routes accessible by public transport which can enable you to see the best of Great Britain in an environmentally friendly way. The book is organised into easily accessible base locations throughout England, Scotland and Wales – simply choose where you want to stay or day-trip to and then pick your adventure. There are several walks from each base, ranging from relaxed shorter routes through to longer day walks, and working up to multi-day options if you want a bigger challenge. Explore the rugged Cornish moorland and coastal trails around Penzance, traverse the trails of the Brecon Beacons stopping for a wild swim along the way, see the remote lochs and coastline of the Isle of Arran, or escape the crowds of London with a day trip to the Chilterns – Elise takes all the hassle out of planning your next adventure. Each walk includes handy details to help with planning, including an Ordnance Survey overview map and public transport information, along with engaging text about what you'll see on your walk and stunning photography of each location. GPX files for the routes are available to download to help you plan and navigate your adventures.
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iii
ELISE DOWNING
Vertebrate Publishing, Sheffieldwww.adventurebooks.com
About the Author
Elise Downing is a runner, writer and speaker, best known for being the first woman to run 5,000 miles self-supported around the coast of Britain. It’s difficult to overstate how completely unprepared she was for her coastal run in 2016, and although she’s finally learned to read a map now (phew), she’s determined that you don’t need to be a super athlete to do fun things in the outdoors. Coasting, Elise’s account of her adventure, was chosen as one of The Times Best Books of 2021 and longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2021. These days she’s mostly trying to get better at running up and down hills, and is never happier than on a multi-day trail ‘holiday’, with a pack full of snacks and wearing the same pair of socks three days in a row. @elisecdowning
Copyright
WALK BRITAIN90 inspirational car-free walks in england, scotland and wales
First published in 2025 by Vertebrate Publishing.
VERTEBRATE PUBLISHING Omega Court, 352 Cemetery Road, Sheffield S11 8FT, United Kingdom.www.adventurebooks.com
Copyright © 2025 Elise Downing and Vertebrate Publishing Ltd. Foreword copyright © 2025 Emily Chappell.
Elise Downing has asserted her rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as author of this work.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-83981-144-9 (Paperback) ISBN 978-1-83981-145-6 (Ebook)
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, or mechanised, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems – without the written permission of the publisher.
Front cover: the Great Ridge, Peak District. © Sarah Lister Back cover (L–R): Cleveland Way, North York Moors © Jon Barton; scrambling on Tryfan, Eryri/Snowdonia; Leith Hill Tower, Surrey Hills © Jane Beagley; West Highland Way, Western Highlands; South West Coast Path, Isle of Purbeck; sheep near High Street, Lake District; Glen Catacol, Isle of Arran; Embleton Bay, Northumberland.
Photography by Elise Downing unless otherwise credited.
Maps reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of His Majesty’s Stationery Office. © Crown Copyright. AC0000809882
Overview map credit on page iv by Active Maps, www.activemaps.co.uk
Edited by Helen Parry; cover design, layout and production by Jane Beagley.www.adventurebooks.com
Every effort has been made to achieve accuracy of the information in this guidebook. The authors, publishers and copyright owners can take no responsibility for: loss or injury (including fatal) to persons; loss or damage to property or equipment; trespass, irresponsible behaviour or any other mishap that may be suffered as a result of following the route descriptions or advice offered in this guidebook. The inclusion of a track or path as part of a route, or otherwise recommended, in this guidebook does not guarantee that the track or path will remain a right of way. If conflict with landowners arises we advise that you act politely and leave by the shortest route available. If the matter needs to be taken further then please take it up with the relevant authority.
iv
Contents
Download the Walk Britain GPX files from
www.adventurebooks.com/WB-GPX
www.komoot.com/collection/2452665
vi
Devil’s Ridge in the Western Highlands
Foreword
Almost everyone will encounter a few barriers when it comes to getting into the countryside. In some cases, these are very easily resolved. If all that’s standing in your way is checking your map to find out where the trail starts, then you’ll be out there in no time. But some people can nurse this ambition for years without finding a way of realising it – because of safety concerns, because they lack the skills and don’t know where to get them, or because they’ve somehow been led to believe that the outdoors is not for them.
In my case the barrier was logistical. I knew I’d love walking in the hills, because I’d spent years exploring remote corners of the world by bike, racing across continents, and seeking out quiet Alpine meadows to camp in. Quite often, as I pedalled up the switchbacks towards a pass, I’d see people with backpacks and walking boots who were going even higher than me, for whom the pinnacle of my ride was merely their starting point. So, this was what a hiking holiday must look like, I thought to myself. I wanted to follow them and see what it was like up there – but I couldn’t, because what would I do with the bike?
Back in the UK, I once or twice experimented with cycling to the bottom of a mountain, sleeping in my tent, and then hiding bike and camping gear while I hiked up and down. This worked, but it felt too risky and wasn’t really practical. Most guidebooks were no help – they just told me where the car parks were, and this was irrelevant to me because I’d never learned to drive. So, I developed the conviction that hiking was only for proper grown-ups, and left them to it.
Little did I know that someone had read one of my periodic social media pleas for advice, and was busy working on a solution.
I first met Elise partway through her run round the UK coast, and was struck both by the magnitude of her expedition, and the modesty with which she went about it. She didn’t seem to think she was anything special – but the rest of us felt differently, and watched with increasing admiration over the next few years, as she took on more running challenges, became an accomplished route-planner, and built herself a career as an author and speaker.
She may at some point have realised that she is something special, but I’m not so sure, because she still has the attitude that anyone else could do what she does, and puts considerable effort into showing them how. There are no secrets with Elise, as far as I can tell: if she discovers a useful hack, she’ll share it with you; if she finds a good trail, she’ll tell you about it; and if she figures out a way to get there and back using public transport, she’ll definitely let you know.
Her generosity and enthusiasm have already inspired countless real-world adventures, and this book will launch many more. And you don’t need to be a non-driver like me. Walk Britain will help you avoid overflowing car parks on a bank holiday. It’ll show you how to plan adventures with a lower carbon footprint, and it’ll mean you can enjoy as many post-walk pints as you like.
Following a recommendation from Elise, I once took the bus that runs between Kendal and Windermere. Almost everyone else on the top deck was dressed for a day out in the hills (I even saw a couple of ice axes), and before long I had got chatting to an old man. He asked where I was planning on going for my run, told me he had grown up not far from there, and spent the rest of the journey reminiscing about the decades he had spent in these hills that I was only just discovering.
I wouldn’t have had that lovely encounter if I’d driven here, I thought, as I set off up the hill, already hoping I’d run into him again on my homeward journey.
Emily Chappell
viii
Fairfield Horseshoe, Lake District © Angharad Caswell
Introduction
The idea for this book was born from a Twitter (now X) thread that Emily Chappell started back in April 2021.
The reason I don’t do more hiking and mountain running is the difficulty of accessing trailheads without motorised transport …
Reading the responses to this thread, it occurs to me that there is a very good market for a guidebook for car-free hiking/walking/trekking in the UK. Any publishers interested in commissioning one?
I didn’t have a driving licence at the time. My mum had offered to pay for a few driving lessons for my eighteenth birthday present, but I’d traded them in for an Interrail Pass (very onbrand for this book, now I think about it) and so, more than a decade later, all of my adventures were still car-free. I was desperate for the book Emily was suggesting to exist and immediately forwarded her Tweet to Kirsty Reade, commissioning editor at Vertebrate Publishing, with a plea something along the lines of: ‘Please get Emily to write this book, I’ll buy it.’
Sadly, Emily wasn’t able to take on the project at the time which meant that I was lucky enough to end up with it (and she has kindly written the foreword). Although I have since learned to drive, it’s still a topic I’m hugely passionate about.
I feel strongly that the UK is one of the best countries in the world for walking and running. We have so much variety packed into a relatively small area: rugged coast, towering mountains, expansive moorland, quaint country villages, truly excellent pubs. And while it might not be perfect, we actually have a pretty vast public transport system to access our countryside compared to some places. In contrast, I was shocked by how impossible it was to explore the Great Smoky Mountains without hiring a car when I visited America earlier this year.
There’s no denying that you sacrifice a little bit of convenience when you decide to travel by public transport (mainly in the packing area as you can’t just chuck every single thing you own into the car boot). Car-free adventures should be approached through the lens of what you gain though. It’s reading your book on the train instead of sitting on the motorway, it’s having a leisurely breakfast in your holiday cottage because you don’t have to arrive at the trailhead at the crack of dawn to secure a parking spot, it’s enjoying a post-walk pint of local ale without worrying about driving home.
Researching and writing this book was both a lot of fun and a little stressful. It felt like a big responsibility essentially saying to people: ‘these places are great, and you should spend your precious annual leave and hard-earned cash visiting them.’ But I truly believe that everywhere I’ve suggested is well worth visiting and, whether you can’t drive or choose not to, I hope the following pages will facilitate some amazing adventures for you.
Elise
Walk Britain
The routes
In this book there are 90 different routes across England, Wales and Scotland that you can complete on foot without using a car. All the routes are accessible by public transport, whether that’s walking straight from a major train station or using local bus or train services to pick up a more remote trail. The routes are split into 18 sections, each one covering a different location with one suggested base and five route ideas you can do from there.
I’ve chosen these routes to showcase the variety of options available. From the Cornish coast to the Western Highlands, big multi-day adventures to loops you can do before breakfast, circumnavigations of whole islands to point-to-point jaunts finishing at a pub, I hope that flicking through these pages will demonstrate just how much scope there is to explore Britain’s wild places without having to get behind the wheel.
The hardest thing was deciding what to leave out – this book is by no means exhaustive. If you enjoyed a particular type of adventure in one location, rest assured you’ll almost certainly find something similar elsewhere – there are some extra ideas on this at the end of every section.
Keep reading for more help on finding inspiration for your own car-free adventures.
Base locations
Once you’ve gone to the effort of getting yourself to a particular place, I want to make sure you can see as much of the area as possible. For this reason, I’ve structured each section around one ‘base location’ from which the routes are easily accessible.
There are three main criteria for the base locations:
Straightforward connections by public transport to the rest of the country (e.g. on or near a mainline railway station).A good combination of routes you can do from the doorstep and/or using local public transport services to take you farther afield.A range of accommodation (to suit all price ranges) and places to buy food.Rest assured that you won’t be sent off on a one-a-day bus to a quaint village with no amenities within walking distance and only one good trail nearby! This means that occasionally I haven’t been able to pick the most idyllic spot as a base in each area, as sometimes they don’t go hand in hand with train stations and supermarkets. However, if you know that you aren’t bothered about darting around all over the place trying different walks, then you might want to pick a route that really takes your fancy and base yourself near the start of that instead of in a more central location. For instance, Great Yarmouth is ideal for amenities and transport links to the Norfolk Broads but if you only particularly want to visit the seal colony I talk about in route 21, then you might want to stay in Winterton-on-Sea instead.
What this book isn’t
Most importantly, this book isn’t judgemental. It’s not an all-or-nothing case against anybody ever owning a vehicle again (I do, so it would be rather hypocritical of me to tell you not to). And, given that a big part of my motivation for writing this book is to increase accessibility to the outdoors, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the often-prohibitive price of train tickets in Great Britain.
It may be the case, especially for families or groups, that completing your whole journey by public transport simply isn’t practical. xiHowever, I hope this book will show that, once you’ve arrived at your main destination, it’s absolutely possible to leave your car at your accommodation and explore on foot and using local public transport for the remainder of your holiday. After all, I’m sure most of us would prefer to spend less of our free time sitting in traffic and more time enjoying a post-walk pint in the pub if we fancy it. More than 50 per cent of car journeys are for trips under five miles. By cutting out a few of these, we can make a real impact on congestion and pollution.
This book isn’t intended to be prescriptive. I hope that the routes chosen will demonstrate the wealth of opportunities for car-free adventures in Great Britain and act as a jumping off point for planning your own, including ones starting from your very own doorstep (arguably the best place for a car-free adventure – see page xiii).
How to use this book
Each section starts with an introduction – here you’ll find some handy information about what to expect in the area, what the base location is like, how to get there by public transport and a brief idea of the types of accommodation on offer.
Moving on, each route has details of the distance, metres of ascent, start and finish points, and how to get there by public transport, along with overview mapping and a route profile.
This book aims to offer inspiration more than instruction and, as such, the route descriptions focus on telling you why I think a certain route is worth checking out along with details of interesting things you might see along the way. I won’t be telling you exactly how to execute the route (e.g. you won’t find a lot of ‘turn left here’). If you’d like to have a go at the routes, you can download the GPX files or take a look at the designated Komoot collection (see page v).
The routes are organised by distance into the following categories:
short: up to 8 kilometresmedium: 9–16 kilometreslong: 17–24 kilometreschallenge: 25–40 kilometresmulti-day: over 40 kilometresI’ve tried to include something for everybody in each section, so in many areas you’ll find one route fitting every category. There aren’t any filler choices – routes included for the sake of fitting a template – so in some places you might find I’ve left out one category and doubled up on another. When choosing an adventure please do pay attention to factors other than distance too, such as ascent and terrain. Kilometres are not made equal and shorter doesn’t always mean easier. Where possible, alternative options are mentioned; for instance, if there’s a way to shorten or extend a route or divide it into sections. Hopefully you’ll find something you like!
Planning a car-free adventure
Car-free adventures can require a little extra planning. You may have to consider what to pack more carefully when you can’t just throw everything plus the kitchen sink into the back of the car, and your plans will need to work around bus or train timetables.
Research the local public transport before you go, and make sure you have downloaded any relevant apps and time-tables ready for your trip. Here are some useful websites:
www.traveline.infowww.traveline.cymruwww.travelinescotland.comwww.seat61.comwww.thetrainline.comwww.splitmyfare.co.ukWhernside, Yorkshire Three Peaks
Where to stay
I haven’t included many specific suggestions for accommodation in this book as where you choose to stay will depend a lot on your budget and general holiday style. Where possible, all of the base locations are close to a variety of accommodation options from campsites to B&Bs and holiday cottages, as well as easy access to other amenities including shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants. The latter is something to consider carefully – proximity can be important when you are car-free – it’s less easy to carry large shopping hauls home when walking or on the bus, and you might not want to be faced with an hour-long walk just to buy a pint of milk for your morning cup of tea. It’s a good idea to book early when you can – more central options often get booked up quickly and it’s trickier to expand your search without vehicle access.
When to go
One huge plus of car-free travel is lessening your impact on the local environment. Honeypot areas can get overrun with visitors at peak times and adding in lots of vehicles only exacerbates the problems. With this in mind, it’s great to consider other ways to leave a positive trace on your travels and being mindful of when to visit popular spots is one way to do this. If you can, consider visiting at less busy times – mid-week, outside of school holidays or during the cooler months.
There are lots of benefits to travelling off-peak when you can – and they’re not all altruistic! You can experience the freedom of having a beauty spot all to yourself, rather than facing a queue for the summit. Accommodation will be cheaper, and buses and trains will be quieter. There’s something exhilarating about being out and about on a brisk winter’s day too, not to mention xiiithe utter joy of putting some warm, dry socks on after being outside battling the elements.
On the flipside, do be aware that some bus services, cafes and accommodation are seasonal, so check before you travel.
Other things to think about
If your accommodation is self-catered and not within easy reach of a shop, consider doing an online food order ahead of time to save lugging lots of heavy bags around on the train.Buses and trains are typically less frequent in rural areas. Make sure you’ve downloaded the latest timetables and bear in mind any alterations for weekends and bank holidays. I once got caught out by this on the Pembrokeshire coast and it resulted in a very expensive taxi!Look into kit hire at your destination for things like paddleboards and bikes. Similarly, some campsites have pre-erected tents or camping huts which could save you some luggage.If you’re travelling by train and bringing a bike, make sure you’ve booked it in ahead of time if necessary.Invest in a water filter bottle which allows you to fill up basically anywhere and means you don’t have to lug excess water weight around.Doorstep adventures
The routes in this book are really just suggestions and show how you can explore some of Great Britain’s most iconic adventure hubs without a car. But there are literally thousands more car-free adventures out there for you to go on – and some of the best of these will start right on your doorstep.
I love a point-to-point adventure, either starting from or finishing at home. Choose a destination that you know is a simple train or bus ride away then have some fun with a map, working out the best footpaths and trails to connect to get you there. Komoot’s route planner is a good tool to help you out too – it works a bit like Google Maps but includes footpaths and you can see the make-up of your route in terms of surface types, with estimated timings specific to the terrain.
Another idea is to connect up some specific destinations in your immediate vicinity. It could be anything you’re interested in – 16th-century churches, real ale pubs, tea shops, parks, streets with a festive themed name for a Christmas adventure (if you’re thinking that’s a bit niche then you’re right, but it’s one I’ve actually done). Mark them out on a map and see if you can create a loop to travel round them on foot.
Or perhaps there’s a long-distance trail close by that you could chip away at in chunks, taking buses to your start and end points? What about hunting down the high and low points in your county? Can you go for multiple modes of travel in one day, cycling to the bottom of a hill, hiking up and then cycling home again?
How to find routes
There are some fantastic resources out there for finding new routes to try. Most navigation apps (such as Komoot, OS Maps and AllTrails) have ‘discover’ sections and some allow you to specifically filter by tours which are accessible by public transport. If there’s a specific spot you want to see which seems inaccessible, zoom out a bit and look at ways you could extend the route if you’re happy to walk a little further or perhaps turn it into a two-day trip. I often find that working out a way to tackle a route car-free actually adds to the adventure, and can take you to places you otherwise may have skipped right past.
Safety in the outdoors
Weather
Check the weather forecast before you set off, so you’ll be aware of what conditions to expect. Don’t totally rely on it though; always carry a waterproof and a spare layer, in case you have to stop.
www.metoffice.gov.uk
www.mwis.org.uk
