List of long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom

The following long-distance footpaths can be found in the United Kingdom:

England and Wales: National Trails

National Trails are distinguished by being maintained by the National Trails organization [1]. As of April 2005, there were fifteen such trails, mostly in England.

Cleveland Way round the edge of the North York Moors National Park in England
Cotswold Way in England
Glyndŵr's Way in Wales
Hadrian's Wall Path in England
North Downs Way in England
Offa's Dyke Path in Wales and England
Peddar's Way and Norfolk Coast Path in England (treated as one by National Trails)
Pembrokeshire Coast Path in Wales
Pennine Bridleway in England
Pennine Way in England and Scotland
The Ridgeway in England
South Downs Way in England
South West Coast Path (South West Way) in England - the UK's longest
Thames Path in England
Yorkshire Wolds Way in England

Scotland: Long Distance Routes

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 Pevensey Castle to Rye
Abbeys Amble, North Yorkshire
Abbot's Way (or Jobber's Path or sometimes Jobber's Cawse), an ancient path across Dartmoor
Abbott's Hike, 172 kilometres Cumbria
Ainsty Bounds Walk, North Yorkshire, circular from Tadcaster, 71 kilometres
Angles Way, 123 kilometres 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 Christchurch to Salisbury (Hampshire and Wiltshire)
Avon Valley Walk, Stratford-upon-Avon to Marlcliff (Warwickshire}
Basingstoke Canal
Beacon Way, 40 kilometres from West Bromwich to Gentleshaw (West Midlands/ Staffordshire [2])
Bishop Bennet Way, 55 kilometres Beeston to Wirswall (Cheshire, Staffordshire)
Boudica's Way, 60 kilometres from Norwich to Diss
Bournemouth Coast Path, 59.5 kilometres from Sandbanks to Milford-on-Sea (Dorset and Hampshire)
Bronte Way, 69 kilometres from Birstall, West Yorkshire to Padiham, Lancashire
Bullock Smithy Hike, a 90 kilometre 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 kilometre circular trail around Burnley in Lancashire
Calderdale Way, West Yorkshire, circular from Greetland 80 km
Capital Ring, 115 kilometres, 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
Centenary Way, Warwickshire - covers 158 kilometres from Kingsbury to Upper Quinton.
Channel to Channel Path, Seaton to Watchet, 80 km
Chiltern Way, 200 kilometre circular walk from Hemel Hempstead (275 kilometres with extensions).
Cistercian Way, Grange-over-Sands to Roa Island (Cumbria) - 53 km
Clarendon Way, 38.5 kilometres from Salisbury to Winchester
Coast to Coast, Devon, Wembury to Lynmouth 186 km
Coast to Coast Walk, 309 kilometres from St. Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire
Coleridge Way, Nether Stowey to Porlock 58 km (Somerset)
Cross Cotswold Pathway - see Macmillan Ways below
Coventry Way - circumnavigates Coventry from a start point in Meriden - 64 kilometres
Cumbria Coastal Way 241 kilometres from Silverdale in Lancashire to Gretna Green in southern Scotland.
Cumbria Way, 112 kilometres from Ulverston to Carlisle
Dales Way, runs 126 kilometres from Bowness-on-Windermere to Ilkley with extensions to Leeds, Shipley and Harrogate
D'Arcy Dalton Way, Wormleighton - Waylands Smithy 106 km (Warwickshire, Oxfordshire)
Dartmoor Way, 139.5 kilometres around Dartmoor
Derwent Valley Heritage Way, 88 kilometres from Bamford to Shardlow via the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site
Devonshire Heartland Way - 69 kilometres from the Exe Valley to Okehampton
Downs Link - 59 kilometres 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 Exmouth to Lyme Regis
Ebor Way, 112 kilometres from Ilkley to Helmsley (connecting the Dales Way to the Cleveland Way)
Essex Way, Epping to Harwich, 130 kilometres
Exe Valley Way, Devon - runs 72.5 kilometres from the River Exe extuary to Exmoor
Fen Rivers Way, runs 98.5 kilometres Cambridge to King's Lynn
Gloucestershire Way, 161 kilometres Chepstow to Tewkesbury
The Greater Ridgeway. This is the name used for the combined route of 583 kilometres 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 from Haslemere, Surrey to Hamstreet, Kent
Gritstone Trail, 56 kilometres from Disley to Kidsgrove (mainly Cheshire)
Hampshire Millennium Pilgrims Trail, 48 kilometres from Winchester to Portsmouth
Hardy Way, Dorset and Wiltshire, 342 kilometres Higher Brockhampton - Stinsford
Heart of England Way, Midlands - 161 kilometres Milford, Staffordshire to Bourton-on-the-Water
Herefordshire Trail, 246.5 kilometre circular route from Ledbury via Ross-on-Wye, Kington, Leominster and Bromyard, waymarks are planned but not yet in place
Hereward Way, 166 kilometres 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 from Horsham to Rye (West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent)
Hyndburn Clog, a 53 kilometre circular around Hyndburn in Lancashire, with a main start point at Stanhill
Icknield Way, 206 kilometres Bledlow to Knettishall Heath (Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk)
Isaac's Tea Trail, circular route of 58 kilometres from Ninebanks via Allendale, Nenthead and Alston in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Irwell Sculpture Trail, 48 kilometres from Salford Quays to Bacup, Rossendale following the River Irwell (Greater Manchester, Lancashire
Isle of Wight Coastal Path, circular from Ryde 105 km
Itchen Way, 43.5 kilometres from Hinton Ampner to Woolston (Hampshire)
Jubilee Trail, Forde Abbey - Bokerley Dyke, 145 kilometres (Dorset)
Jurassic Way, 142 kilometres Banbury, Oxfordshire to Stamford, Lincolnshire
King's Way, 72 kilometres from Winchester to Portchester
Lancashire Coastal Way, 220 kilometres from Silverdale to Freckleton
Land's End Trail
Lea Valley Walk, 80 kilometres from Leagrave in Bedfordshire to the East India Dock in London.
Leland Trail, 45 kilometres Stourhead to Ham Hill, (in Somerset)
Liberty Trail, 45 kilometres Ham Hill to Lyme Regis (Somerset, Dorset)
Limestone Way, 80 kilometres from Castleton to Rocester (Derbyshire)
Limey Way, 65 kilometres from Castleton via 20 Limestone Dales to Dovedale and Thorpe
London Outer Orbital Path ('The LOOP'), 241 kilometres Erith to Rainham
Lyke Wake Walk across the North York Moors
The Macmillan Ways: Macmillan Way - Abbotsbury in Dorset to Boston, Lincolnshire 464 km; Macmillan Way West from Castle Cary in Somerset to Barnstaple in Devon, 163 kilometres (Boston to Barnstaple is 557 kilometres); the Macmillan Abbotsbury Langport Link creates a 38.5 kilometre short-cut for walkers from Abbotsbury to Barnstaple, a total of 202 kilometres; the Macmillan Cross Cotswold Pathway from Banbury to Bath, 138 kilometres, mostly on the main Macmillan Way; and the Cotswold Link, 33.5 kilometres 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 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
Mendip Way, Uphill (near Weston-super-Mare) - Frome 80 km
The Mercian Way is part of National Cycle Route 45, but is also well used by walkers.
Midshires Way, Princes Risborough - Stockport, 363 kilometres
Monarch's Way, Worcester - Shoreham-by-Sea 984 km
Mortimer Trail, 48 kilometres from Ludlow in Shropshire to Kington, Herefordshire
Nar Valley Way, Norfolk - 54 kilometres King's Lynn to Gressenhall
Nene Way, Badby, Northamptonshire to Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire 177 km
Nidderdale Way, a circular route of 85 kilometres, centred on Pateley Bridge in North Yorkshire
North Worcestershire Path, 43 kilometres from Kinver to Major's Green
Ouse Valley Way, 240 kilometres from Syresham, Northamptonshire to King's Lynn, Norfolk via Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire
Oxford Canal Walk, 132 kilometres from Oxford to Coventry
Oxfordshire Way, Bourton-on-the-Water - Henley 104 kilometres
Pappoos 1, from London to Cambridge and The Wash
Pathfinder March, 46 mile circular around former RAF Pathfinder Airfields
Pendle Way, a 45 mile circular incorporating Pendle Hill (Lancashire)
Pilgrims' Trail, 45 kilometres from Winchester to Portsmouth
Pilgrims' Way, 192 kilometres 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 km, the southern loop 29 km.
Reiver's Way, 242 kilometres from Corbridge to Alnmouth (Northumberland)
Ribble Way, follows the River Ribble for 114 kilometres from Longton to Ribblehead
River Parrett Trail, 75 kilometres along the river in Somerset and Dorset
Robin Hood Way runs 169 kilometres from Nottingham to Edwinstone
Rossendale Way, a 47 mile circular around the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire
Sabrina Way, 324 kilometres, Hartington to Great Barrington (Staffordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire)
Saint's Way, Padstow - Fowey 42 km (Cornwall)
Samaritans Way South West, runs 160 kilometres from Bristol to Lynton, but only the section from Bristol to Goathurst is waymarked
Sandlings Walk, 96 kilometres from Ipswich to Southwold (Suffolk)
Sandstone Trail, 51 kilometres from Frodsham in Cheshire to Whitchurch, Shropshire
Sarum Way, Wiltshire, 51.5 kilometres circular, only part of it is waymarked
Saxon Shore Way, 261 kilometres from Gravesend, Kent to Hastings, East Sussex
Severn Way, Plynlimon - Bristol 360 km
Shakespeare's Way, 235 kilometres from Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-Upon-Avon to the Globe Theatre on London's South Bank. The route opened on 19-April-2006.
Shropshire Way, 224 kilometres from Shrewbury via the Ironbridge World Heritage Site to Wem with a further 19 kilometre northern spur to Grindley Brook
Six Shires Circuit
Solent Way, 112 kilometres from Christchurch, Dorset to Emsworth on the Hampshire/West Sussex border
South Cheshire Way, 51 kilometres from Grindley Brook to Mow Cop
Staffordshire Way, runs 147 kilometres between Mow Cop and Kinver Edge
Stour Valley Path, East Anglia, Newmarket to Manningtree 96 km
Stour Valley Walk, 82 kilometres Lenham to Pegwell Bay (Kent)
Stour Valley Way, 103 kilometres from Stourton to Christchurch Priory (Dorset)
St. Cuthbert's Way, 100 kilometres from Melrose to Lindisfarne (Scottish borders, Northumberland)
St Kenelm's Trail, 100 kilometres from Clent Hills, Worcestershire to Winchcombe Gloucestershire
St. Swithuns Way, 55 kilometres Winchester to Farnham
Suffolk Coast and Heaths Path, Manningtree - Lowestoft 106 km
Sussex Border Path, 256 kilometres from Thorney Island to Rye
Sussex Ouse Valley Way, 67.5 kilomteres Lower Beeding to Seaford
Swans Way, Salcey Forest - Bledlow 104 km through Buckinghamshire (Aylesbury Vale and Milton Keynes (borough))
Tarka Trail, Devon - 2 separate circles from Barnstaple totalling 288 km
Tas Valley Way, 40 kilometres from Norwich to Attleborough (Norfolk)
Teesdale Way, 161 kilometres from Dufton to Warrenby
Test Way, Walbury Hill - Eling 70.5 km through Hampshire and West Berkshire
Three Castles Path, Windsor to Winchester, Hampshire, 96 kilometres (unwaymarked)
Three Forests Way, 96 kilometres through Epping, Hainault and Hatfield forests on the borders of Essex and Greater London.
Three Shires Way, East Anglia, Grafham Water to Salcey Forest 59.5 kilometres
Trans Pennine Trail, 333 kilometres from Southport, Lancashire to Hornsea, East Yorkshire
Two Moors Way, Devon - Ivybridge to Lynmouth 166 km
Vanguard Way, 107 kilometres Croydon to Newhaven
Viking Way, 235 kilometres Barton-upon-Humber to Oakham (Lincolnshire, Rutland)
Way for the Millennium, Newport, Shropshire to Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire - 65 kilometres
Wayfarers Walk, 110 kilometres from Walbury Hill to Emsworth (Berkshire, Hampshire)
Wealdway, Gravesend to Eastbourne 129 km (Kent, East Sussex)
Weardale Way, runs 117 kilometres from Sunderland to Wearhead
Weavers Way, 90 kilometres Cromer - Great Yarmouth (Norfolk}
Wessex Ridgeway, runs 219 kilometres from Marlborough to Lyme Regis.
West Deane Way in the Vale of Taunton Deane, circular 72.5 kilometres
West Devon Way - Okehampton to Plymouth, 58 km
Wey South Path - 51.5 kilometres from Guildford, Surrey to Houghton Bridge, West Sussex, mainly alongside the Wey and Arun Canal
Wherryman's Way, 56 kilometres following the River Yare from Norwich to Great Yarmouth (Norfolk)
Wild Edric's Way, 79 kilometres from Church Stretton to Ludlow - it shares much of its route with the Shropshire Way
Witton Weavers Way, a 51.5 kilometre circular around the West Pennine Moors, Blackburn and Darwen
White Rose Walk, 65 kilometres North Yorkshire walk, starting at the White Horse - Kilburn, and finishing at Roseberry Topping
Worcestershire Way, 49.5 kilometres from Bewdley to Malvern
Wychavon Way, Droitwich Spa to Winchcombe 67kilometres (Worcestershire, Gloucestershire)
Wychwood Way, Oxfordshire, a circular route of 59.5 kilometres in the former Royal Forest of Wychwood
Wysis Way, (mainly in Gloucestershire, 88 kilometres 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 around the island.
Cambrian Way, an unwaymarked 440 kilometre route from Cardiff to Conwy
Ceredigion Coast Path - currently still being developed, so not all waymarked - 101 kilometres from Ynyslas to Cardigan
Cistercian Way - circumnavigates Wales via its Cistercian Abbeys.
Clwydian Way, 243 kilometres, circular from Prestatyn via Llangollen, Corwen and Denbigh
Dyfi Valley Way, 172 kilometres from Aberdyfi to Ynyslas
Landsker Borderlands Trail, a 96 kilometre circular route in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, centred on Whitland.
Llyn Coastal Path (also known as the Lleyn Coastal Path or The Pilgrim Trail), 150 kilometres between Caernarfon and Criccieth in Gwynedd.
The Maelor Way, is a key link path, running 38 kilometres 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.
North Wales Path
Taff Trail, 109 kilometres from Brecon to Cardiff
Usk Valley Walk, 77 kilometres from Caerleon to Brecon
Valeways Millennium Heritage Trail, a circular walk of 111 kilometres in the Vale of Glamorgan
Wye Valley Walk, Chepstow - Plynlimon 218 km

Scotland

Cape Wrath Trail, runs around 300 kilometres 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 kilometre walk centred on Blairgowrie
Central Scottish Way, 251 kilometres from Milngavie to Byrness (just over the border in Northumberland, England)
Cowal Way, runs 75 kilometres on the Cowal Peninsula from Portavadie to Ardgartan
Fife Coastal Path, North Queensferry near St. Andrews to Newport-on-Tay, 107 kilometres
St. Cuthbert's Way, 100 kilometres from Melrose to Lindisfarne in England
West Island Way, 48 kilometres from Kilchattan Bay to Port Bannatyne on the Isle of Bute
West Highland Way, 150 kilometres from Milngavie to Fort William just above Glasgow

Northern Ireland

Ulster Way, runs for about 960 kilometres, mainly in Northern Ireland, although some parts are in the Republic of Ireland

External links