There are hundreds of long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom designated in publications from public authorities, guidebooks and OS maps. They are mainly used for hiking and walking, but some may also be designated, in whole or in part, as bridleways for mountain biking and horse riding. Most are in rural landscapes, in varying terrain, some passing through National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There is no formal definition of a long-distance path, though the British Long Distance Walkers Association defines one as a route "20 miles [32 km] or more in length and mainly off-road." They usually follow existing rights of way, often over private land, linked and sometimes waymarked to make a named route. Generally, the surface is not specially prepared, with rough ground, uneven surfaces and stiles, which can cause accessibility issues for people with disabilities. Exceptions to this can be converted railways, canal towpaths and some popular fell walking routes where stone-pitching and slabs have been laid to prevent erosion. Many long-distance footpaths are arranged around a particular theme such as one specific range of hills or a historical or geographical connection.
England and Wales: National Trails
National Trails are a network of long-distance paths in England and Wales (plus a small stretch of the Pennine Way in Scotland) funded by Natural England and Natural Resources Wales and maintained by local authorities under a Trail Partnership. , there are over of trails on seventeen routes. The longest trail, the King Charles III England Coast Path, was officially opened in March 2026 and was 80% complete at that time. The newest trail is the Coast to Coast Walk which will officially open in 2026. There are 83 million visits to the National Trails each year and over 80,000 people complete a trail.
Name Length Region Endpoint one Endpoint two Description mi km Cleveland Way North Yorkshire, England Helmsley Filey Brigg Runs around the edge of the North York Moors National Park in a horseshoe configuration. Cotswold Way The Cotswolds, Central England Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire Bath, Somerset Runs along the Cotswold Edge escarpment of the Cotswold Hills. Coast to Coast Walk Cumbria and North Yorkshire, Northern England St Bees, Cumbria Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire Devised and described by Alfred Wainwright in 1973. Announced in 2022 to become a National Trail and officially opened in 2026. Glyndŵr's Way Powys, mid Wales Knighton Welshpool Runs in an extended loop. Hadrian's Wall Path England: Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, Cumbria Wallsend, Tyne and Wear Bowness-on-Solway, Cumbria Runs from the east to west coast along the remains of Hadrian's Wall. King Charles III England Coast Path * England N/A N/A Will cover the entire coast of England and will be the longest managed and waymarked coastal path in the world. North Downs Way South Eastern England Farnham, Surrey Dover, Kent Passes through the areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) of the Surrey Hills and Kent Downs. Offa's Dyke Path Wales–England border Sedbury, Gloucestershire Prestatyn, Denbighshire Follows close to the border near the remnants of Offa's Dyke. Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path† England in Suffolk and Norfolk Knettishall Heath, Knettishall, Suffolk Cromer, Norfolk The two paths join at Holme-next-the-Sea. Pembrokeshire Coast Path Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales Poppit Sands, near St Dogmaels Amroth Has a total of of ascent and descent and lies almost completely within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Pennine Bridleway Pennines, Northern England Middleton-by-Wirksworth, Derbyshire Ravenstonedale, Cumbria Runs roughly parallel to the Pennine Way. Pennine Way Pennines, Northern England and Southern Scotland Edale, Derbyshire Kirk Yetholm, Scottish Borders Spans the length of the Pennines, according to the Ramblers, "one of Britain's best known and toughest" trails. The Ridgeway Berkshire Downs, Southern England Overton Hill, near Avebury, Wiltshire Ivinghoe Beacon, Buckinghamshire Ancient trackway on a chalk ridge described as Britain's oldest road. South Downs Way South Downs in Southern England Winchester, Hampshire Eastbourne, East Sussex Within the South Downs National Park. South West Coast Path (South West Way) England: Somerset, Devon, Cornwall & Dorset Minehead, Somerset Poole Harbour, Dorset Originated as a route for the Coastguard to walk from lighthouse to lighthouse patrolling for smugglers. Thames Path Southern England Kemble, Gloucestershire Thames Barrier, Charlton Follows the River Thames from its source to the Thames Barrier in London. Yorkshire Wolds Way Yorkshire, England Hessle, East Riding of Yorkshire Filey, North Yorkshire Runs around the Yorkshire Wolds. * †
Scotland: Great Trails
Scotland's Great Trails are long-distance "people-powered" trails (predominantly hiking trails but including cycling, horse-riding and canoe routes) in Scotland. NatureScot maintains the official list of Scotland's Great Trails and is the custodian of the brand, but responsibility for creating and maintaining each route lies with each local authority through which a route passes, although Scottish Natural Heritage provides some of the finance and publicity. There are 29 routes, offering of trails in total.
Each of the routes is clearly waymarked with a dedicated symbol, and run largely off-road. They range in length from , and are intended to be tackled over several days, either as a combination of day trips or as an end-to-end expedition. They are primarily intended for walkers, but may have sections suitable for cyclists and horse-riders. One of the trails, the Great Glen Canoe Trail, is designed for canoeists and kayakers.
Name Length Region Endpoint one Endpoint two Description mi km Annandale Way Solway Coast, Dumfries and Galloway Moffat Annan Follows the valley of the River Annan from its source in the Moffat Hills to the sea in the Solway Firth. Arran Coastal Way Isle of Arran N/A N/A Circular route around the coastline of the Isle of Arran. Ayrshire Coastal Path Ayrshire Glenapp, Ballantrae Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire Runs alongside the coast and forms part of the International Appalachian Trail. Berwickshire Coastal Path Scottish Borders and Northern England Cockburnspath, Scottish Borders Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland Coastal path spanning the Anglo-Scottish border.Borders Abbeys Way Scottish Borders N/A N/A Circular route in the Borders passing through the ruins of many abbeys: Kelso – Jedburgh – Hawick – Selkirk – Melrose.Cateran Trail Perth and Kinross and Angus Blairgowrie and Rattray N/A Circular route covering many conditions such as farmland, mountains and forest: Blairgowrie – Kirkmichael – Spittal of Glenshee – Alyth.Clyde Walkway South Lanarkshire Glasgow New Lanark Runs close to the River Clyde for most of its length.Cowal Way Cowal Peninsula, Argyll and Bute Portavadie Inveruglas on Loch Lomond Connects with the West Highland Way.Cross Borders Drove Road Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders Little Vantage, near Edinburgh Hawick One of the newest trails based on existing routes.Dava Way Moray Grantown-on-Spey Forres Follows the route of the former Highland Railway which closed in 1965.Fife Coastal Path Fife Kincardine Newburgh When opened it originally ran from North Queensferry to Tayport, but was later extended.Formartine and Buchan Way Aberdeenshire Dyce, near Aberdeen Fraserburgh and Peterhead Follows the track of the former railway line the Formartine and Buchan Railway which closed in 1970. The path branches into two sections at Maud.Forth and Clyde Canal Pathway Central Belt Bowling, West Dunbartonshire Fountainbridge, Edinburgh Runs between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde.Great Glen Canoe Trail Scottish Highlands Banavie, near Fort William Clachnaharry, near Inverness Coast-to-coast canoe trail on Caledonian canal and lochs.Great Glen Way Scottish Highlands Fort William Inverness Follows the Great Glen.Great Trossachs Path Trossachs Callander, Stirling Inversnaid on the bank of Loch Lomond In the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.John Muir Way Central Belt Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute Dunbar, East Lothian Named in honour of the Scottish conservationist John Muir, who was born in Dunbar in 1838 and became a founder of the United States National Park Service.Kintyre Way Argyll and Bute, Argyllshire Tarbert Machrihanish On the Kintyre peninsula.Moray Coast Trail Moray Forres Cullen Part of the North Sea Trail.Mull of Galloway Trail Dumfries and Galloway and South Ayrshire Mull of Galloway Glenapp, Ballantrae Created and maintained by the Rotary Club of Stranraer.River Ayr Way Southern Scotland Glenbuck, East Ayrshire Ayr, South Ayrshire Mostly follows the River Ayr.Rob Roy Way Perthshire and Stirlingshire Drymen, Stirling Pitlochry, Perth and Kinross Takes its name from Rob Roy MacGregor, a Scottish folk hero and outlaw of the early 18th century.Romans and Reivers Route Southern Uplands Ae Hawick Mostly follows former Roman roads.St Cuthbert's Way Scottish Borders and Northern England Melrose, Scottish Borders Lindisfarne, Northumberland Named after Cuthbert, a 7th-century saint, a native of the Borders who spent his life in the service of the church.Southern Upland Way Southern Uplands Portpatrick Cockburnspath, Berwickshire Coast-to-coast walk generally from west to east.Speyside Way Northern Scotland Aviemore Buckie, Moray Follows the River Spey through some of Banffshire, Morayshire and Inverness-shire.Three Lochs Way Highland Boundary Fault to the Southern Highlands Balloch, West Dunbartonshire Inveruglas, Argyll and Bute For much of the way it passes through the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.West Highland Way Scottish Lowlands to the Scottish Highlands Milngavie, near Glasgow Fort William, Highlands Scotland's first and most popular long-distance walking route.West Island Way Isle of Bute Kilchattan Bay Port Bannatyne The first waymarked long-distance route on a Scottish island.
Other UK long-distance paths Those included here meet the definition of a long-distance path as being around or more, particularly that they will take more than one day's walking to complete. Some shorter paths linking between major walks (e.g. Maelor Way) are also included.
Southern England