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[ursula]

Spousal Unit and I are avid hikers, and this year we'd like to do some walking in Britain.  We're thinking of Scotland, Yorkshire or the Lake District.  Anyone have suggestions, or experiences to share, or stories to distract me from my dreary day?

[yellowtractor]

Not quite what you asked, but:

Pembrokeshire.  Coastal.  Path.

(southern Wales)

--if you like coastal hiking, and don't mind the possibility of rain.

[scotia]

When do you plan to be here? And what type of hiking do you like? Yorkshire does not have the mountains you can find in the Lake District and Scotland (bearing in mind that the UK has relatively few mountains over 3,000 feet and Ben Nevis, the highest mountain, is only just over 4,400 ft). All three areas have lots of potential lower level hiking, including some long-distance hiking trails. 

Where I suggest would also be very dependent on the time of year. For example, no-one in their right mind hikes in large parts of the West of Scotland between mid-May and mid-September unless they have a mysterious personal insect repellent. The midges are rampant at that time and I have seen them reduce hardened men to tears of frustration. Similarly, if you are here during the English school holidays bits of the Lake District and Yorkshire can be over-run, but other bits can be relatively quiet.

[ursula]

We're planning on late June/early July.  Our usual hiking venue has been in the Canadian Rockies, or further north in the Yukon, where the insects can put all those wimpy British bugs to shame (seriously!  The mosquitoes make the moose run away!).  So, we're not that worried about insect life.

[theblondeassassin]

Check out the Coast to Coast walk for a classic walk. My father did it a few years ago. He's a pretty experienced walker and found some bits of it challenging but overall pitched about right. (The main thing he learned is not to drink out of the bottle marked Ribena.)

Wainwright's guides might be useful to you.

The Cotswold Way is closer to home for me, and I've done bits of it, the Ridgeway, and the South Downs Way. They're gentler, but still scenic. 

[scotia]

We're planning on late June/early July.  Our usual hiking venue has been in the Canadian Rockies, or further north in the Yukon, where the insects can put all those wimpy British bugs to shame (seriously!  The mosquitoes make the moose run away!).  So, we're not that worried about insect life.

Hm. One of the hardened men I referred to is a Canadian who told me that the midges would be no problem because he was "accustomed to bugs the size of horses". Two days on the West Highland Way in mid-July with the swarming little critters was too much for him.

The Coast-to-Coast is definitely one to consider. People normally do it west to east, with the prevailing wind at their back (and therefore with the rain not driving into their face), but I know people who prefer to do it the other way so that they have the grandeur of the Lake District towards the end. Mid-June - early July is before the English schools finish for the holidays (the Scottish schools finish at the end of June, but there are many fewer Scots than English) so the tourism honeypots should not be too bad.

In Scotland there are four main long distance paths, the best known of which is the West Highland Way (though no-one I know has completed it during the midge season, and I have known an number of people who have tried it). The Speyside Way is a lower level route in the north-east of Scotlan. Although it is usually described as running from the sea inland, the people I have spoken with have done it in the opposite direction. It passes a number of whisky distilleries en route (I am told they are warming on a damp day). I have done the Spey descent in a canoe - or, if I am honest, most of it in the canoe with a little bit of swimming to keep my adrenaline levels up - and would describe it as being through relatively gentle country when compared with the more mountainous areas. There is also the Great Glen Way, which runs from Fort William to Inverness, and finally the Southern Upland Way which runs close to the England Scotland border.

I'll give it some thought overnight and post more tomorrow. There is the Dales Way in Yorkshire, and the Pennine Way also runs through.

[wegie]

Surely you'd want to do the Wall Ursula?

Frankly, I'm with Scotia on avoiding western Scotland at that time of year. Even WH, who is toxic to all known biting insects is scared of the idea of doing the West Highland Way in summer.

Other possibilities might be Offa's Dyke, the South West Coastal Path (although that takes a while to complete) or Glendwr's Way -- if you don't mind rain, rain and a side order of heavy rain, I'd go for the latter, as it has a wonderful set of contrasts between the lush lands it starts and ends in, and the uplands it goes through -- and you can always take a day off half way through and seriously pamper yourself at Ynyshir Hall.

[llanfair]

Wegie beat me to Offa's Dyke, so I'll suggest coastal hikes in Cornwall - we found some great footpaths around Tintagel, for instance.  The views are stunning.

[ursula]

Wegie beat me to Offa's Dyke, so I'll suggest coastal hikes in Cornwall - we found some great footpaths around Tintagel, for instance.  The views are stunning.

We spent several days doing the paths aropund Tintagel a few years ago, and they were amazing.  The suggestion of The Wall appeals . . .

[euro_trash]

Wales and Scotland are great for hiking.  Don't underestimate the power of the summer sun in Scotland though.  I speak from experience.

[llanfair]

Hadrian's Wall is wonderful, and there are a lot of things to see en route as well.  We came at it from the western end (Carlisle) on our only trip there; next time, we're starting at Newcastle and going west.

[avidreader]

I've only hiked the Fife Coastal Path (http://www.fifecoastalpath.co.uk/) on the eastern side of Scotland and some bits in Skye (on the west coast). If you're interested in Scotland, the midges aren't bad on the east coast.

AR.

[scotia]

I've only hiked the Fife Coastal Path (http://www.fifecoastalpath.co.uk/) on the eastern side of Scotland and some bits in Skye (on the west coast). If you're interested in Scotland, the midges aren't bad on the east coast.

AR.

Plus, in the summer, the days are very long in Scotland, though some visitors find the near perpetual daylight very difficult to cope with (midnight golf without floodlights is feasible in the Orkneys in June).

With the British climate it can pay to have a Plan B. One family friend came to to hike the Coast-to-Coast path and had 10 straight days of rain, without a single glimpse of the sun, before he gave up. At the time I was living in Edinburgh and enjoyed sunshine with only the occasional scudding cloud and not a single drop of rain throughout the 10 days. The following year he did the whole thing, and had only two hours of rain during the hike (I think it took him 20 days, including a couple of extra days staying with friends along the route).

[professor_pat]

OhBoyOhBoy! So glad you started this thread. Mainly bookmarking - but SO and I hiked a bit of the Coastal Path in Cornwall and I loved it. I'm hoping we can do an extended walk this summer or next.

[wegie]

Also, for those of us getting soft in middle age (and/or wanting to go to a nice restaurant and wondering how to tote some decent clothes), there are plenty of firms that will cart your luggage from hotel/B and B to the next night's stop, leaving you to deal only with getting yourself and a day sack to the next location. I've used both Inntravel and Sherpa for holidays in Europe and heartily recommend either of them.