Collected Walking Destinations
Many good walking areas have their own dedicated websites so I have though it a good idea to offer a list here. This list used to live on blog sidebar but seeing how long that was and wanting to say a little about each entry caused the move to the dedicated page that you find here. Many of the websites for areas in the U.K. belong to national park authorities and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB). Scenic walking oases from the Irish Republic aren’t alone in falling outside of areas meeting those classifications since there are some unprotected parts that remain alluring and deserve more in the way of conservation than is the case at the moment. Wherever you decide to venture, enjoy what you find.
While it’s here for its hosting the Ballyhoura Mountains and the Galtees among others, a quick look at the website will demonstrate that its reach includes surrounding lowlands too. That means taking in a lot of counties Limerick, Cork and Tipperary. There’s a pretty wide mix of trip ideas on the website with walking and cycling having to share space with the rest. Still, there’s enough for getting a feel for what the area has to offer the visitor.
Not the best named of the national parks because the name only applies to one of the mountain ranges found within its boundaries. Others include the Black Mountain, the Black Mountains and the Carmarthen Fan. Naming aside, there is plenty here to be explored. I cannot say that I have been all that often but that means that there are plenty of reasons for a return.
Until I took a look of the map of this national park, I was convinced that I never really had ventured within its boundaries. It turns out that anyone who passes along the A9 between Pitlochry and Inverness or by rail will do so. On a summer stay a few years back, I even managed to go beyond passing through en route to somewhere else when I went for a walk around Kingussie. Other than that, my explorations have been minimal so a longer visit exploring the main part of the park further east is in order and there’s a hell of a lot to see here.
So far, this part of south Staffordshire has escaped my attentions and I even missed it when doing a round up of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Was it because of a certain gravitation towards hill country or that I was featuring places that I had frequented? Not knowing the answer to that is immaterial because this might be worth visiting if I am after somewhere more level for a day out.
It might be an AONB but I am sure that many pass it by as they journey to more famous hill country further west. I know that I certainly have though I could see myself visiting the area not too infrequently if I lived nearby. The Offa’s Dyke Path passes through these so that’s a definite route but apart from a day trip to Denbighshire, I haven’t really paid these hills that much attention.
Being kept busy exploring the crumpled bits of countryside in the north and west of Britain has meant that southern delights can escape my attention. Included among these is an AONB that takes in parts of Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. The countryside may be rolling rather than dramatic but that has its place too though I could foresee some busy spots with its being not too far way to large population centres in the south and midlands of England. Nevertheless, there are sure to be quieter parts and they may lure me in time.
Even those not inclined to wander through Welsh hill country should have heard of Snowdonia. Personally, I find the Welsh name Eryri more appealing than its English equivalent which to my ears sounds a little pretentious. No pretence is needed with regard to the quality of the countryside though with that surrounding the Rhinogs being very near to what you’d find in the Scottish Highlands. I have been here a good few times but there’s always much more to explore.
As if hosting three national parks weren’t enough, Yorkshire also has this AONB abutting the North York Moors National Park. The landscape is pastoral but that is not to say that it isn’t attractive to those who fancy somewhere to explore and walkers, cyclists and horseriders are welcomed.
So far, I have only managed the shortest of visits the Isle of Man but that has informed any plans to follow it up with other trips. Walking opportunities do seem to abound and Cicerone guides have been acquired after my spending so long fighting off the ideas. You’ll find more about the outing itself here but there may be more of them yet.
Lancaster: City, Coast & Countryside
The City of Lancaster council area is named confusingly for its sweep extends east as far as the Lancashire-Yorkshire boundary and takes in coastal fleshpots such as Morecambe too. It is for the Lune Valley and the Forest of Bowland that I have added it here. As with many sites of its type, it keeps its options open with regards to who it serves. Nevertheless, walkers and cyclists are far from being forgotten and it makes me wonder about any trip ideas that I have fashioned for up there.
It was an article regarding a learning project named Laganscape on the BBC News website that drew my attention to this part of Northern Ireland. The park extends for 17.6 km of the length of one of Northern Ireland’s major rivers and features a canal that once was a primary conduit for freight. All in all, there seems to be a lot to see here with the canal towpath offering something for longer distance walkers too.
Another of my regular haunts though there are some years where I spend more time there than others. It might be a walking honeypot but you can always escape the crowds, even if it’s only for a little while. Many visit and confine themselves to its towns and, while it makes for quieter hills, it is hard to fathom how you cannot experience the countryside instead of perambulating up and down a high street.
Nearby Snowdonia may get all the attention but this area has its merits too with its mix of attractive hills (Yr Eifl) and coastline; there’s a length path following the line of the latter. Its being a staunch stronghold of the Welsh language adds character so you need to know the Welsh placenames and not just their Anglicised variants in order to get about. There are wildlife havens such as Bardsey Island too so there should be something for everyone. In fact, I am left wondering why I haven’t been there before; maybe that’s something that I need to fix.
This is one of Scotland’s first national parks and its proximity to Glasgow makes it an invaluable place for that city’s citizens to escape the cares of modern life. It has the West Highland Way and the Rob Roy Way going through it so they offer a means of getting a sample of what’s here but there’s so much more than this too. I must admit that my explorations of the area have increased in recent years after passing through to locations further north and west. There’s a lot to be seen here and I suspect that exhausting it possibilities is nigh on impossible.
Greater Manchester wouldn’t strike anyone as an outdoors destination but it does have Pennine moors on its doorstep and there are green belts dispersed around the metropolitan county too. With some effort being put into facilities, it’s little wonder that they are being promoted like this and green spaces like them are invaluable for anyone living in the city itself (and always have been, by the looks of things).
This is no single forest but rather a network of smaller woodland areas across Cheshire and Merseyside. Though I did not realise it at the time, I encountered one of them on a cycling visit to Northwich. These were the Northwich Woodlands and I only sampled a little of their appeal from the saddle of my bike. Of course, there are more than these awaiting exploration on foot or by bicycle and the website tells you more.
These are the highest mountains in the Northern Ireland and, thankfully, are protected by an AONB too. There may be talks about a well-deserved National Park designation but that’s not imminent at the moment. While I haven’t paid a visit, it looks as if it would be worth my while doing so.
In some respects, this was a strange omission from the Yorkshire Dales National Park but geology can have a part to play as it did in the various discussions surrounding the establishment of the South Downs National Park. For some reason, I am left with the impression that this is gritstone country but there is pride here too and the comprehensive visitor website is testament to that. It hasn’t been a part of the world that I have visited so far but that may change.
Another AONB that could ignored in place of other better know spots. The Pennine Way allows the chance to get a flavour of what’s here but it looks as if there’s plenty of wilder country for a spot of decluttering of the mind. Following the Pennine Way could give you a taste of what’s here.
This is a Yorkshire National Park that has yet to see my footfall. Unsurprisingly, this is walking country too but it perhaps is better known from its appearances in television dramas and its preserved railway. With all that flowering heather in photos on the website, August sounds like a good time to pay the area a visit.
Apparently, this is the least visited of the national parks. I suppose that it’s too easy to keep going for the Scottish Highlands when you get up this far. I have been a few times but I cannot say that I have done anything but scratch the surface. There’s a hell of a lot of wild bumpy stuff about the Cheviot and the most challenging section of the Pennine Way passes though here.
Given that this AONB has the advantage of having beaches, I suspect that it could get visited by a fair few (local) folk when the weather is right. I have only ever walked here in January and there were a few taking in the sea air on what was a mild cloudy day. The other occasion that I have passed the way was on a bus from Alnwick to Newcastle and I still enjoyed what I saw, even if making my train home was uppermost in my mind.
I live on its doorstep so it should come as no surprise that I have had some hiking here. Even so, I don’t think that I have been in Derbyshire that much over the last few years so a return is order. It has been its Cheshire and Staffordshire fringes have attracted my attention. Given the national park’s location between Manchester, Sheffield and Derbyshire, its popularity should come as no surprise and there remain quieter spots if you are so inclined.
This national park exists to protect the wonderful coastline that is found here but it also includes the Preseli Hills too. Conveniently, a national trail passes through much of the wonders, allowing a good introduction to them.
This lot are protected by a regional park, which is just as well as the Edinburgh City Bypass acts as their northern boundary. I only paid them a visit recently and the heather-covered hills looked inviting. Edinburghers are really lucky to have them on their doorstep but I do wonder how many get the idea of exploring them. I know that I didn’t when I lived there and I had a good view of them from a one-time bedroom window.
It’s an estate near Aviemore in the Cairngorms National Park that is superbly located and with distinctive scenery to boot. It is surrounded by famous hills like Braeriach and Cairngorm as well as being at the northern end of the Lairig Ghru. This is countryside that is accessible to the less adventuring while the harder stuff is not too far away either.
This two word combination is probably famous the world over and justly so. They certainly keep drawing me back again and again.
A haunt of Andy Howell, the proximity of this bunch of largely deserted hills to Birmingham makes it surprising that more don’t come here. This part of Shropshire is an AONB and deservedly so. Bus services can be patchy so its best to be careful. Saying that, trains do a good job of getting you near the hills.
Just like its southern neighbour, Northern Ireland has its lesser known scenic areas so here’s one of them. From the walking point of view, there’s the Ulster Way and the Central Sperrins Way long distance trails to investigate along with other options. As if that isn’t enough, the hilly area’s an AONB too.
My discovery of this part of the world is virtual at the moment and, while the photos look idyllic, I really need to visit the area before I can say any more. The lower reaches of the Wye are what is being managed by this AONB. That ensures that the area extends into both England and Wales with the counties of Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire falling within its catchment.
Another of Yorkshire’s national parks and an area that offers so much to the hiker. The countryside is diverse too, ranging to the wide open spaces around Ribblesdale to the more pastoral country around Wharfedale.
