Distance: 19½km/12 miles
Time: 6hrs
Type: Riverside
Where: Circular walk from Chelmondiston via Shotley Gate.
Start/End: Chelmondiston car park (TM204372).
Terrain: Mostly easy shoreline and field-edge paths, with some quiet country lanes.
Maps : OS Explorer 197; Landranger 169.

The 67km/42-mile Stour & Orwell Walk – which links up with the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Path at Felixstowe – goes around two of the most beautiful estuaries in East Anglia. The Shotley Peninsula separates the Stour and Orwell rivers, which meet at historic Harwich Harbour. Harwich is one of the biggest ports in Europe, and Felixstowe opposite is the largest container port in Britain. You’ll have excellent views across to both ports on this walk, which, by contrast, is mostly along stretches of unspoilt shoreline – ideal for bird-watching. The estuaries are renowned for their wildlife, with many thousands of birds spending the winter along the riverbanks. They are also popular with sailors – their boats dwarfed by the enormous container ships – so there’s always lots of activity to watch on the water. The last leg of the route, which cuts back across the peninsula, is along quiet country lanes.

Click here to download a route card

Click here to download the GPS data for this route as a GPX file

Click to enlarge

Click here for instructions on how to use Walk’s Routemaster Guides

Click here for instructions on how to use Walk’s Routemaster Guides

Click here to upload photos taken along this route

Distance: 21km/12 miles
Time: Time 5-6hrs
Type: Moorland
Where: Circular walk from Dunsop Bridge in the Forest of Bowland.
Start/End: Dunsop Bridge (SD660501).
Terrain: Boggy moorland, with some steady ascents, stiles and a small stretch of paved road.
Maps : OS Explorer OL41; Landranger 103.

Hang your hat amid the sheer, isolated desolation of Whitendale Hanging Stones and – says the Ordnance Survey – you’re at the very centre of Great Britain and its outlying islands. But there is more to Bowland than merely massaging your inner pedant. A remote Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it hosts the UK’s largest breeding site for hen harriers, and is also home to merlins, short-eared owls and ring ouzel. The 17th-century Pendle witches, outrageously accused of murder by witchcraft, hailed from here too. What’s more, Bowland isn’t really a forest (much of the area is moorland) but retains the name as a former royal hunting forest, as the New Forest does. But it proved too arduous a journey for the gentlemen of London, and ownership deteriorated into something of a free-for-all. The Duke of Westminster now owns a sizeable chunk. This mixed history made Bowland a cause célèbre among campaigners demanding the right to roam and, perhaps in recognition of this, Bowland was the first area to be opened up under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Click here to download a route card

Click here to download the GPS data for this route as a GPX file

Click below to see a route profile and view the route on an Ordnance Survey map

Click here for instructions on how to use Walk’s Routemaster Guides

Click here to upload photos taken along this route

Distance: 18km/11 miles
Time: 7½hrs
Type: Type Hill
Where: Circular walk from St John’s in the Vale, over Clough Head and the Dodds, with a return over High Rigg (or along the valley).
Start/End: Wanthwaite (NY316231).
Terrain: Stony track and grassy fell, with a steep but straightforward ascent and descent and easy walking over high, grassy tops.
Maps: OS Explorer OL5; Landranger 90.

The lovely valley of St John’s in the Vale is one of the quieter areas of the Lake District, the fells
either side of it far less frequented than many elsewhere. To the east lies the northern end of the
Helvellyn range, a great ridge of fells whose highest point, Helvellyn, is the most climbed mountain in Lakeland. It can get very busy up here, but just a few miles away – north of Sticks Pass – the broad, grassy tops of the Dodds and Clough Head afford equally fine views, but without the crowds. To the west of the valley is a small, much lower fell referred to as High Rigg (also known locally as Naddle Fell),
which stands on its own surrounded by its much loftier neighbours. This, too, affords solitude and super views – but with much less effort – and is a good option for a short day’s walk (with a return along the valley) if the weather isn’t suitable for the higher fells.

Click here to download a route card

Click here to download the GPS data for this route as a GPX file

Click below to see a route profile and view the route on an Ordnance Survey map

Click to enlarge

Click here for instructions on how to use Walk’s Routemaster Guides

Click here to upload photos taken along this route

Distance: 10km/6 miles
Time: 4hrs
Type: Forest and waterfall
Where: Circular walk from Inverfarigaig to the Falls
of Foyers.
Start/End: Forestry Commission car park, Inverfarigaig (NH522238).
Terrain: Waymarked paths, forestry tracks and minor roads, with some steep sections and areas of boggy, heathery moorland.
Maps : OS Explorer 416; Landranger 26.

The Falls of Foyers are a mustsee on any visit to Loch Ness. Robert Burns, visiting the area on the then newly built military Wade road, called the Falls a “horrid cauldron”. Today’s visitors have the benefit of wellmade wooden steps and safety railings from which to admire this series of impressive falls, including one drop of more than 100ft. This lovely circular walk – which includes short sections of the South Loch Ness Trail – takes you through conifer plantations to viewpoints over the loch and on to the falls (and an adjacent café). Although you may not spot Nessie, there’s a good chance of seeing red squirrels en route.

Click here to download a route card

Click here to download the GPS data for this route as a GPX file

Click below to see a route profile and view the route on an Ordnance Survey map

Click to enlarge

Click here for instructions on how to use Walk’s Routemaster Guides

Click here to upload photos taken along this route

Distance: 14km/9 miles
Time: 4hrs
Type: Canal and forest
Where: Linear walk along the Crinan Canal between Crinan and Ardrishaig.
Start/End: Crinan Basin car park (NR787943). Ardrishaig (NR853853).
Terrain: Level walking, predominantly along the canal towpath, with a short section of minor road.
Maps: OS explorer 358; Landranger 55.

The Crinan Canal is frequently called the most beautiful short-cut in Scotland: the short-cut being between the Sound of Jura at Crinan and Loch Fyne at Ardrishaig, which avoids a long diversion around the Kintyre peninsula for boats sailing between the Clyde estuary and the Inner Hebrides. The towpath that hugs the 14km/9 miles of the canal provides a relaxed linear walk through some of Scotland’s finest scenery. Work started on the canal in 1794 under the guidance of the civil engineer John Rennie, but problems with the design and locks meant it was not completed until 1816, after a major redesign by the great Thomas Telford. The 15 locks along the Crinan Canal are not automated, so anyone can help to open and close them, making for a fun addition to this superb walk.

Click here to download a route card

Click here to download the GPS data for this route as a GPX file

Click below to see a route profile and view the route on an Ordnance Survey map

Click to enlarge

Click here for instructions on how to use Walk’s Routemaster Guides

Click here to upload photos taken along this route

Distance: 191⁄2km/12 miles
Time: 6-7hrs
Type: Hill and valley
Where: Circular walk from Cwmdeuddwr via Maen serth, Crugyn Ci and the elan valley trail.
Start/End: Cwmdeuddwr, near Rhayader, parking area near road junction (SN966678).
Terrain: Clear hill tracks and paths, with a short stretch of quiet road.
Maps : OS explorer 200; Landranger 147.

Rhayader lies at the heart of Wales, situated in the beautiful upper Wye valley. With the nearby elan valley reservoirs – known as the lakeland of Wales – and the surrounding quiet rolling hills, it makes an ideal centre for walkers. The elan valley dams were built in the late 1890s to supply the rapidly growing city of Birmingham with clean water. Farms, cottages, a church, a chapel and other buildings were submerged by the rising waters. The elan valley visitor Centre tells the story of the construction of the dams, while walkers (and cyclists) can view these impressive victorian engineering feats from the elan valley Trail – a 13km/8-mile level route following the track-bed of the old Birmingham Corporation Water Works railway, from Cwmdeuddwr to Craig Goch Dam. This walk combines the best of both worlds, heading up over the hills to start with and returning along the gentle valley Trail.

Click here to download a route card

Click here to download the GPS data for this route as a GPX file

Click below to see a route profile and view the route on an Ordnance Survey map

Click here for instructions on how to use Walk’s Routemaster Guides

Click here to upload photos taken along this route

Distance: 20km/121⁄2 miles
Time: 6hrs
Type: Downland
Where: Linear walk start- ing from Osmington to Ab- botsbury along the South Dorset Ridgeway.
Start/End: The Sunray pub, Osmington (SY725828). Abbotsbury, bus stop opposite the Ilchester Arms (SY576854).
Terrain: Well-signed downland ridge-top trail, following the South Dorset Ridgeway.
Maps: OS Explorer OL15; Landranger 194.

The South Dorset Ridgeway, 27km/17 miles long, is the new name for what used to be known as the Inland Coast Path. It’s an alternative to a stretch of the South West Coast Path between West Bexington and Osmington Mills, taking an inland route and avoiding the built-up area around Wey- mouth. It’s a very fine walk in its own right, with good views seawards from the ridges and a wealth of ancient monuments – notably tumuli and barrows, as well as henges and stone circles. The Hardy Monument on Black Down marks the highest point of the route, and is one of a number of excellent viewpoints on the walk. This route omits the beginning and end of the South Dorset Ridgeway, start- ing instead at Osmington and finishing in the lovely village of Abbotsbury, from where you can catch the bus back to the start.

Click here to download a route card

Click here to download the GPS data for this route as a GPX file

Click below to see a route profile and view the route on an Ordnance Survey map

Click to enlarge

Click here for instructions on how to use Walk’s Routemaster Guides

Click here to upload photos taken along this route

Distance: 18km/11 miles
Time: 5-6hrs
Type: Woodland and heath
Where: Circular walk from Brockenhurst to Bank, via Black Knowl and the Tall Tree Trail.
Start/End: Brockenhurst train station (SU302019).
Terrain: Woodland tracks and heathland trails. The trails can get lost, so a compass is recommended.
Maps :

The New Forest is one of the largest-surviving swathes of ancient forest in South East England. For centuries it was a royal hunting ground, and then a major source of ship-building timber for the Royal Navy. It has a patchwork of mixed forestry, open heath and unenclosed pasture accessible straight off the train at Brockenhurst.

Click here to download a route card

Click here to download the GPS data for this route as a GPX file

Click below to see a route profile and view the route on an Ordnance Survey map

Click to enlarge

Click here for instructions on how to use Walk’s Routemaster Guides

Click here to upload photos taken along this route

Distance: 23km/14½ miles
Time: 7½hrs
Type: Hill
Where: Circular walk from Clun along stretches of the Shropshire Way and Offa’s Dyke Path, via the Cefns and Llanfair Hill.
Start/End: Clun Memorial Hall car park (SO302811).
Terrain: Well-marked paths following stretches of the Shropshire Way and Offa’s Dyke Path over grassy rolling hills, with some quiet country lanes.
Maps : OS explorers 201 and 216; Landranger 137.

‘Clunton and Clunbury, Clungunford and Clun/Are the quietest places under the sun’ are the oft-quoted lines from AE Housman’s A Shropshire Lad. Though doubtless not as quiet as it was in his day, Clun is still a very tranquil and charming village. Situated within the Shropshire Hills AONB, it nestles on the banks of the River Clun, surrounded by hills – an ideal base for walkers. Its most picturesque feature is the medieval packhorse bridge (unfortunately, used today by an A road). Nearby are the imposing ruins of the Norman castle, from which there are fine views over the surrounding countryside. Much of this walk follows stretches of the well-marked Offa’s Dyke Path and Shropshire Way. The former includes arguably the Path’s finest section over Llanfair Hill, and the latter offers a super route around the Shropshire Hills AONB or an excellent set of day walks.

Click here to download a route card

Click here to download the GPS data for this route as a GPX file

Click below to see a route profile and view the route on an Ordnance Survey map

Click to enlarge

Click here for instructions on how to use Walk’s Routemaster Guides

Click here to upload photos taken along this route

Distance: 221⁄2km/14 miles
Time: 6-7hrs
Type: Coast
Where: Linear walk from Llanrhystud to New Quay, along the Ceredigion Coast Path.
Start/End: Llanrhystud parking area/lay-by (SN535694). New Quay (SN390599).
Terrain: Well signed coastal path along beaches, fields and low cliffs. A short stretch of beach near the end is impassable at high tide, with an alternative
by road.
Maps: OS explorer 213 and 198; Landranger 135, 146 and 145.

Stretching from the Dyfi Estuary in the north to the Teifi in the south, the 96km/60-mile Ceredigion Coast Path was officially opened in 2008. It was a significant step towards creating the continuous coast path round Wales, which finally opens next spring. Much of the work that was needed to complete the Path – such as clearing and excavating new paths and installing bridges, gates and stiles – was undertaken by volunteers, most notably from the Ceredigion Ramblers. The whole route can be very comfortably covered in a week’s holiday, but there are useful bus services to facilitate day walks – such as this one. It’s a very varied route, each section having its own character quite distinct from the others. This stretch is one of the gentler ones, but every bit as attractive.

Click here to download a route card

Click here to download the GPS data for this route as a GPX file

Click below to see a route profile and view the route on an Ordnance Survey map

Click to enlarge

Click here for instructions on how to use Walk’s Routemaster Guides

Click here to upload photos taken along this route