While walking is often its own reward in the UK thanks to the big skies, endless views and the sense of achievement as you scale a mountain (or hill), ticking off a world-famous landmark en route is even more rewarding. From quick two-hour hikes that deliver jaw-dropping views across Edinburgh to 90-mile excursions traversing Hadrian’s Wall, we’ve compiled the UK’s best landmark walks.
Landmark walks
Hadrian’s Wall
While you’re striding along the remains of Hadrian’s Wall – which was built in A.D. 122 to protect Roman England from Scotland – it’s easy to get lost in the reverie, imagining yourself as a Roman warrior or ransacking Celt with vivid historical reminders at every turn. Crossing coast-to-coast, the 84-mile trek takes in Roman forts, houses and settlements, all protected as a World Heritage Site.
Arthur’s Seat
A truly magical city full of history, incredible Georgian architecture and more art, culture and festivals than some countries combined, it can sometimes be a little hard to appreciate Edinburgh from street level. Thankfully, Arthur’s Seat is on hand. This 284-metre-tall extinct volcano at the end of the Royal Mile in Holyrood Park offers magnificent views across the Scottish capital, Edinburgh Castle, the Firth of Forth and back to the Pentland Hills. The highest point in and around the city, there are several ways to the top. If you really want to stretch your legs, opt for the Purple Route which takes in Salisbury Crags, while families and less experienced hikers can take the sign-posted Red or Green routes which are more relaxed.
St Michael’s Mount
There’s so much to love about Cornwall, and the hike around St Michael’s Mount takes in some of our favourite parts. The star of the show is St Michael’s Mount, a rocky fairytale island home to a 12th-century medieval castle and church with coastal views back towards the Lizard Peninsula. The 12-mile day hike loosely follows the route taken by pilgrims and missionaries thousands of years ago as they crossed from Lelant near St Ives on the North Coast to Marazion on the South Coast culminating at St Michael’s Mount.
Hadrian’s Wall, Cumbria to Tyneside
- Total Distance: 84 miles
- Time to Walk: 6 days
- Best Time to Visit: Spring/Summer
- Difficulty: Medium
There’s plenty to enjoy beside its historical significance too. The trail takes hikers through Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and Carlisle, giving you a taste of urban hiking. Meanwhile, the Solway saltmarsh on the west coast is a stunning wetland nature reserve home to a wide range of wading birds and the ultra-rare natterjack toad.
Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh
- Total Distance: 3 miles
- Time to Walk: 2 hours
- Best Time to Visit: Any
- Difficulty: Easy/Medium
The whole hike should take around two hours, but budget for plenty of stops on the way to take in the views, time to explore the 2,000-year-old hill forts dotted around the park and to allow for queues. After all, hikes this good and this close to the city centre can get busy, especially during the weekend. Parking in Edinburgh is tricky at the best of times, so, if you can, use public transport to get there and back or hope for a space near Holyrood Palace.
St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall
- Total Distance: 12.5 miles
- Time to Walk: 6 hours
- Best Time to Visit: Any
- Difficulty: Easy/Medium
A one-way trip with clear signposts, the trail takes in Trencom Hill and jaw-dropping views over both coastlines before emerging into farmland, sub-tropical gardens and St Michael’s Mount. You’ll need to time your hike to the twice-daily low tide if you want to walk the causeway, but not to worry, there are plenty of passenger boats to ferry you over in the event of a miscalculation.
Glen Affric
Loch Ness is simply huge: the largest body of water in the UK, it contains more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined. As you’d expect, there are dozens of hiking routes in the region, including the Great Glen Way which runs alongside Loch Ness on its way from Fort William to Inverness. But while Loch Ness might be the tourist hot spot, there are better hiking gems off the main trail including Glen Affric, commonly referred to as the ‘most beautiful glen in Scotland’.
Stonehenge
A truly iconic, world-famous location, Stonehenge still has the power to stop you in your tracks. A Neolithic burial place nearly 5,000 years old, the ring of standing stones remains one of the most mysterious and captivating sites in the UK and the most sophisticated ancient stone circle in the world. But how did they arrange the 83 stones in concentric circles, with the biggest weighing around 25 tonnes and originating over 140 miles away? Who did it? And why did they do it?
Giant’s Causeway
While it remains your choice whether you want to believe the Giant’s Causeway was created by duelling giants either side of the Irish Sea or, more scientifically, that the World Heritage Site was the product of 40,000 rapidly cooling columns of lava 60 million years ago, we’re just here to urge you to make the journey to Northern Ireland and County Antrim to see for yourself along the Giant’s Causeway Coast Way.
Glen Affric, Loch Ness, Scotland
- Total Distance: 9 miles
- Time to Walk: 5 hours
- Best Time to Visit: Summer/Autumn
- Difficulty: Medium
If you were to imagine the archetypal Scottish glen, Affric would be it with snow-speckled mountains framed by the remains of the Caledonian Forest, all perfectly mirrored in the wonderfully calm and still Affric Loch. As well as one of the most serene and wild slices of nature in the UK, the hike takes you near the most remote Youth Hostel in the country at Alltbeithe, provides breathtaking views across to Loch Ness and – if you’re patient and quiet enough – you might even glimpse a herd of stags in the autumn or winter. The best place to park is the River Affric car park, but it can get very busy in peak summer months so come early if you can.
Stonehenge, Wiltshire
- Total Distance: 5 miles
- Time to Walk: 2.5 hours
- Best Time to Visit: Any
- Difficulty: Easy
While we don’t have the answers to those questions, we can tell you about the best hiking route that not only takes in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site but also Durrington Walls, thought to be the largest village in Northern Europe from 2800 B.C. to 2100 B.C. with around 1,000 houses. The five-mile round trip from Woodhenge car park also takes you past Bronze Age barrows and along a disused WWI train track. It also leaves plenty of time to properly explore Stonehenge and ponder some of the site’s magic and mystery.
Giant’s Causeway Coast Way, Northern Ireland
- Total Distance: 33 miles
- Time to Walk: 2 days
- Best Time to Visit: Summer
- Difficulty: Easy
During the 33-mile hike, you’ll come across big-sky terrain, wide sandy beaches that belie the 10°C water, near untouched fishing villages and dramatic shoreline cliffs descending almost vertically into the deep blue. The Giant’s Causeway appears roughly halfway around the two-day trail that starts at Portstewart and finishes at Ballycastle. There are plenty of shorter walks around the region as well, ranging from quick one-mile jaunts to the five-mile Cliff-top Experience which takes in the ruins of Dunseverick Castle and awe-inspiring views across to remote Scottish Islands.
