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Long distance hiking: your ultimate beginners guide
Welcome to my ultimate beginners guide to long distance hiking in the UK.
I fell in love with long distance hiking several years ago after completing a marathon-distance walking challenge for charity. Since then i’ve completed several marathon and ultra-marathon distance walking challenges, walked all or part of several national trails, and I regularly do short and long distance walks at the weekend. My mission at Hike the long way is to help you enjoy the challenge and exhilaration of long distance hiking, as a beginner.
In this ultimate beginners guide to long distance walking in the UK I’m going to cover all the topics you need to know about how to start, where to go, how to train, what gear and equipment you’ll need, the best long-distance hiking routes and the best ultramarathons to try, and a whole lot more.
So, read on to explore the beginners guide.
[please note: I am updating this page on a regular basis – this is not the full guide yet!]
Walk or hike: What’s the difference?
In my mind – nothing!
There has recently been an explosion of interest in ‘hiking’ possibly driven by use of social media platforms such as Instagram, where hiking-related hashtags are used millions of times, showcasing stunning vistas and incredible mountain climbs from all over the world.
But while some may consider ‘hiking’ to be a more energetic version of ‘walking’, I don’t. I can just as easily walk 100 km, or 100 miles as i can ‘hike’ them. It still involves putting one foot in front of the other!
So, don’t get hung up on the words hike and walk – just do it your way and describe it however you like.
You’ll find both words used on hike the long way and I use them both interchangeably.
Different types of long distance walking
Wait, what? There are different types of long distance walking?
Yes! While for some people anything over 5 miles might seem like a long walk, in reality long distance walking falls into three broad types:
- Long day hikes (around 20 miles, 30km or more)
- Ultramarathons (26 miles or more)
- Long distance trails (tens or hundreds of miles, often completed as multi-day hikes or section by section)
Read on to find out more about each type…
Long day hikes
The sense of satisfaction in walking a long distance in a day makes it well worth the effort. For me that means indulging in whatever dinner I like, including desert, without feeling any guilt!
Covering around 20 miles (30 km) or so is a whole day’s walking, and depending on the time of year, may mean some walking in darkness at the beginning or end.
When you’re out all day you’re likely to need to carry slightly more gear, food and water than normal, unless you plan to stop at shops or pubs along the way. It’s a good idea to build in some good rest stops along the route too, especially if you’re new to walking longer distances.
Long distance day walks can be circular (starting and ending at the same point) or linear.
The advantage of a circular walk is that you don’t need to worry about transport back to the start point, but a linear walk always feels great – knowing you’ve covered the distance from A to Z.
To build up to long day hikes, start by slowly increasing the length of your regular walks, around 10% extra distance each time. If you have the option of varied terrain (like some hills!) then all the better, as it will work different muscle groups and improve your overall fitness.
Routes and guides
There are all sorts of routes for long day hikes, including walking sections of long distance trails. You are likely to find lots of local routes, so you don’t have to go far to start your training.
This is a great book for beginners to long distance walking, including handy hints and a few routes described (but note, no maps!)
Check out Long Distance Walking In Britain, on Amazon:
There are lots of walking books containing interesting routes around the UK for day walks of various lengths.
Here are a few of my suggestions:
Great British Walks: Countryfile – 100 Unique Walks Through Our Most Stunning Countryside
Pathfinder Guides: Lake District, outstanding circular walks
Pathfinder Guides: The Cotswolds, outstanding circular walks
Pathfinder Guides: The Peak District, outstanding circular walks
Cicerone Guide: Mountain Walking Snowdonia
If you’re already able to walk longer distances in a day then you should check out these websites to find the perfect long distance day walk:
The Walking Englishman lists long distance walks by distance, so you can find a suitable day walk of a distance that suits you.
The Long Distance Walking Association provides a list of paths that you can order by shortest-longest or vice versa. This is helpful for finding day walks and longer, multi-day walks.
If you think you might enjoy long distance walking with a group of like-minded individuals then you could join the Long Distance Walkers Association. They run regular long distance day walks for their members and occasional challenge walks too. They have 43 groups across Britain so you should be able to find a group local to you.
Challenge walks
There are several well-known challenge walks which, while not ultramarathon distance, are still great long-distance day walks. Often these are done for charity but you can also do them just for fun!
Below I’ve listed a few popular challenge walk, but you can also make up your own. I’ve run several challenge walks for my local Ramblers group Stag Walkers, doing 20 miles or more in a day, around the Hertfordshire hills!
National Three Peaks
The national three peaks challenge is one of the best hill walking time-limited challenges.
The three peaks challenge includes climbing the highest peak in each country of Great Britain; England, Scotland and Wales, within a 24 hour period, covering a total of 23 miles (37km) of walking, and driving between each peak.
Thousands of people take on the three peaks challenge every year, starting in Fort William before climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland (1,345m, 4,412ft), Scafell Pike in England (978m, 3,208ft) and Snowdon in Wales (1,085m, 3,559ft)
Due to the vast distances involved between each peak, you spend far more time in a car or bus than you do walking! And because it is such a gruelling challenge it’s highly recommended that you hire a driver (or persuade a non-walking friend) to drive you between each peak, so you can get some rest and focus on walking.
Part of the route will be done in darkness, so depending on what time you start your challenge, you may be walking uphill or downhill in the dark. Head torches are a mandatory part of your kit!
Many people choose to do the national three peaks with an organised team or challenge company, just to make the logistics easier, but you can take part on your own, ideally with a team of at least 4 people (plus drivers).
The Three Peaks Challenge company specialises in organising three peak challenges, so check them out, They also have some useful tips about organising your own team to take on the challenge.
Yorkshire Three Peaks
The Yorkshire three peaks challenge is a hugely popular walk that is often used as a practise for the national three peaks, but in itself is a significant challenge walk.
It all takes place in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the three ‘peaks’ are completed on foot in a circular route – so unlike the national three peaks challenge, you don’t need to drive between each peak.
The three Yorkshire peaks in the challenge include Pen-y-ghent, Whernside, and Ingleborough – and the challenge is usually completed with the peaks in that order, though they can be done in any order. The challenge is to complete the walk of 24 miles (38.6km), and 1585m (5200ft) of ascent (and descent!) in 12 hours or less,
The usual route starts and finishes in Horton-in Ribblesdale, where there is a car park and a selection of pubs. At busy times of year an overflow car park is often opened on one of the fields in the village.
The Pen-y-ghent cafe in Horton used to be the starting point for many yorkshire three peaks’ challengers, using the cafe’s historic clocking in and out machine to record the start and finish times of walkers. But sadly, the cafe has since closed and there is no indication of when it will reopen.
Please park considerately in the village if you decide to start from Horton. The thousands of people that take on the challenge each year can cause quite a nuisance for residents.
You can also start from Ribblehead, with the peaks in this order: Whernside, Ingleborough, Pen-y-ghent. Or from Chapel-le-dale, doing Ingleborough, Whenside, then Pen-y-ghent, however there is very little parking in Chapel-le-dale so is a more difficult starting point unless you are with an organised tour and dropped off.
I completed the Yorkshire three peaks challenge in the blisteringly hot summer of 2018 with a group of friends from my Rambler’s group Stag Walkers. We organised the challenge ourselves, including transport and logistics. I finished in a time of 11 hours 25 minutes, and at one point I didn’t think I would, with the temperatures hitting high 20s centigrade by 8am. This is a very tough challenge, especially if, like me, you find hills a struggle. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it.
I will be writing a guide to the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge soon, so do check back!
In the meantime, check out the Three Peaks Challenge company who my friend used to do her Yorkshire three peaks challenge in 2017. It’s not necessary to use an organised challenge operator, but they also have some useful tips for self-organised challenges.
London Moonwalk & Moonwalk Scotland
The London Moonwalk and the Moonwalk Scotland are circular walking challenges of a marathon length (26.2 miles, 42km) that take place at night in cities of London and Edinburgh respectively.
These night-time Moonwalk challenge events are organised by Walk the Walk breast cancer charity and participants are required to fund raise for the charity in order to take part (however, you don’t need to raise very much – so it’s not too difficult). Part of the challenge involves wearing a decorated bra, to raise awareness of the charity’s aims.
The Moonwalk London was my first ever challenge walk and was the event that got me into long distance walking! I’ve since done it another two times and have improved by finish time at each attempt. Around 15,000 people take part, with the majority of participants starting at midnight and finishing anywhere between six and 12 hours later.
The Moonwalk Scotland takes place in Edinburgh a few weeks after London but follows the same format. There are slightly fewer participants in the Edinburgh Moonwalk but it’s still a brilliant challenge walk. Edinburgh Moonwalk also offers the Over The Moon Moonwalk, which is twice round the Moonwalk route! A total of 52 miles (83km), making it an ultramarathon length.
Both the Moonwalk London and Moonwalk Scotland take place in the city on pavements, so it is a hard surface challenge walk.
Ultramarathons
When is a marathon an ‘ultra’ marathon? I hear you ask!
An ultramarathon, also sometimes called an ultra distance or ultrarun, is a footrace over a distance greater than a marathon (which is 26.2 miles, or 42.195 km). Don’t be alarmed by the mention of running though, many participants in ultramarathons are walkers, and even runners will often part-walk a race.
The draw of an ultramarathon is that it’s a test of endurance, rather than speed!
These are usually organised events, whereby participants sign up to take part. The route is often (but not always) marked on the ground with arrows, coloured ribbons, or similar, tied to posts, trees, fences. Some events provide participants with route cards with directions, while some challenges require participants to navigate as well – which makes it a bigger challenge all round.
One of the great things about ultramarathons is that they are easy to get into and the sense of achievement when you cross the finish line is completely addictive!
Many people chose to take on an ultramarathon to raise money for charity by doing it as a sponsored challenge. This is a fantastic way to motivate yourself to do the training required to complete the challenge, and enjoy it in the process.
My first ultramarathon was the 50km Thames Path Challenge in 2016, and I raised over £750 for Walk the Walk breast cancer charity. I took all year to train, doing smaller events as I built up to challenge day in September, and I was absolutely delighted when I completed it, without injury.
For me, it was the start of a slight obsession with ultramarathons. Taking my interest in long distance walking to a completely different level.
I’ve since completed challenges including the 50km Chiltern Challenge, 50km Brecon Beacons Trek (including Pen-y-Fan summit), 100km South Coast Challenge, and 106km Isle of Wight Challenge.
In 2020 I will be taking on the 100km London to Brighton Challenge, and possibly a couple of others!
Ultramarathon organisers
Several charities offer their own ultramarathon or long distance walking challenges, so if you have a favourite charity that you want to support, it’s worth checking out their website.
Most ultramarathon event organisers will encourage you to raise money for one of their nominated charities. Usually these are the bigger names, and you can choose which one you prefer.
Here are some ultramarathon event organisers that I recommend:
Action Challenge
I’ve done the majority of my events with Action Challenge and find them to be an excellent event organiser. They run a huge number of challenges in the UK and abroad, including some iconic events such as London to Brighton, Thames Path Challenge and overseas challenges like climbing Kilimanjaro! I’ve done nearly all of my ultramarathons with Action Challenge so far.
Check out the Action Challenge range of ultramarathons in the UK and abroad.
Global Adventure Challenges – Trek Fest
I did my Brecon Beacons 50km challenge with Trek Fest, and while it was a great challenge I felt that Action Challenge better supported its participants on the challenge itself. The route, however, was fantastic, and the atmosphere at base camp, with loads of people camping made it feel like a party. Global Adventure Challenges also offers other UK and overseas challenge events of different lengths and types.
Check out the Trek Fest ultramarathons available this year.
Threshold Sports
Runs the Threshold trail series including Race to the castle, Race to the stones, race to the king and Race to the tower.
I’ve heard great things about these ultras from people who have done them, and they are on my list for the near future!
Check out the ‘Race to’ series of Ultramarathons.
Long Distance Walking Association (LDWA)
The LDWA runs challenge events throughout the year. Most are less than a marathon distance (26.2 miles) but they have several that are ultramarathon length. They are often against a time limit and you may have to do your own navigation!
Check out the list of LWDA challenge events for this year.
It’s worth remembering that charity places are often at a reduced entry fee. This makes them an attractive option but bear in mind the amount of fundraising you are required to do. There are sometimes part-funded places that require a lesser minimum fundraising if you worry that you won’t be able to make the minimum amount for a fully-funded place.
The high levels of fundraising required for charity places are in part because the charity has to pay for your place at the event. Your fundraising then pays back that cost as well as providing them with valuable funds to carry out their charitable work.
If you want to raise money for a charity not supported by the event, or worry that you won’t be able to meet the minimum fundraising target set by the charity or organiser, you can usually still take part by self-funding your place and doing any sponsored fundraising separately if you want to.
When you do as many events as I and many other keen ultramarathoners do, it becomes impossible to raise money for charity every time. I now self-fund my event place and do any fundraising separately if I want to.
Taking on an ultramarathon is an exciting challenge and I highly recommend it! Since I started, I’ve found a fantastic community of other ultramarathoners and even converted several friends to it too.
Equipment for long distance hiking
Not sure what kit you need for long distance hiking, or looking for a packing list? Well here you go.
I’ve highlighted the main items that you will need when you’re taking on a long distance hike.
Best backpacks for long distance hiking
For day hikes you will need to carry some additional clothing, food, water and a few essential supplies. A good 20 to 30 litre backpack will usually be sufficient.
I’m a big fan of Lowe Alpine backpacks. They may not be the lightest but they fit me really well and the offer a huge range of bag sizes and style. I highly recommend their AirZone range, which keeps the bulk of the bag away from your back to reduce sweaty-ness! It works – I now wouldn’t buy a backpack without some sort of air-gap between me and the bag.
My favourite small backpack is my Lowe Alpine AirZone z20. I have had this 20 litre pack for several years and use it all the time – especially in the summer when I have less bulky clothing to carry.
My favourite 30 litre hiking backpack for long distance walking is my Lowe Alpine Z duo 30, which has a separate compartment at the bottom – ideal for waterproofs! It also has hip-belt pockets which are handy for tissues, small snacks and your phone (if it’s a small one). I use this a lot in the winter and it’s become my go-to backpack for 100km ultramarathons.
If you’re looking for a larger backpack to carry some overnight essentials, or for a multi-day long distance hike you should look at the following larger bags.
I bought my Lowe Alpine AirZone Camino Trek 35:45 litre women’s pack for doing some long distance trails and ultramarathons (though it became clear that it was far too big for ultras). The bungee cord at the front is useful for securing large or odd-shaped items on the go! This is the idea size for multi-day hikes.
This version is a women’s cut bag but there is a men’s one available too, though the new model doesn’t have a separate bottom compartment.
If you prefer a mesh front pocket to a bungee cord, and don’t want the split compartments, you could look at Lowe Alpine’s Airzone Trek 35:45 litre bag.
The bag above is a men’s version but a women’s 33:40 litre version is also available.
Please check back soon for more content – this is a guide in progress!