We love walking for many different reasons - it’s great exercise you can do from your doorstep, it gives a sense of freedom and calm away from day to day stress. You can make your walk as easy or as hard as you want and go out alone or in groups…. Walking is for everyone. Sometimes you just need a little more inspiration to extend your current horizons, and therefore we want to share with you how we got to be walking-addicts.

Cregennen Lakes with Cadair Idris mountain range in the background

During the recent times of lockdown and restrictions, many people have discovered that taking the dog for a little walk, going around the park to feed the ducks or strolling on the beach, is just great for body and mind. Without needing a big investment of money, time or training, it's something everyone can start today.

Whether you live in the centre of a city or in the countryside, have a look in your local bookshop, local tourist information centre, or a search on the Internet and you can probably find maps or booklets with walking routes in your immediate area. These booklets have local walks which in general are anywhere from 30 min to 2 - 3 hours. Pick a route that suits you, put on a sturdy pair of shoes and enjoy your walk. That's how we got into it: starting with the shorter ones and just added an extra few miles every now and then. We really liked the routes including a little pub at the end 😊 Doing these walks in the area where we lived, we then found that wherever we went on holidays or short weekends away, we looked for similar local walks to get out and explore the new area. There are many accommodation providers who share their best walks with their guests. (see Our favourite Walks)

It was a holiday to the Lake District, years ago, that really got us doing a few more strenuous walks. Moving around the area, gave us the great opportunity to enjoy many different routes with the most stunning scenery from different corners of the Lakes. While browsing in a quirky little bookstore, we came across Alfred Wainwright's “Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells”. This series of 7 books with the most fantastic detailed drawings and descriptions of the fells and peaks make you want to complete more and more. There are many folks who have used these as a tick list to complete all of them. In Scotland and Wales similar activities exist called respectively Munros and Nuttalls bagging.

If you rather stay a little closer to sea-level, you could choose to follow one of the many long-distance routes. In England and Wales, there are the National Trail routes and other non-affiliated ones. All routes are described in detail in books - most being signposted as well. When we lived in Berkshire, we discovered and completed two of these: the Ridgeway and the Thames Path. The sections closer to home, we walked in a single day, others we walked as part of a multi-day getaway with overnight stays. Depending on the area you walk through, public transport may or may not be an option. The routes are divided into sections doable by most in a day. Distance depends on the difficulty of the route and the proximity to a village/town with amenities to either stay overnight or find transport connections.

Now living in Wales, we have started on the Wales Coast Path’s 870 miles from Chester to Chepstow, showing the best of the Wales coastline. The Wales Coast Path is the first path in the world to follow a country’s coastline in its entirety. In Chepstow, you could complete the circle on the Offa’s Dyke path, a route just short of 80 miles along the Wales-England border.

For us to chose our next adventure is not going to be easy, we are really spoiled for choice as there are several different route coming through or close by to Dolgellau:

The Snowdonia Way, 97 miles, that takes you through the mountains of Snowdonia from Machynlleth to Conwy. This route is divided into 6 sections with the option to take the main low-level route, or the longer (122 miles in total) mountain route - either way you’ll have an overnight stop in Dolgellau.
Glyndŵr’s Way is an 135 mile (217 Km) long National Trail meandering through the open moorland, rolling farmland, woodland and forest of mid-Wales. Starting in Knighton and ending in Welshpool, the closest stop for us is Machynlleth. The Trail is named after Owain Glyndŵr’, Prince of Wales and Medieval Welsh nationalist leader who organised a rebellion against the English king, Henry IV in 1400.
Mary Jones Walk follows the route a 15 year-old girl called Mary Jones walked in 1800 (26 miles) from Llanfihangel-y-Pennant to Bala to buy a bible in Welsh.
Cambrian Way A tough high level Coast to Coast walk through wildest Wales from Cardiff to Conwy. Distance 298 miles (479km) - ascent approximately 74,000 feet (22,500 metres)

Have you been inspired to go out for a walk? Great, just do it!

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