Distance
15 km is plenty
The classic first-timer mistake is to plan 25 km days because they look modest on paper. They aren't. Aim for 15 – 18 km days for your first trip and use the extra afternoon in the pub.
Who's coming · Beginners
Your first
long-distance walk.
Short, well-signed trails with gentle day lengths, a village at the end of most stages, and no navigation you can't do with the guidebook in one hand.
Your first big trail
Nothing about a first
long walk needs to be
hard.
A first long-distance walk is almost never as hard as people think it's going to be. The single biggest reason first-timers struggle isn't fitness or weather — it's day lengths that were too ambitious, or accommodation booked in the wrong village. Those are the two things we plan around.
Every trail on this page is well-waymarked, has beds in sensible places, and can be walked over stages of 15 – 20 km without any real ascent surprises. The kind of week where you finish each day tired but pleased, not broken.
Bags moved for you every morning, a walking notes pack that tells you where the pubs are, and — if you want it — our live tracking service in the background. Start here.
Trails to start with
Jump to map
Every trail is walked and re-walked before we open it. We'd rather do four brilliantly than forty badly.
Booking nowScotland
Fife Coastal Path
137 km · 4–6 days
The gentlest of our long walks. Almost no ascent, a village at the end of every stage, and the finest seafood pubs on the east coast.
Booking nowEngland
Dales Way South
65 km · 2–3 days
A long weekend up Wharfedale — flat riverside walking from Ilkley to Ribblehead, finishing under the great 24-arch viaduct.
Booking nowEngland
South Downs Way Experience
54 km · 2–3 days
The finest 54 km of the South Downs Way in a long weekend — Hassocks to Eastbourne over Ditchling Beacon and out along the Seven Sisters.
Booking nowEngland
Cumbria Way Experience
70 km · 3–4 days
The highlight 70 km of the Cumbria Way — Ulverston to Keswick through Coniston and Great Langdale, on well-trodden valley paths.
Booking nowScotland → England
St Cuthbert's Way
100 km · 4–6 days
Melrose Abbey to Lindisfarne. Short days, low ascent, a proper cross-border walk finishing across the tidal sands to Holy Island.
Booking nowScotland
Great Glen Way
127 km · 5–7 days
Flat towpaths beside Loch Ness the whole way if you want them — one of the easiest of the Scottish Great Trails, and the most sociable.
Booking nowMallorca, Spain
GR221 Experience
53 km · 3–4 days
The highlight 53 km of the GR221 in a long weekend — Estellencs to Sóller through Valldemossa and Deià. Warm, sunny and short.
Booking nowEngland
Dales Way North
66 km · 3–4 days
The northern half of the Dales Way from Ribblehead through Dent and Sedbergh, over into the Lake District and down to Windermere.
Where to start
Short trails, sensible
days, warm beds.
LiveComing 2026
Lines follow each trail's waypoints — live trail pages draw the full GPX route. Tap a line to see the trail.
First-timer notes
The bits nobody
tells you before
day one.
Feet
Wear the boots first
New boots on day one is the reason most beginners end up limping into day three. Wear yours for three long walks at home before you go. Merino liner socks under a walking sock stop 90 % of blisters.
Bags
You carry the day
Bag transfer is standard on every itinerary we sell. Your main luggage moves from bed to bed each morning; you walk with a 20-litre daypack. It changes the week.
Confidence
The tracker if you want it
Add our live tracking to any trip. A small GPS in your pack pings your position to the office through the day — a quiet safety net whether you're walking solo or with somebody.
From the journal
Notes for first-timers.
South Downs Way
Advice From Other Hikers: The South Downs Way
South Downs Way finishers on finding water, protecting your feet from hard chalk and flint, travelling light and timing the final walk into Eastbourne.
14 September 20264 min read
Fife Coastal Path
Finding quiet in the East Neuk
A slow afternoon between Elie and Crail, where the wind drops and the coastline lets you catch up with yourself.
12 May 20267 min read
Fife Coastal Path
Why we walk in shoulder season
May and September are the honest months on the Scottish coast. Fewer people, better light, and the weather you were probably going to get anyway.
2 April 20265 min read