Long-Distance Walks in England and Beyond: Routes, Kit Lists, and Lessons Learned

I walk regularly, whatever the weather. Long walks bring a clarity of mind that a short stroll never does, and in my mid-40s I started walking further: six days to Canterbury, five days to Lindisfarne, two weeks up the coast of Portugal and Spain to Santiago de Compostela.

Those three pilgrimages became my memoir, Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways. But I’ve also written up the day-by-day routes, the canal and coast walks near my home in Bath, my ultramarathons, and what I carry, and I’ve talked to other long-distance walkers on the podcast.

This page gathers all of it in one place, so you can plan your own walk.

Multi-day walks and pilgrim routes

The Pilgrims’ Way: six days from Southwark Cathedral, London, to Canterbury. Chaucer’s route and Becket’s, about 180 kilometres through south-east London, the North Downs, and the orchards of Kent. Day-by-day distances, where I stayed, and what I’d do differently. Then the reflective version: This Too Shall Pass, thoughts from the Pilgrims’ Way.

The St Cuthbert’s Way: five days from Melrose to Lindisfarne, Holy Island. Across the Scottish Borders and the Cheviot Hills to the Northumberland coast, ending with the crossing to Holy Island at low tide. About 115 kilometres, with a storm on day two.

The Camino Portuguese Coastal Route: Porto to Santiago de Compostela. Around 300 kilometres in 14 days along the Atlantic coast of Portugal and Galicia. The overview links to every day’s walk. Start with decisions to make, packing, and what to leave behind, then the audio version, A Pilgrim in the Path of History.

The interviews, questions to consider, and everything else on pilgrimage are on my Pilgrimage Resources page.

Canal and coast walks

Walk the Kennet and Avon Canal from Bath Spa to Bradford on Avon. My regular walk, a stone’s throw from the tourist crowds: locks, herons, the Dundas and Avoncliff aqueducts, and a pub at the end. Continue east with Devizes to Bradford on Avon, past the Caen Hill flight of locks.

Walk the South West Coast Path from Lyme Regis to Seaton. Eleven kilometres through the wooded Undercliff that took me four and a half hours. Harder than it looks, and a bus back at either end.

Walk the South Bank of the Thames from Tower Bridge to Westminster. Five kilometres of river, markets, cathedrals, and theatres. The city walk I do every time I’m in London.

Ultramarathons and long days

Walk Your Own Race: lessons from walking a 50km ultramarathon. Four events started and three finished, from the Race to the Stones 100km to the Chiltern Challenge. Preparation, event day, why it’s sometimes right to give up, and how long 50 kilometres really takes on foot.

What I carry

Multi-day walking kit list. Everything I carried for six days on the Pilgrims’ Way in October, from the Osprey pack down to the ziplock bags. Day hike and ultramarathon kit list is the lighter version.

Conversations with walkers

Solo long-distance walking in England with Holly Worton. What makes a walk long-distance, why walking alone works, and the South Downs Way.

Facing fears and finding resilience in midlife with Zoe Langley-Wathen. All 630 miles of the South West Coast Path for a significant birthday, and the bigger goal that followed.

Adventure, walking, and My Midsummer Morning with Alastair Humphreys. A walk across Spain with a violin, in homage to Laurie Lee.

To the End of the Earth: walking the Camino de Santiago with Bradley Chermside. How a physical journey triggers inner change, and what happens when you meet the best and worst of yourself on the same path.

British Pilgrimage: On This Holy Island with Oliver Smith. The revival of walking pilgrimage in Britain.

The book that came out of the walking

You can hear more walking episodes on the Books and Travel podcast. Wherever you’re heading, walk your own race, and enjoy the journey as much as the destination.