An incredible 2,300-mile trek will soon link all 15 of the UK’s national parks

Have you got five months to spare and years of hiking expertise? If you find yourself in this highly specific situation, there’s a new 2,300-mile trek that might just be for you.

The Slow Ways National Parks Trail links all 15 of the UK’s national parks to create an epic walk through Britain’s most mesmerising landscapes. John Scott, the first to ever complete the intrepid route, has called it the UK’s answer to the Appalachian Trail. 

Hold on to your hiking boots: this trail is not for the faint-hearted. Made up of 253 individual routes and spanning three countries, it’s one of the more challenging hikes in the UK to say the least. But those who can manage it will witness views across the Lake District, the Pembrokeshire coast, Snowdonia, the New Forest and more. 

Beginning in Cromer near the Norfolk Broads, the National Parks Trail passes along the perimeter of the English south, before entering Wales at the Brecon Beacons and rejoining England for a trip to the Peak District. Then, it’s up north for the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District, before heading along the lochs and glens of Scotland’s national parks to the finish line at Nairn. 

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The trail is crowdsourced by Slow Ways, an initiative that’s building a national network of publicly reviewed hikes. Each route requires three positive reviews on the Slow Ways website to verify its safety. Given the size of the trail, the company has turned it into a challenge – The National Park Trail Challenge – which asks participants to review small sections. 

‘As expected it is not yet fit for purpose as a long-distance trail,’ Scott told the Times. ‘We need more local people to join in with Slow Ways, helping to check not just their part of the national parks trail, but routes that connect other places too.’

Not everyone is cut out for 2,300 miles trekking through the UK’s mountains and mud. But even if it’s just a small section of the route, the Slow Ways National Parks Trail is a great way to experience the great outdoors – in all its gorgeous, gargantuan glory.

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