The dramatic forest trail that is the best walk in the UK

A long walk on a Sunday afternoon is as much a British pastime as drinking cups of tea or debating whether a Yorkshire pudding deserves a place in a Christmas dinner. Sometimes, a deep whiff of the fresh country air and a couple of hours stomping through the undergrowth is the only way to truly reset before the start of a new week.

A new study has revealed the best strolling routes that the UK has to offer. Camping gear retailer Go Outdoors scored popular UK walking routes using TripAdvisor ratings. To be in with a chance of winning, each walk had to finish within easy reach of a pub, and boozer reviews (and how often roast dinners were mentioned by punters) were considered among the criteria.

Top spot went to Padley Gorge Circular in the Peak District. The 9.5km walk, which starts and ends at 17th-century pub The Grouse Inn, winds through ancient woodlands and rolling hills. There’s even a corridor of rhododendron bushes to rustle through. Much of the walk takes you along the bank of the babbling Burbage Brook which, lined with moss-covered rocks, is filled with the earthy scent of heather in the summer months. If that alone doesn’t convince you that you’re ambling through a children’s story book, the walk ends by Toad’s Mouth Rock – a rock formation with a toad’s eye carved into it. 

Second place in the ranking went to the route around Studley Royal Park, which is home to the ruins of Fountains Abbey – one of the first places in the UK to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. East Sussex’s Arlington Reservoir, a relaxed, easy-going trail through grassy tracks and pastureland around the body of water, placed third.

The best Sunday strolls in the UK, according to Go Outdoors.

1. Padley Gorge Circular, Peak District
2. Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Walk, North Yorkshire
3. Arlington Reservoir, East Sussex
4. Tarn Hows Circular, Lake District
5. Windermere Western Shore, Lake District
6. Hampstead Heath Circular, London
7. Cheddar Gorge Trail, Somerset
8. Alfriston & Cuckmere Valley Walk, East Sussex
9. Chess Valley and the Cricketers Circular, Hertfordshire
10. Malham Cove and Gordale Scar Circular, Yorkshire Dales

Did you see that this 800-year-old castle is getting a massive £18 million revamp?

Plus: the best beach in Northern England has pristine sand, excellent birdwatching and ‘Outstanding Natural Beauty’.