The greatest walking route in the UK, according to Time Out

With its clear skies and balmy weather, there’s no better time to explore the Great British outdoors than the summer. Trees are in full bloom, lakes glimmer in the sun and the views go on for miles and miles.

So, to help you get out there and make the most of this nation’s glorious landscapes, Time Out has put together a guide to the 10 best hikes in the UL right now. And at number one is a walk that includes sea views, rolling green hills, dramatic ridges and much more – the Coast to Coast Path (C2C). 

The C2C stretches 306km from St. Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire. Despite being mapped out in 1973 by walking guru Alfred Wainwright and being one of England’s most popular multi-day routes, the path only became an official National Trail this year. For the past three years it’s been undergoing a major £5.8 million makeover that has made it more accessible than ever, with new paths, bridges and signage and legal issues around land access resolved. 

As you trek the C2C from the Irish Sea across to the North Sea, you go through three national parks: the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors. Along the way you’ll pass pine forests, glacial lakes and winding valleys alongside pretty little villages and medieval fortresses.

Notable landmarks include Haystacks, which is the final resting place of Alfred Wainwright; the Nine Standards Rig, a collection of mysterious stone cairn some believe were put there by the Romans; the bustling market town of Richmond and the brooding Honister Path with its disused slate mine workings and old tramway.

On average, it takes walkers 12-14 days to complete the entire C2C trail but you can, of course, do it in smaller chunks. If you’ve only got one day, we recommend spending it on the Wordsworth Way, a 14-mile section that runs between Glenridding (on Ullswater) and Ambleside, which traverses the landscape that inspired one of Britain’s most acclaimed poets. 

🥾 See Time Out’s full guide to the best hikes in the UK 2026 here. 

ICYMI: Two of the world’s most difficult hikes are in the UK. 

Plus: The ‘worst’ seaside town in Britain (and why you should visit).