PLAN YOUR OWN LONG-DISTANCE TREK
Get inspired, choose a route
There are so many options, it can be bamboozling. The Long Distance Walkers Association lists over 1600 trails on its website (ldwa.org.uk). If you fancy something iconic, go for one of the 16 National Trails across England and Wales (nationaltrail.co.uk), such as the Pennine Way or Pembrokeshire Coast Path. If you fancy a remote, super-challenging wilderness, the Cape Wrath Trail will be right for you. If you’re more enamoured by quaint B&Bs and charming villages, the Cotswold Way might be the one. Or if you’re footloose with a few months off work, you could go big and take on a classic Land’s End to John O’Groats expedition. If all that fails, head to Instagram and YouTube for inspiration.
Alternatively, why not ditch the ‘off-the-shelf’ trails altogether and plan your own bespoke route with a personal meaning? You could walk from your current home to your birthplace, perhaps, or maybe create a wiggly route linking your favourite peaks across the UK. The easiest way to decide on a walk, however, is simply to focus on your passions. The thought of the National Three Peaks walk set my pulse racing and filled me with anticipation, and that’s when I knew it was right for me. If you a pick a trail that similarly floats your boat, you can’t go too far wrong.
It’s also vital to choose a route that suits your experience, skill-set and fitness levels – and to plan it in the right season. After all, there’s no point attempting to hike Scotland’s 282 Munros in winter, if you hate the cold and have never wielded an ice axe before. Equally, if you’re a fitness freak who loves a hardcore endurance challenge, a gentle summer bimble along the Hadrian’s Wall Path is unlikely to satisfy your adventure cravings.
“I’VE LOVED CHALLENGING MYSELF AND PUSHING MY BOUNDARIES IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS”
Plot your route and itinerary
So you’ve settled on a walk, but now comes the tricky part – the nitty-gritty of planning the route. You’ll need to plot out your trail precisely and come up with a day-by-day itinerary, including information on where you’ll sleep, how far you’ll hike daily, and where you can re-supply.
Modern technology has made route-planning both intuitive and straightforward. For my National Three Peaks, I used the desktop versions of the Komoot and OS Maps apps to plot out my initial route, and tweak it over time. I was then able to chunk up the walk into realistic daily targets – based on a mileage and ascent I felt was achievable for myself – and begin figuring out places I could wild camp, shops I could buy supplies in, and B&Bs available for the night. Before long I had a spreadsheet with 17 daily stages, detailing mileage, ascent, re-supply points and accommodation, and the structure of my adventure was beginning to take shape. By using navigation apps, I was also able to download the route to my phone (for use even without mobile reception) and print out paper sections where required.
This whole process was time-consuming for my National Three Peaks walk, because I was creating a bespoke and seldom-walked route. But it’ll be far easier if you’re planning on hiking a popular trail such as the West Highland Way or Offa’s Dyke Path. You can download pre-plotted GPXs of the trail, for example, and guidebooks will provide valuable information on common itineraries, accommodation options and features to enjoy along the way.
Having said all of this about planning, it’s important to remain flexible too. Build in some contingency and remember that things might go awry – the weather will turn, the terrain will slow you down, the pub you planned on visiting might be closed. But sometimes the unpredictability of an adventure is what makes it really special.
Get out there and practice
Practice makes perfect – and, therefore, it’d be foolish to launch straight into a major hike without putting your kit, body and mind to the test beforehand. In the months leading up to my National Three Peaks expedition, I completed three shorter long-distance walks – the West Highland Way, Pembrokeshire Coast Path and Wainwright’s Coast to Coast. These hikes were a testing ground and enabled me to carry out some important tasks... I learnt what kit worked well for me (and what didn’t). I refined the weight of my backpack to strike an ideal balance between lightness, performance and weatherproofing. I honed my practical skills in blister management, tent ventilation, water purification and backpack organisation. I figured out what nutrition and hydration tactics hit the spot for me. And I built up both my physical fitness and mental resilience for life on the trail.
Of course, you might not have the time to walk multiple long-distance trails as training – but you can achieve the same end goals with day walks. Get out there in the Peak District, Lakes, Snowdonia or even just your local countryside and put yourself to the test. Break in your boots, practice setting up your tent, experiment with camping meals, find out how your waterproofs cope in atrocious conditions, and walk further each week to build up your fitness. You’ll learn so much and give yourself a far better chance of completing – and enjoying – your long-distance adventure.
Minimise your impact
One of the drivers behind my National Three Peaks challenge was to climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in a more eco-friendly way. The normal approach – driving between the three summits in a mad 24-hour rush – has a bad reputation. You’re tearing up the roads, burning loads of petrol, and ghosting in and out of each region without much consideration for your social and environmental impact. I wanted to do things differently, focusing on a human-powered journey and using public transport (trains, coaches and buses) at the start and end. Being eco-friendly wasn’t the primary focus of my plans, but it felt great to know
I was minimising my impact on the planet.
Perhaps you too could spend a few moments considering the sustainability of your long-distance hike.
Can you use public transport to get to and from the start and finish? Would you consider raising money for an environmental charity? Will a hike closer to home in the UK, rather than flying to the Alps, still give you the escapism and freedom you crave? Is it possible to fuel your exertions without using any single-use plastic? Or maybe you could pick up litter along the route? Small changes can make a big impact, and the feel-good factor of adventuring responsibly is a wonderful thing.