Any suggestions on companies for a self-guided walking trip in England? Going this May 4, 2009

Also any suggestions or comments on favorite areas to ramble in England? Was thinking Cotswolds but we just did a self guided through Tuscany and want a little different scenery for this hike.

Any one done a costal walk or the lake district? Looking forward to all comments and suggestions.

And will be opened to suggestions on possibly doing this ourselves. Maybe staying in on place and hiking out. But we really liked not having to plan or worry about luggage on our self-guided trip in Tuscany.

Thanks in advance for comments

Hi 6, welcome to Slow Travel Talk.

You may want to check out some of the trip reports from our moderator, Kaydee. She's done much walking in England and recommends a company (I think Sherpa). Anyway here they are:

Coast to Coast Walk
50+ Mile Cotswold Walk

You may also want to check out our Cotswold Information Pages, our Google Map of the Cotswold and Countryside Walking in England.

Hi 6abc and welcome to Slow Travel. I'm excited to find someone else interested in walking trips. Our family has done six self-guided trips in Europe, two in England. (Number 7 is coming up this summer.) We've also done some day hiking in the UK.

As Kim said, we have done a couple of walks through Sherpa Expeditions, including our Coast-to-Coast walk across England a few years ago. We did our first-ever walk in the Cotswolds through a company based in the Cotswolds, Cotswolds Walking Holidays. We did a slight variation on their Cotswolds Ring walk.

The Cotswolds offers beautiful countryside and wonderful villages to spend the night. The walking is not too difficult, though sometimes muddy. We loved walking there, and will be back this summer for two weeks based on a cottage-- we'll definitely do some day-hiking.

Our walk across England exposed us to three very different regions: the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors. The terrain in the Lake District was absolutely spectacular and also quite challenging. There are a variety of walks and trails in part of England. We would love to do the Coast-to-Coast walk again.

We also did a little bit of walking in Cornwall, along the coast. This summer we considered returning to England to do a longer walk-- perhaps some portion of the Southwest Coastal path in Cornwall or the Pennine Way in the north. We hope to pursue those some other year as this year we're going to France for our walk instead.

A couple of other companies that other walkers we've met on the trail have recommended: Contours and HF Holidays.

There are some other alternatives to the full-blown self-guided tour that might save you a bit of money if you are willing to invest more time. I preferred to pay the premium to someone else to organize the route, choose accommodations, make the bookings and move our luggage. This can be a lot to try to figure out long-distance and it sure is easier to just pay one time with a credit card. But there are helpful websites on some of the long distance paths that make accommodation bookings easier. And there are luggage transport services like the Sherpa Van Project. (Note the links for trail planners and accommodation booking services too.)

I'd be happy to answer any questions or bounce around ideas, and hopefully some others who are interested in walking in the UK will jump in too.

Kathy

Hadrian's Wall? I did a short version with Contours a couple of years ago:

http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/tripreport.asp?tripid=1057

There are some wonderful walks in Wales as well, with stunning scenery. Offa's Dyke runs along the border with England. And there is also Glyndwr's Way which heads westwards from the midpoint of Offa's Dyke. Both can be accessed from the town of Knighton if you just want to do day walks. And Knighton is on the Mid Wales railway line too if you want to do some train trips.

Thanks everyone for your great tips. I did get hfholidays catalog and I have looked into contour.

Kathy...
Have you done any of the coastal hikes at length? or has anybody done the coasts? I seem to be quite intrigued by the coastal areas. I don't know if it is feasible to consider doing a little bit of the coast and then head up to the lake district. I have to calculate the time and distance. We are in the inital planning phase and hubby suggested doing 2 shorter hikes in two different regions. In my brain I think I remember one of the companies creating whatever we wanted to do for a self-guided trip.

Like you I want to leave the arranging to someone else.

Any more suggestions are welcomed.

6abc, have you seen this thread where another member is looking for ideas about a walking trip? We're discussing Cornwall as a possibility there.

I think most of the walking tour companies will do something "customized" for you as a variation of one of the walks they offer. We've worked through three companies now, and they have all been able to do some modifications.

I liked Contours approach on the Southwest Coastal path because they've broken it into segments and even can vary the length of stages and number of days for each of their segments.

I meant to comment on one other point in your original post. You mentioned the possibility of staying in one place and hiking out. This is actually the way some self-guided trips are structured, where you stay in a central location that has great day hiking in many directions. This has the advantage of not having to pack your bag every day and getting to know one location well. Our family likes the adventure of a journey to an end destination and experiencing variety on a long journey. More important, we need the discipline of having to get up every morning and walk. Otherwise (especially with a child/teenager) it is too easy to want to sleep in or skip a day if the weather is not great. On a really long hike (more than a week) it can be important to build in a rest day. But this can be a good approach for others, especially if you want to spend a few days in one part of England and then shift to another base. You also wouldn't have to walk every day.

Occasionally we have felt pushed by the walking schedule. You may arrive in an interesting place in the late afternoon after a long day, but have to leave the next day right after breakfast in order to get to the next place at a decent time. It would be nice to have the flexibility to stay longer and look around. You would have more flexibility for this on the type of trip where you base in a village and do day-hikes.

Kathy

Thanks Kaydee, I did go to the other thread and got lost there for about an hour just going off in different directions. These forums are so helpful. I don't know how people can plan some vacations without discussing on forums like these.

All suggestions have been great so far. It is just narrowing it down. One of the better planning suggestions I read was to get a book with alot of pictures of England and see what appeals to us.

We did a selfguided Tuscany trip in October and kind of did it on a whim. We did a lot of planning and hiked with Girsole. I have no other company to compare them with so I can say they were OK. I will comment when I do another trip with some other company. But my point here is that I did purchase a book on Tuscany with some great photos in it WHEN we got back. OOPs think I did that in reverse. It would have helped a lot in photographing the region and seeing how other people saw it if I had seen some of these great photos before we left.

Anyway this I will do this in the correct sequence this time. Maybe that will help us decide on the coast or Lake District or somewhere in between. But I am still searching for suggestions an opened to any help.

Looks like I am leaning towards either Contour or HFholidays for the self-guided hike. We just booked a flight for May 4 for about 14 days so I will need to decide soon.

I will continue to search for more posts.

I have a trip report on Tuscany that I have posted somewhere else that I will post here in the next few days.

Kathy
Started to read your trip report. Excellent. My feet hurt just reading it.

Here is a suggestion for anyone else that is researching where to hike.It might help with the decision making process. Use youtube.com to see other peoples little videos of different areas they have hiked through.

We are still trying to firm up our plans. Kathy makes the C2C sound pretty inviting.

One quick question. I know we will encounter rain. Are all areas very muddy and boggy? I have been Hiking through the Cotswolds (Oh so long ago and just remember be knee deep in mud most of the time). How is the Lake District vs the coast line vs anywhere else. Not that were are opposed to some mud but it will help in the preparation.

Thanks again for comments.

This is neat that you're considering the C2C. We would really like to do this walk again sometime.

This walk is a major commitment. You'll see varied terrain and varied weather conditions. I'm sure almost all walkers encounter some rain. Take a look at my album on Slow Photos to see something of our walk.

Oh, and about mud-- look at this photo. This was maybe the worst we encountered, but the route can be muddy and boggy in places, again depending on the weather. You'll read more about this in the course of my trip report.

Kathy

I just LOVED the mud picture!!! Isn't that what travel is about - the unique - the challanges - the journey.

I am so impressed that your daughter went with you on your trip and HIKES with you. I also thought the thing about putting your feet in one body of water and taking a stone with you and putting your feet in the other body at the end and placing the stone there is just so cool.

If we do choose the C2C I am sure we can't fit it all in but I know I saw one company breaks it up. We are only planning a 7-8 walk. (Just a 14 day stay) Hopefully one or 2 days in London although Dave and I are not big city fans. On our Tuscany trip the only somewhat city we did was Siena for 2 days (Loved it) and Rome for 1/2 which I was sick for and missed totally and didn't mind.

So looking forward to the countryside and some small out of the way villages.

I will continue to read your trip report.

Have you seen the Northwest Walks C2C options? They break it into sections. It's a very popular route, so I'd bet other operators offer it in sections, too. Alternatively, you could pick your own section, book B&Bs yourself, and use a baggage handling service like the Sherpa Van. There's lots of info out there about the grade and trail conditions along the walk, including the sites I've just mentioned.

For anyone else interested in the C2C hike I found a great site that really show the path and the terrain.
http://www.byron.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/index.htm

6abc, that's a really neat site! It brought back some great memories. Thanks for sharing this.

Keep us posted on what you decide to do.

Kathy

As you quite fancy a coastal walk have you considered 'The South Downs Way' It starts in parts of Hampshire and continues to Beachy Head near Eastbourne. Very well known going through some beautiful towns and villages. Very popular for sponsored walks.
Judy

I can heartily recommend the Pembrokeshire Coast Path in SW Wales. We are big fans of coastal walks and I think this is one of the absolute best.

Thank all of you for responding. I think what we are going to try to do is split our hiking up.

This is my husbands first trip to England and I was there back in the 80s only doing the Cotswolds. So we are trying to turn it into a trip that we can sample 2 different areas. Who know when we will get back due to the economy so we would like a taste of a few areas.

I wasn't going to do the Cotswolds because I felt they were a little too populated but I think this might be a good place to do a 4 day hike to give hubby a little taste of England with farms and towns. And I am sure we will both love it.

I would then like to do a 4 day hike along some costal area. This is where I am getting a little confused. We will not have a car. Will be training it to wherever we go.

Kendal what are we looking at time wise getting to the Pembrokshire coast or the the Cronwall area?

We are also looking at doing these trips through Contours they have some 4-5 day trips. Any comments?

One last question I PROMISE.

I just e-mailed contours walking company. I am a little concerned about taking so much travel time to get to Wales or South Cornwall.

They suggested doing East Devon Coastline. Any comments. It does cut down just a little on travel and seems we can get a direct train service to that area.

Any comment on this area. They all sound so beautiful (for some reason Wales is pulling at me but I am willing to hear others inputs)

If you are going to be in the Cotswolds, it looks like SW Wales isn't much further a distance than Devon, but I suspect it would be a tad more difficult to access using public transportation.

Here's another suggestion which might fill your quest for a coastal path that's closer by and easier to reach: The Isle of Wight Coast Path. I've not hiked it but it gets great marks from those who have and it would be a lovely change from the Cotswolds. Easy to get to as long as you don't mind a brief ferry ride. Google it and see what you discover!

http://www.mortiboy.co.uk/iow/isleof.htm

Here's a neat link to someone's personal account of his time on the trail.

Try this website for a guide to all the British national trails:

http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/

There are many others: some famous (Coast to Coast or West Highland Way) and many regional (monarch's Way etc).

We have done several: Cotswold Way, Ridgeway, Offa's Dyke, West Highland Way all from end to end and sections of others.

We have never used an agency or service - although now we're older I like the idea of a van service to carry the packs! There are excellent guidebooks and signage. Otherwise, we booked all the accomodation ourselves with no problem. If you want to use a company, remember you are paying them to take care of booking the van and accomodation. You dfinitely save money by doing the booking youself, but if you'd rather not hassle with it, then there are many companies that will take care of that for you. (Many linked in previous comments.) You might take the time to check the difference in price between having them doing it and doing it yourself if price matters to you at all.

These all were wonderful and distinctive experiences, and we remember each of them very fondly.

quote:

These all were wonderful and distinctive experiences, and we remember each of them very fondly.

Perfect response--and exactly mine (but better said). If we could do nothing other--it would be to right now, at this exact moment (well maybe a wait til daybreak) walk one of the many paths we have so enjoyed and which are so generously cared for in the UK.

Have never used a Sherpa service, preferring to pack light and drop suitcase with car at last stop on a long distance trail before transiting back to start-- but I can say this easily as it's not me carries the heavy day pack--I leave it to my spouse. I have to say that half the fun for us is in planning trip and trail and stops and pubs and everything that means--including some surprises, but to me --that's travel.

I am very happy to have found this site and like minded walkers--and look forward to learning and sharing.

whoops forgot to say we have walked the Isle of Wight Coastal Path and it is TERRIFIC--highly recommend--NT coastguard cottages are wild and wonderful as well.
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