Walking is claimed to be the most popular outdoor recreational activity in the United Kingdom.[1] The country has a comprehensive network of rights of way, which permit easy access to the countryside as well as wilderness areas.
In the United Kingdom, "walking" is the usual term for what in other countries is called hiking; walking in the countryside is also called rambling, and walking in mountainous areas is called hillwalking.
Fellwalking is particularly used to refer to hill or mountain walks in northern Great Britain, such as the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales in Northern England, as fell is the preferred term for both features in those parts of England.
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In England and Wales the public has a legally protected right to "pass and repass" (i.e. walk) on footpaths, bridleways and other routes which have the status of a public right of way. Footpaths typically pass over private land, but if they are public rights of way they are public highways with the same protection in law as other highways, such as trunk roads.[2] Public rights of way originated in common law, but are now regulated by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. These rights have occasionally resulted in conflicts between walkers and landowners. The rights and obligations of farmers who cultivate crops in fields crossed by public footpaths are now specified in the law. Walkers can also use permissive paths, where the public does not have a legal right to walk, but where the landowner has granted permission for them to walk.
Walkers long campaigned for the right to roam, that is access to privately owned uncultivated land. In 1932 the mass trespass of Kinder Scout had a far-reaching impact. The 1949 Countryside Act created the concept of designated open Country, where access agreements were negotiated with landowners. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 gave walkers a conditional right to access most areas of uncultivated land.
In Scotland the public have the right to use any defined route over which the public has been able to pass unhindered for at least 20 years. However, local authorities are not required to maintain and signpost public rights of way as they are in England and Wales.
In Scotland the public have traditionally been allowed unhindered access to open countryside. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 formalised and extended this right, by creating a general presumption of access to all land. Recent court cases have seen the rights that walkers seek to protect limited. The most noteworthy case, Ann Gloag v Perth and Kinross Council and the Ramblers Association, saw an area around her home - defined as the curtilage - placed off limits to walkers.[3]
Long-distance paths are created by linking public footpaths, other rights of way and sometimes permissive paths to form a continuous walking route, usually linear but sometimes circular. They are usually waymarked. Guidebooks have been published to most long-distance paths, and the most popular paths have attracted local industries providing accommodation and other support services. Fifteen paths in England and Wales have the status of National Trails, which attract government financial support. Four paths in Scotland have the similar status of Long Distance Routes.The first long-distance path was the Pennine Way, first proposed by Tom Stephenson in 1935 and finally opened in 1965. Other paths include The Ridgeway and Offa's Dyke Path.
The paths are generally well signposted, although map reading is vital, and the use of a compass is often needed on high moorland such as that encountered on the Pennine Way. There is usually enough rough ground for camping on an extended trip to complete a given route. However, the paths are often distant from shops or settlements, so supplies of food and drink must be carried for sustenance. Water supply on The Ridgeway, for example, is difficult on the high downland, although various taps have been provided at some spots.
The United Kingdom offers a wide variety of ascents, from gentle rolling lowland hills to some very exposed routes in the moorlands and mountains. The term climbing is used for the activity of tackling the more technically difficult ways of getting up hills involving rock climbing while hillwalking refers to the relatively easier routes.
Some summits require climbing skills, and many hillwalkers will become proficient in scrambling, an activity involving use of the hands for extra support on the crags. Protection using a rope is usually not adopted unless the exposure is very severe, or the weather deteriorates. In Britain, the term "mountaineering" tends to be reserved for high mountain ranges such as the Alps, or for serious domestic hillwalking, typically in winter, with additional equipment such as ice axe and crampons, or for routes requiring rock-climbing skills such as the traverse of the Cuillin ridge. The British Mountaineering Council provides more information on this topic.[4] Popular locations for hillwalking include the Lake District, the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales, Snowdonia, the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains, Wales, Dartmoor and the Scottish Highlands, including the Cairngorms, the largest National Park in the UK. The mountains in Britain may seem modest in height, with Ben Nevis at 4,409 feet (1,344 m) the highest, but the unpredictably wide range of weather conditions and often difficult terrain can make walking in many areas challenging.
Peak bagging provides a focus for the activities of many hillwalkers. The first of the many hill lists compiled for this purpose was the Munros – mountains in Scotland over 3,000 feet (910 m) – which remains one of the most popular.
Challenge walks are strenuous walks by a defined route to be completed in a specified time. Many are organised as annual events, with hundreds of participants. In May and June, with longer daylight hours, challenge walks may be 40 or more miles. A few are overnight events, covering distances up to 100 miles. Well-known challenge walks include the Lyke Wake Walk and the Three Peaks Challenge in Yorkshire.
In the UK the health benefits of walking have wide recognition. In 1995 Dr William Bird, a general practitioner, started the concept of "health walk" for his patients—regular, brisk walks undertaken for the purpose of improving an individual's health. This led to the formation of the Walking for Health Initiative (WfH, formerly known as 'Walking the way to Health' or WHI) by Natural England and the British Heart Foundation. WfH trains volunteers to lead free health walks from community venues such as libraries and GP surgeries. The scheme has trained over 35,000 volunteers and there are now over 500 Walking for Health schemes across the UK, with thousands of people walking every week.[5] In 2008 the Ramblers launched their flagship Get Walking Keep Walking project, which was funded by the Big Lottery and Ramblers Holidays Charitable Trust.[6] Unlike regular health walks, the Get Walking Keep Walking model uses targeted outreach programmes based around a 12-week walking plan to encourage regular independent walking. In the same year, a new organisation called Walk England was formed, with aid from the National Lottery and the Department for Transport, to provide support to health, transport and environmental professionals who are working to encourage walking.[7]
The government agency responsible for promoting access to the countryside in England is Natural England. In Wales the comparable body is the Countryside Council for Wales, and in Scotland Scottish Natural Heritage. The Ramblers (Britain’s Walking Charity) promotes the interests of walkers in Great Britain and provides information for its members and others.[8] Local Ramblers volunteers organise hundreds of group-led walks every week, all across Britain. These are primarily for members; non-members are welcomed as guests for two or three walks.[9] The Get Walking Keep Walking project provides free led walks for residents in certain areas, information and resources to those new to walking.[10]
The interests of hillwalkers are promoted by the British Mountaineering Council, and the Long Distance Walkers Association assists users of long-distance trails and challenge walkers. Organisations which provide overnight accommodation for walkers include the Youth Hostels Association in England and Wales, the Scottish Youth Hostels Association, and the Mountain Bothies Association.