Six Long-Distance Walks Worth Considering

From the Cannock Chase woodlands to the Cotswold stone villages, this walk threads through central England's softer landscapes. The route connects historic market towns, follows canal towpaths, and crosses farmland that has been worked continuously since the Domesday Book. Minimal elevation, maximum pastoral meditation. Infrastructure is excellent—B&Bs every few miles, village pubs serving proper lunches, well-marked paths. Weather follows British norms: prepare for rain, celebrate sun when it appears.

Ancient pilgrimage routes through the Kii Mountains connecting grand shrines that emperors visited and monks studied. The Nakahechi Route, most popular with foreign walkers, climbs through cryptomeria forest to mountain passes, descends to river valleys, and maintains the rhythm of sacred sites and rest stops that has structured this walk for centuries. Expect humidity, stone staircases worn smooth by generations of feet, and the particular silence of old-growth cedar groves. You'll sleep in traditional inns, bathe communally, and navigate more cultural protocol than any other option on this list.

Fethiye to Kaş along Turkey's Turquoise Coast, alternating between Mediterranean cliffs and mountain crossings that reach 6,000 feet. You'll pass Lycian tombs carved into rock faces, Roman theaters still used by shepherds for shade, and sarcophagi standing in olive groves. The route is well-marked but remote in sections—plan water carries carefully. Villages offer pensions and home cooking; the culture is hospitable to walkers. April or October provide warmth without summer's punishing heat. Physically demanding but the swimming opportunities and historical density make the effort worthwhile.

Atlantic cliffs, fishing villages, and beaches running from Porto Covo to Lagos through the Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina Natural Park. The elevation is negligible but the ocean wind is constant and the exposure unrelenting—this is not sheltered woodland walking. Sand dunes, boardwalks over marshland, paths along cliff edges where the Atlantic does what it's done for millennia. Spring or fall; summer brings crowds and heat. Infrastructure is good, seafood is exceptional, and the light has that quality that made Portuguese explorers confident they could navigate anywhere.

Lago di Braies to Belluno through the heart of the Dolomites, crossing high passes and traversing beneath limestone towers that look like cathedrals designed by a geologist with mystical tendencies. The rifugio system means you're carrying clothes and essentials but not camping gear or full provisions—dormitory sleeping, family-style dinners with wine, packed lunches for the trail. This is the most physically demanding option here, with sustained elevation and exposure, but the infrastructure makes it accessible. June through September only. The landscape is dramatic in ways that make "scenic" seem inadequate.

A circuit of the Iveragh Peninsula starting and ending in Killarney, passing through Cahersiveen, Waterville, and Kenmare. Expect green in variations you didn't know existed, rain in forms both gentle and aggressive, and terrain that rolls between coastal paths, mountain moorland, and woodland trails. Ring forts, ogham stones, and the kind of ancient stone walls that make you reconsider what "permanent" means. B&Bs proliferate, Guinness pours properly, and the culture of walking is well-established. April through September offers the best weather, though "best" remains relative. This is Ireland—pack for wet, hope for merely damp.