The Best Places for a UK Family Walking Holiday

Every parent knows the value of spending time with their children outdoors. Not only is it a great way to make the most of their energy and (hopefully) ensure an easier bedtime later on, but it’s also one of the best ways to connect with your family and provide your kids with opportunities to be curious and creative.

Whilst a walking holiday might not be a feasible option until your children are older, it’s a holiday experience that is definitely worth planning. Not only does it get everyone out of the house and into some pretty spectacular places, but it’s also a nice way to connect away from any screens or devices and return for a short while to a simpler way of being.

The UK is a haven for walking holidays, with many different established trails and national parks with walking routes for all abilities. I’ve put together my top five recommendations for the best places for a UK family walking holiday – read on to find out where we suggest!

Cairngorms National Park

Scotland is a part of the UK that is well-known for its rugged natural beauty and hundreds of miles of fells, hills and mountains. The Cairngorms National Park is the largest space of its kind in the whole country, home to a mountain range, forests, lochs and trails ready and waiting to be explored. 

If you’re visiting the Cairngorms with your family, you can combine accessible walks around the park with trips to a range of attractions or activities like paddleboarding, wildlife parks and mountain biking. To add an edge of adventure to your trip, consider a winter Cairngorms walking holiday where there’s a high chance your kids will get to spend some time in the snow. Whether you try to tackle an easy trail together or just set out to explore sections of the area each day, you’ll be greeted with wonderful scenery and warm Scottish hospitality.

The Yorkshire Dales

The Yorkshire Dales are often referred to as ‘God’s Own Country’ because of the spectacular scenery that can be found here. Nestled in the valleys perched on top of hills, there’s a cheerful collection of market towns and farming villages that lead straight out into the countryside, with places like Ilkley, Kettlewell, Knaresborough, Appletreewick and Ripon all offering lovely places to stay.

If you’re looking for walking and hiking trails that are accessible even for little legs, Yorkshire is a great place to visit because there are no mountains here, just gently rolling hills and plenty of places to explore. Adventurous families might decide to take on some or all of the Dales Way, which winds across the whole region, or you can explore somewhere like Malham Cove or Brimham Rocks with your kids.

The Lake District

When it comes to walking holidays in the UK, the Lake District is one of the most popular destinations by far. Sprawling across Cumbria in the northwest and made famous by its numerous bodies of water, it’s got a great range of easier walking routes close to charming towns and more remote locations for families looking for more of a challenge.

Windermere, Coniston, Grasmere and Keswick are all great places for families to stay in the Lake District, providing bustling community hubs with shops and places to eat whilst also being in close proximity to some well-established walks. Staying in youth hostels on a walking holiday in the Lakes can be a great way to explore the area with older children, but there are also plenty of lovely self-catering properties for families of all sizes all over the national park that you can use as a base for your trip.

Jurassic Coast

Heading down south with my recommendations now, the Jurassic Coast in the south-west is a wonderful place for a walking holiday with kids. With 95 miles of coastline to explore, many of which are edged with walking trails and public footpaths, you can spend your time meandering from the fields to the beach.

The Jurassic Coast is a great choice for a holiday with opportunities to get your kids interested in fossils and the history of the area, especially if you plan a couple of sessions of beachcombing to look for remnants of the creatures that lived here millions of years ago. Places like Lyme Regis and Durdle Door are always popular with families, but you’ve got a large stretch of the South West Coastal path to explore, so your options are pretty varied.

The New Forest

Another southern walking destination for families in the UK is the New Forest. Located close to Bournemouth on the South Coast, it’s another brilliant option for families with younger children because the terrain across the whole area is more easygoing for little legs. 

 

Explore the woodland and heathland in the New Forest with a variety of different walking trails, or explore the coastline right on the edge of the area. you’ve got plenty of towns and villages to visit as well in the New Forest to provide some respite at the end of a walk, and of course, the attraction of Peppa Pig World might be a particularly exciting prospect for visitors of a certain age.

Summary

Some children might initially be resistant to the idea of a family walking holiday, but the wonderful thing about this kind of trip is that it’s a tradition you can keep coming back to even once your kids have grown up. Whether it’s a simple one-mile walk around a nature reserve or a hike up to the top of a mountain, exploring the great outdoors together and practising things like perseverance, navigation and pragmatism has all kinds of benefits that make it well worth the effort.

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