Guest blog: Car-free walks in three UK beauty spots

Car-free champions Good Journey choose three of the best UK beauty spots to enjoy a walk this autumn and winter in this special guest blog.

Picture classic UK walking country. What do you see? Maybe the rugged beauty of the Highlands or the Lake District? Or the wild expanse of heather, ponies and rocks on Dartmoor? These dramatic landscapes are all stunning to explore by foot. They rightly draw people from both near and far. But there are many other parts of the UK that also deserve to be celebrated for their paths and trails. Lace up your walking boots as we explore three less dramatic areas that are still very rewarding to walk in. And they’re easy to get to without a car.

The Cotswolds

Most people head to the Cotswolds for the picture-perfect cottages and Instagram-friendly villages with streams running through. But the Cotswolds is also home to The Cotswold Way, a 102-mile long-distance path stretching from Chipping Campden to the Roman city of Bath. The path is well signposted and passes through a National Landscape. Walkers pass Neolithic burial barrows, stately homes and historic battlegrounds. It offers plenty of options for car-free walks.

Cotswold Way | Richard Bell for Unsplash

You don’t have to trudge the full length to enjoy it. Luckily, it’s easy to do various sections starting from Great Western Railway stations.

• You can enjoy views across 16 counties from Broadway Tower, along the six-mile Chipping Campden to Broadway route.
• Explore a Neolithic long barrow at Belas Knap on the six-mile stretch from Cleeve Hill to Winchcombe.
• Walk the seven miles from Lansdown to Bath to enjoy views across Bristol to the distant Severn bridges, and later across the Georgian terraces of Bath. Why not reward and relax your walking muscles with a with a thermal spa at the end?

If you fancy giving the Cotswolds Way a try, check out the Good Journey website for more detailed car-free directions and suggestions.

Norfolk

There aren’t many UK long-distance paths that are as well served by public transport as the Norfolk Coast path. You can use the Coasthopper bus to walk sections between Cromer and Wells-next-the-Sea. The 3 miles from Weybourne to Sheringham hug the coast, and at Weybourne, there’s a windmill and ruined priory to explore. From Salthouse to Blakeney there are pubs, shingle beaches, sea lavender and miles of whispering reed beds.

Bittern Line

However, Norfolk is not just a coast-lover’s paradise. You can also find gems to delight birdwatchers, foodies, boat enthusiasts and historians. The National Trust’s Felbrigg Hall sits on a 520-acre estate with woods and waymarked trails. Many of the main routes are buggy friendly and there are all-weather accessible routes through the woods and the walled garden. Children can borrow Tracker Packs from reception, complete with binoculars and wildlife-spotting sheets.

Check out Good Journey’s round-up of Norfolk’s six best spring walks you can reach by public transport.

Suffolk

Take a walk through the Suffolk countryside and you have a good chance of spotting wildlife along the way.

• Head to Carlton Marshes nature reserve to look for pink-footed geese, lapwings and bearded tits. There’s a variety of trails to follow from brief strolls to longer hikes at this 1,000-acre reserve.
• Minsmere nature reserve is also a nature-lover’s paradise with the chance of spotting avocets, bitterns and otters.
• Go to Woodbridge train station for a gentle stroll along the Deben valley to Melton. The paths are level and you can watch for starlings swirling overhead in winter.
• Catch a train to Brandon then walk or bus to Brandon Country Park to hike among giant ancient redwoods.

Across Suffolk, you can use the train to access shorter walks for families, all-day rambles for adventurers and everything in between. With winter on the horizon, see Good Journey’s full round-up of Suffolk walks to enjoy in the colder months.

About Good Journey

Good Journey champions car-free leisure travel. We believe everyone should have access to culture, leisure and nature, without needing a car. We want every visitor attraction in the UK to welcome people by train, bus, bike and foot. We feature nearly 500 attractions you can visit car-free and enjoy up to 50% off entry.

Norfolk, Suffolk and The Cotswolds are all Good Journey Destinations. This means they provide and promote green travel options, and proudly boast a range of visitor attractions and accommodation that reward car-free visitors.