UKC

Hi fellow walkers, I started walking less than 2 years ago and wanted to check if the more experienced folks here have some advice for me.

For the past week, I hiked on the Swiss mountains for the first time in my life. I was extremely impressed not just by the beauty of nature, the incredible diversity of terrain and the heights, the different grades of scrambling, but also by the vast availability and ease of access to restaurants and tiny hotels pretty much everywhere along the path. Being Switzerland, I also guess it wasn't difficult to spot the nearest town or larger city. Specifically, I was hiking around the mountains near Lake Lucerne and was based most of the time in Lucerne itself.

One one day alone, I walked 10 hours straight around altitudes of 1500-2000m, doing a major stop only at a restaurant for lunch! That was great!

Do you know of other beautiful hiking areas, or hiking trails, that would make it impossible for someone to stray away from civilization? Outside of Switzerland, in the rest of Europe, and especially here in the UK?

Now - why would someone want to go outdoors but stay close to the city? Isn't that nearly contradicting?

The main answer is I have an early stage disability (movement impairment) which in practice means two things:
1. I should never carry anything on my back over 1-2kg - ideally I should carry nothing at all and keep all essential stuff in my jacket and trouser pockets.
2. At any random and unexpected time, I could feel worse with acute pain and need to rest or entirely abort the trip.

In the Swiss Alps, the day I walked 10 hours, I carried nothing except what I would carry when walking to work: my phone. Plus a map just in case.

Oh, and I always walk alone unless it is an outdoor course or guided hike...

I hope this makes sense even if it may be an unusual question

In the UK, I have walked pretty much all green places near and around London (e.g. Chilterns, the Downs, etc.), the cliffs in Kent (Seven Sisters, Dover, etc.). Further away from home/London, I have been to the Isle of Wight, Snowdon (but that was a guided hike) and the closest experience that was similar to Lucerne (according to my "requirements") was Fort William in Scotland, where I stayed a few days in a comfortable hotel and did a few easy routes on my own.

So... do you have a list of hikes that are very close to cities/towns and are well-served with infrastructure, restaurants, toilets, hotels etc.?

Thank you and kindest regards

In reply to VerticalCrab:

some sections of the south west coast path might suit?
http://www.southwestcoastpath.com/

In reply to VerticalCrab:

I had a couple of pleasant days out from Trondheim - long way to go though(I was there for work)

In reply to VerticalCrab:

The pentlands behind edinburgh would be a good choice I think. You can get the bus to several start points. Nothing desperately steep and the paths are generally good.

In reply to VerticalCrab:

Have you considered companies that offer self guided walks with hotels ready booked and baggage transfer?

http://www.macsadventure.com/

In reply to VerticalCrab:

I think there would be a place to eat/sleep at every stage of the west highland way.

Thanks for your replies. Good ideas.

With regards to having hotels ready booked and luggage transfer... to be honest I am not entirely sure. Most of the time I would want to take a break spontaneously rather than at pre-determined places.
In other words I would like to have the freedom to leave the path on the spur of the moment.

In reply to VerticalCrab:

Parts of the Yorkshire Dales might fit the bill. For example in Upper Swaledale it is relatively easy to get up onto the moorland and loose the crowds yet most villages have some form of pub/tea shop. Also some nicer lower level walking by the river with places like Richmond easily reachable.

In reply to VerticalCrab:
In this country, the edges west of Sheffield. Abroad, has to be around Grenoble. South west of the city, the Vercors. North west the Chartreuse little peaks, many with plateau summits like flower gardens in the summer, north east, the Belledonne with its lakes and mini col on the GR route. And then there is Annecy, umpteen well maintained trails up peaks around 2,400m. Or go to the Dolomites, get yourself a weekly cablecar pass, and have the fun of being carried up the slopes, strolling back down them, or just doing a circuit high up from the top station, not to mention the altitude restaurants!

In reply to VerticalCrab:

I don't know if it is what you are looking for but Edinburgh is a wonderful place to explore on foot without leaving the city.
http://www.edinburghspotlight.com/2013/01/feature-13-places-to-walk-in-edin...

In reply to VerticalCrab:

I have a similar problem not able to carry much on my back following back surgery a couple of years ago.

Some places I can recommend are the Anaga mountains close to Santa Cruz De Tenerife, there are little villages so you never are too far from civilisation plus the climate means it is a very good winter destination.

The Alpujarra mountains in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Andalucia also have plenty of villages around for stops. Also the Axarquia are close by with similar walks connecting villages.

Last summer visited Austria, Lienz in the East Tyrol, plenty of good walking with the huts serving good food also Zell Am See. Both have cable cars which get you high up without too much strain.

I have found a small etrex 20 gps is very good as where ever you go in the world there are always garmin compatible maps. Minimizes chance of taking wrong turn and making your walk that much longer when you are carrying limited gear.

Thank you everyone, very much.

I didn't expect so many answers, and so many destinations, especially in some places I never expected.

One minor detail/clarification though: when we talk about small villages along the path, do they have good quality/standard facilities? Esp medical facilities just in case I might need emergency help?
I am not trying to be paranoid, but there were a few situations where (fortunately I was with other people / guided hikes) we were in the midst of nowhere and if it were not for other people I could have ended up pretty bad. In other words, I don't want to need a SOS helicopter in the rare event I get any acute episode.

I may truly sound like being overprotective, but as much as I love the outdoors, hiking, etc I am not willing to risk my health and life for it.

That's why even if the location is a bit touristy, it doesn't really matter - even better so.

In reply to VerticalCrab:
There's a string of little towns/villages in the Peak linked by the railway line between Sheffield and Manchester - (Grindleford, Hathersage, Bamford, Edale, New Mills etc..) There are definitely some nice walks to be found around those (and potentially nice linear walks between them too - train out walk back or vice versa).

In reply to deepsoup:
I'd second suggestions of the peak district, if you planned a good route you could pass numerous bus stops or train stations and you could always find your way back to civilisation somehow.

In reply to VerticalCrab:

How about the new John Muir Way across central Scotland:

http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/john-muir-way.shtml

In reply to VerticalCrab:

Re the small villages, for the Anaga mountains on Tenerife, the villages are the sort of places where you can find shops and stops for lunch, however you would never be very far from Santa Cruz De Tenerife which is a big city with all the associated facilities.

For the Sierra Nevadas, you could always hike close to Granada, again a city with all medical facilities. Orgiva and Lanrajon in the Alpujurras also have good medical facilites. I think going up high into the Sierra Nevadas in summer would put you far from facilities so probably not such a good idea, but considering in the winter most of it is covered in snow the places you can hike are all close to civilisation.

In reply to VerticalCrab:

also ... south downs way and north downs way very good uk walks never far from civilisation. Southease to Eastbourne passing seven sisters is my favourite South East walk passing shops in Alfriston and Birling Gap. No need to carry anything.

In reply to VerticalCrab:

HI, I asked a very similar question not so long ago. I have decided to go to Slovenia's national park Triglavski The Highest peak is 2800m ish and none of the walks around require any technical skills (ice axes/crampons etc) if you get a plan to Ljubljana (they're a bit hit and miss) You can then hire a car for about £10/day and you can stay in the alpine huts/guest houses for around £20/person/night all with running water and heating etc no need for camping equipment.

I don't know of any restaurants around but the capital is about a 45min drive so not too bad.


Loads of other things to do aswell as hiking I am paragliding/rafting/bungee jumping.

If you need any more info just let me know.

Alex

In reply to VerticalCrab:

the answers I got:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=582747

In reply to VerticalCrab:

I'd recommend Wainright's "Limestone Country" guide (which I was using to navigate with a few months back even though it was published 45 years ago). In the three peaks and craven area you are never far from a village and (especially as summer comes on) that area is full of other walkers (which is good). The Yorkshire Dales National park "Dalesbus" timetable will give you useful access information and the Northern Rail Leeds - Carlisle and Leeds - Lancaster rail lines run though it.