UKC

Hello UKH!

I'm living in London but looking to get out of London and walk for a long weekend in a couple of weeks, preferably wild camping, although happy to stay on campsites.

Does anyone out there have any suggestions for nearby locations that are accessible by train?
Any and all suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

In reply to DanielGyi:

Hi Daniel

This article on London for walkers includes quite a few easily accessible destinations as well as more general advice: http://www.ukhillwalking.com/articles/page.php?id=7789

The South Downs Way or the Ridgeway would be my two recommendations for a long weekend walk in very easy striking distance... though if you can spare a few more hours in transit you'd have loads more choices in wilder, hillier places

In reply to DanielGyi:

...and if you're looking for people to walk with, the group Go London seems particularly active. There's an article on it here: http://www.ukhillwalking.com/articles/page.php?id=7850

In reply to DanielGyi:

Well, it's not quite what you asked but -

Get on a train to the Peak. Euston to Sheffield is 2 hours.
Get on a train to Brecon Beacons. Euston to Abergavenny is 2:15 hours

just to give you options...

In reply to DanielGyi:

You could go out to somewhere in the Vale of Pewsey and explore the Wiltshire Downs. Parts are surprisingly lovely, and wild camping is possible with some thought and care. Or get off at Kintbury and head on to Pilot Hill and Walbury Hill, and further over to Haydown Hill. You'll find that with careful route choice avoiding the honeypots (like the Ridgeway), then it's perfectly possible to walk all day in that part of the world without meeting anyone else.

Or as GargoyleFeet suggests, get the line to Abergavenny (goes from Paddington) and head up Sugarloaf then on into the Black Mountains themselves.

In reply to DanielGyi:

Can second Dan's suggestion of the Ridgeway. It feels suprisingly remote in places and is full of hill-forts, barrows, stone circles and other monuments. Should be perfectly possible to wild-camp it too if you are discrete. However exposure is in short supply!

In reply to DanielGyi:




Sleeper to the highlands?

Closer to home, the bits of the Icknield Way that we've done were surprisingly nice.

In reply to DanielGyi:

We did train to Lewis, (campsites near Lewis) walk to Eastbourne via Alfriston (Campsites at Alfriston) train back from Eastbourne. Although that was a short weekend and we set off from London late on Friday afternoon.

In reply to DanielGyi:

Local-ish;

North Downs/Surrey Hills. I've done sneaky wild camps in the woods there on occasion.
Chilterns/Thames - some sort of loop over the Chilterns and returning by the river, maybe using Pangbourne as a start/finish.
SOuth Downs - plenty of options, could do station to station easily.


A few hours on the train;

Dorset coast
Black Mountains via Abergavenny.
Peak District


Long weekends;

Anything! I've just done a weekend in Knoydart leaving work near Brighton on Thursday evening, heading up by train and sleeper to Mallaig, ferry in to Knoydart, 3 nights there canoeing and walking, return to Mallaig Monday morning by canoe, train/sleeper to work Tuesday morning. Hauling a folding canoe and camping gear all the way. Straight back into a 3 hour meeting, at which I will admit I was running slightly under power.

Easier versions would include Exmoor/Dartmoor/Yorks Dales/Lakes etc. Snowdonia a bit harder by train if I remember rightly, need bus from coast which was very sporadic.

In reply to Mal Grey:

Pangbourne is quite a good suggestion. The walk from there along the Thames to Goring is lovely, and you can then access the Chilterns - nice woods and downs round Crays Pond, Ipsden and Wallingford. Be sure to visit the Black Horse in Checkendon which is a fantastic old pub hiding in the woods. You can also get onto the Ridgeway and Lowbury Hill on the west side of the river for a bit more elevation.

In reply to DanielGyi:
Leftfield suggestion - fly to Guernsey from London City / Gatwick/Stansted with Aurigny (45minutes/1hour depending on airport) and spend the weekend walking the coastal path - 15 miles of beautiful cliff path, another 23 of coastal path. You could get away with wild camping as long as you set up at dusk and rise at dawn, but there are 3 reasonable campsites. www.visitguernsey.com

In reply to DanielGyi: The Kennet & Avon Canal is a pleasant walk from Reading to Bath, about 86 miles I think. Plenty of places to wild camp along the way and loads of historic sites.

In reply to DanielGyi:

Bus to Cardiff, train to Merthyr or Abergavenny, circular walks around the Beacons or the Black Mountains and home. A good two weekends.

In reply to DanielGyi:

Where in London? If you're in North London you could be in the Peak before you could get to the South Downs. Actually thinking about it, with Southern Rail as it is you could be in Edinburgh before you get to the South Coast even if you live in Croydon.

In reply to DanielGyi:

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! Much appreciated

In reply to DanielGyi:

Tanners Hatch YHA, near to Dorking as a base.

In reply to DanielGyi:

The Wiltshire Downs are lovely, uncrowded, and feel much higher than they are. The Wansdyke is culturally interesting and very beautiful,
.

In reply to Postmanpat:

The section from Morgan's Hill to Adam's Grave is a favourite of mine. It never ceases to amaze me how quiet the Wiltshire Downs are once you leave the Ridgeway behind.

In reply to DanielGyi:

We're in North London fwiw! We've decided to go and walk the Ridgeway.
Thank you again for all your suggestions everyone

In reply to DanielGyi:

All of it? Enjoy. If you do it all there are some great sections with good views, and other sections where you're just walking between hedges. It's worth detouring at the start to see West Kennet Long Barrow and Avebury itself. Liddington Hill is worth a quick out-and-back. After that I'd avoid the short road section to Fox Hill, and instead divert over Sugar Hill to Peaks Down and regain the Ridgeway via Lammy Down if you have time. You'll also walk right past Waylands Smithy, Uffington White Horse and Castle, and Segsbury Camp which are worth checking out. On the final leg, a quick detour to the top of Lowbury Hill gives good views. Finish with a pint in the Catherine Wheel at Goring.

Also, we're well into crop circle season. Regardless of whether you believe they're made by aliens or artists, there are some quite good ones at the moment, including one below the Ridgeway at Hackpen Hill with public access:
http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2016/hackpenhill/hackpenhill2016a.html