UTracks | 3 of the UK's Best Walking Trails Turn 50

3 of the UK's Best Walking Trails Turn 50

On the Offa's Dyke near Kington

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If 50 is the new 40, there is certainly plenty of life left in three of the UK's best walking trails, which celebrated their semi-centennial in 2019. The Dales Way, the Cleveland Way and the Offa’s Dyke Trail all reached this major milestone in 2019. Experience a different side of the UK by walking one or all three trails with UTracks.

The magnificent viaduct on the Settle to Carlisle Railway almost seems to be a natural part of the surroundings

The Dales Way

The Yorkshire Dales are often considered the purest form of English highland landscape, with traditions and views that have remained virtually untouched for centuries. The first public Dales Way walk took place on 23 March 1969 and was organised by the West Riding Ramblers, who were pivotal in the creation of the route. The much-loved long-distance path runs for 78 miles across the Yorkshire Dales National Park to the Lake District, from Ilkley in West Yorkshire to Bowness-on-Windermere in Cumbria. Following mostly riverside paths, you will pass interesting old churches and abbeys, traditional villages and real ale pubs on this 8 day self guided walk.

Experience a unique mix of coastal and moorland walks on this 12 day walk

The Cleveland Way

One of the UK’s earliest official National Trails, the 109-mile long Cleveland Way in the North York Moors National Park turns 50 on 24 May 2019. If you can't decide whether you prefer dramatic coastline or heather moorland this is the trail for you, as it alternates between quilted farmlands, forest patches, sandstone rock scarps and isolated hills, while the highly eroded coastline is punctuated by beautiful little fishing villages that cling to the cliffs. There is plenty of history too, with the 13^th century Whitby Abbey, the remains of the Norman Rievaulx Abbey and the Captain James Cook Museum (whose ships were all built at coastal Whitby) to be discovered along the way.

Traverse patchworks of fields and some of England and Wales' finest scenery on the Offa's Dyke

Offa’s Dyke

Taking its name from King Offa and criss-crossing the modern border between England and Wales, this path follows the course of an ancient defensive earthwork of immense proportions. Lined with castles and abbeys, it oozes history as it dates back to the late 8^th century when Offa, the King of Mercia, decided to define his territory and protect it from the marauding Welsh. This visually stunning traverse through remote and sparsely populated countryside follows the southern half of the trail along a nearly unbroken section of the dyke. The Offa’s Dyke Association marked its 50^th anniversary on 29 March 2019.