The Midlands is quite literally a diagonal band across the centre of the United Kingdom, excluding Wales and Norfolk. Split into East and West Midlands it encompasses major cities such as Birmingham, Nottingham and Lincoln but more excitingly for us hikers it includes several areas of national landscapes and even National Parks.
Let’s journey through the midlands starting from West to East with some notable areas worth hiking. Just because I am focusing on national parks and landscapes, it does not mean that there are not wonderful local parks and routes that are worth visiting. For example, from Birmingham you have Clent Hills and the Lickey Hills country park. Many cities and towns will have canal routes or river walks if you had a specific area near you that you wanted to explore.
How To Find The Perfect Hike
Deciding on a hike can be challenging when you don’t know where to look. Google maps is good for identifying areas of natural beauty but is really poor if you are trying to use it to find footpaths. Even zoomed right in many do not show up well or look like they cut off which makes planning on anything but country lanes a nightmare.
The best website map I have found for showing many footpaths and is free to use is track my run. You can use the location to locate where you are on the map and zoom in and out and it allows you to create a route and gives you distance. The only issue I find with it is that you cannot rotate the map so when you are looking at it on the ground (and you need internet to do so) you have to turn your phone physically.
To get inspiration I use a combination of AllTrails and OS maps app. Even the free versions of these apps allow you to flip through routes whether in a list format or click them on a map. These pre-made routes are good because they give you a description, length, estimated times and difficulty but most usefully people review them. Popular routes will have photographs and written reviews giving you the best picture of what the route is like. This saves you from trying a route and it turns out it was really boggy or just not that interesting.
I personally prefer OS maps over Alltrails because I find the maps easier to use due to them being topographical over google maps style especially when some complaints on Alltrails is that some routes aren’t always that clear. The downside, especially with OS maps is that unless you pay the subscription or own the paper map with digital download, then you cannot zoom in any closer than the road level map. You can still see the route but its difficulty to see the detail if you only use the free one, making footpaths complicated. Using a combination of maps usually helps you choose routes as many do overlap.
Lastly lots of popular places, whether this is a region or country park have their own websites. Many of these have an activity’s section and descriptions of many local walks of varying lengths. These websites are always worth checking out as they often have the main attractions and viewpoints in them, although these routes can be busier.
Of course, you can always grab a map and simply plot your own route. High points, view points and waterfalls are often all clear on the maps and will give you an idea what it is you will be seeing. This way if often best if you want to add to a given route or avoid busier areas.
If you want to explore more about finding public transport accessible locations in the Peak District then check out my article here.
The Wye Valley
Sitting right on the Welsh border the Wye valley is where tourism was born and there are many people who are passionately creating hiking trails along this landscape and not keeping those hidden either. Firstly, there is the 136 mile Wye Valley Walk. This trail does meander its way into Wales but large sections of it run in West Midlands. Either do a section at a time or create loops using this iconic long distance route. The sections near Herefordshire will treat you with forests and orchards along some lovely river walks.
A quick browse on any of the apps I have mentioned previously and you will see over 300 walks. Set a few filters and you will absolutely find something to suit you. There are also set out route cards which you can download from here.
Rutland Water
This is a huge reservoir in the smallest country in England which you can walk all the way around. Shared with cyclists it has a well maintained wide footpath and some shared pavements alongside roads but if you do not fancy the full loop there are some lovely little countryside lane walks off it it or you could simply do a section. There is 22.1 miles of trail here with some excellent pubs and cafe along the way. I have written an article about this route if you want to check it out in more detail here.
Some highlights of this route is the Normanton church which sits over the water, the dam, Hambleton Penisula with its chocolate box village and Barnsdale woods. Come at the right season and you can see vast swaths of bluebells and even catch a glimpse of the Ospreys.
Lincolnshire Wolds
A designated area of outstanding natural beauty, this beautiful countryside is now protected and has many walks to explore woodlands and farmers fields alongside rarer chalk ecosystems. The Lincolnshire wolds website has a wide range of walks from short to long. These include ones in the centre of the wolds or from the market towns around the outside making them easier to reach for some. Market Rasen has a train station for those who wish to travel by public transport.
Peak District
The big one in the midlands is the national park. The Peak District. Split into the white peaks and dark peaks they offer a completely different experience. In the south, the white peaks offer the comfort of river walks in the dales. In stark contrast to the dark peaks which give rise to peat bog moorlands and the greater challenge of kinder scout. There are so many walks across this landscape to suit everyone’s tastes and needs and many adorable villages so the coffee is never far away.
There are many trails from the Monsal trail which is fully tarmacked making it easy terrain for those who do not enjoy loosing a boot to the bog, to popular Mam tour for amazing views down the valleys on either side. For the more adventurous then the north peaks is where the Pennine way begins its journey north.
I have walked from the south to the north of the Peak District joining up many of the named trails along the way if you want inspiration of named routes you can read about my adventure here. Or if you want to access the Peak District without a car then I have all the places you can easily get to via public transport in this article.
Shropshire Hills
Another beautiful national landscape near Shrewsbury on the Welsh border. The working countryside here has many high points with dramatic hills and vast heathlands and grasslands giving a wide range of habitats to enjoy. If history is more your style there is over 180 scheduled ancient moments giving you another reason to climb the hills to explore historic forts.
Getting there is really easy with a train line hugging the edge of the national landscape stopping at villages such as Bucknall and Broom and if you want route inspiration the Shropshire hills website has some excellent suggestions as well as loads of information about the wildlife, geology and history of the area and even an interactive map to have a play with. There are even a few long distance trails to choose even if you just do a section.
Malvern Hills
This is a wonderful mix of countryside spanning across primarily across Worcestershire and Herefordshire formed by a natural ridge line which you can walk end to end of for just under 10 miles or perhaps you rather take a more leisurely stroll through the Teme valley.
It may be a smaller area than that of the great Peaks but this gives it a wonderfully different countryside experience. There are loads of different routes to choose from and you can hop on a trail from a local town and be back in time for lunch should you wish. The visiting the Malvern website gives you a wide range of walking routes and places to visit making planning super easy.
If you fancy a trip here without taking a car then you can easily get the train to the spa town of Malvern where the start (or end) of the ridge walk begins. If you wish to venture further out then there are bus networks that connect Malvern through to Ledbury on the other side of the national landscape.
Conclusion
The midlands may be known for its industrial past but there are so many wonderful and diverse landscapes throughout the midlands to go and explore. Whether this is the iconic national park of the Peaks to beautiful areas of countryside. You can get to high points, scenic valleys, reservoirs and ancient forests, many of which are accessible from wonderful and connected towns. Also be sure to look at your local area, many areas are simply beautiful if not explicitly labelled as a national landscape such as country parks or your local countryside trails. Who knows you might find a hidden gem. Happy hiking!
