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Want to be able to go for off road walks without driving to reach them

61 replies

Snog · 16/11/2020 09:34

For my next move due to health consideration s I'd like to be able to go for nice circular walks away from traffic without needing to drive to get to them.
Ideally more than one different walk and ideally there would be a mud free walk option for wet days. I'm happy to walk for anything between 30 mins up to 2 hours max.
I'm not sure how unreasonable I am being in making this a non negotiable criteria for my next location. Do you know anywhere that would fit the bill? I'm open to anywhere in the UK.

OP posts:
nemeton · 16/11/2020 10:59

Somewhere in a National Park, or on the edge of one, might be good?
The Pennines or Peak District come to mind, or maybe The Brecon Beacons.
What do you need in terms of work/schooling/travel to relatives etc? (Though I've a feeling that's not such a concern as aren't you from the Antipodes?)

Boom45 · 16/11/2020 11:03

I'm in Sheffield and I can do that. I can also be in the city centre on public transport in 10 minutes. Perfectly possible in lots of places.

TheSpottedZebra · 16/11/2020 11:13

How rugged a walk do you want? Do you want the walk to be away from everything, or just traffic?
Ie caswell as the above types of things, or houses near beaches, would you consider towns with big linear parks?

PiperPiper20 · 16/11/2020 11:15

Cirencester?

KittyMcKitty · 16/11/2020 11:16

There are many many places yiu can do this! I live 4 / 5 miles from 3 decent sized towns and can walk for miles from my house pretty much all off road.

The edge / just outside of any town should fit your bill!

SuperLoudPoppingAction · 16/11/2020 11:18

Tayport in fife-v close to tentsmuir which is a huge forest with 2 beaches and seals hang out at the point.
Also dolphins.

Loads of circular walks.
I used to live there and have since made the 'more than 1 circular walk without driving' thing a criterion for house location because I loved it.

Also kirriemuir in angus.

Both near reasonable high schools, if that is a factor

Hollyhocksarenotmessy · 16/11/2020 11:28

Off road plus mud free is going to be a challenge.

Beaches?

Or by a large country park that has surfaced walking routes. A park near me has a number of tarmaced or wood-chipped paths to improve accessibility, as well as muddy ones.

BarbaraofSeville · 16/11/2020 11:28

It's the mud free bit that you will struggle with. I live on the edge of green belt between two cities and have endless off road walks from my doorstep, but everything's now completely muddy. Same if I drive further afield to other places.

You'd probably want something that's got a lot of rocks, or surfaced paths but not mud or peat, which gets very boggy.

But generally, there's endless places to walk, too numerous for anyone to suggest anywhere without further criteria like budget or access to work or other amenities.

LilyLongJohn · 16/11/2020 11:29

I'm in north Nottinghamshire and you can easily do this.

Also download the OS app on your phone. It's great for finding walks

SingingWaffleDoggy · 16/11/2020 11:43

It depends what your budget is, and what kind of scenery you want to look at every day.
We live in a village in the southwest, less than 10 minutes from the local town with direct rail links to London, and about 40 minutes from the nearest city. We have a forest on our doorstep and can walk for miles. The trade off is that houses here sell for upwards of 350k

StillMedusa · 16/11/2020 11:49

Anywhere is West Oxfordshire.. can't guarantee no mud tho.. everywhere is muddy at the moment but a good pair of boots sorts that out! I can be totally out in the countryside after walking for 10 minutes (and am with the dog most days!)

RedTawny · 16/11/2020 11:53

Northumberland? I love where I live, I'm put in the sticks but even the nearby villages and towns you could walk out of easily and have long walks in the middle of nowhere.

I'm lucky I can leave my house and there are loads of loops ranging from 1.5miles to gosh probably any distance without hitting a town.

Saladd0dger · 16/11/2020 11:53

This is us in Wiltshire. Plenty of cycle tracks going between towns and villages. We spend a lot of time walking them. Iv just moved and the cycle track to Avebury stones is basically on my door step. Loving it. Fields for miles if you want to leave the tracks

LG101 · 16/11/2020 11:56

I can do this where I live. It’s not unreasonable

CMOTDibbler · 16/11/2020 11:56

I live in a very small town in Worcestershire, and I can be in a SSSI within a 10 minute walk from my house on pavement, or walk 10 mins the other way to a very different off road area with boardwalks for when the mud is really bad. We also link onto a long distance footpath, and there are several circular walks

DaffodilsAndDandelions · 16/11/2020 11:58

Have a look at the OS map for the area around any property you look at. That way you can make sure there are footpaths nearby

Michaelbaubles · 16/11/2020 11:59

I live on the edge of a market town, I can walk for miles from my front door a variety of ways. There will be mud though but I can walk through town and along roads if I really wanted to avoid it and still be in the country. There are small villages in a couple of directions I could walk along pavement to and still do a 5-mile ish loop.

BarbaraofSeville · 16/11/2020 12:01

You can look at OS maps on bing.com. Just set the layer to OS.

TheOrigRights · 16/11/2020 12:14

Hmmm, until you got to the no-mud bit I was going to say anywhere rural.
How necessary is no mud? Good walking shoes/boots will deal with mud, but if it's a limitation for your health then that won't work.

InTheLongGrass · 16/11/2020 12:15

I can do muddy forests and fields.
None mud would be cycle paths through the town. Crossing roads, but traffic free - usually down tree lined old farm tracks that have been tarmaced.

My parents can do muddy from the door.

Not unreasonable, I'd say.

ItsA1WayStreet · 16/11/2020 12:17

@Saladd0dger

This is us in Wiltshire. Plenty of cycle tracks going between towns and villages. We spend a lot of time walking them. Iv just moved and the cycle track to Avebury stones is basically on my door step. Loving it. Fields for miles if you want to leave the tracks
Also a great online resource for Wiltshire walks:

wiltscouncil.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=43d5a86a545046b2b59fd7dd49d89d22

steppemum · 16/11/2020 12:26

I used to live in a cotswold village surrounded by countryside.

Now I live in Swindon.

Ironically, I can do more walks in Swindon than I could in the village (well, apart from less than a mile walks round the village)

Here, we have dozens of cycle paths, which are for use by cylclists and pedestrians, and are mostly used by people walking. So from the end of my road (20 yards) I walk on paths with grass each side, so not pavements or roads (although I have to cross roads). Within 10 minutes I can be in one of these places:
-nature reserve several square kms of woods and fields, some gravel and paved paths so you can do as muddy or not as you choose.
-disused golf course which has been returned to nature, fields, wooded bit etc
-go through the golf course for a longer walk and go along a river, and then onto a wooded/grassed hill which is a nature reserve

  • a canal path leading to fields and a lake
-river/grass and then woods leading to an urban forest, still in the planting stages, so quite open. -lots of local green areas, playgrounds and parks, all linked by the cycle paths.

I had no idea all these places existed until we got a dog. Well worth exploring unexpected places, and seeing what is actually availble. Rural doesn't necessarily mean good walking, it depends on which paths there are and if they are maintained.

Jazzhandedintrovert · 16/11/2020 12:33

How about Eastbourne? The west side backs onto the south downs, so you have miles of beach walks, woodland walks or walks up on the downs (chalk hills, so not muddy!) without needing to drive. There must be so many places to consider, I love seeing all the suggestions here!

ApolloandDaphne · 16/11/2020 12:36

I can do lots of lovely walks where live as I am near golf course and a country park. I can do muddy walks or non-muddy walks and all without driving anywhere. I live in Fife in an area known for golf courses!

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