Best Walks on the English South Coast

Penzance to Falmouth

Leaving the fishing and tourism town of Penzance and pausing by St Michael’s Mount, this is an opportunity to explore one of the most stunning parts of Cornwall.

Some of the walk is quite tough, climbing high granite cliffs on the coast path and dealing with some pretty hard going descents.

As with so many things in life you will be rewarded for your hard work – amazing views, rare plants and some great villages along the way.

West of Penzance, the SW point of Britain, Land’s End has been ruined by tourism.

The Lizard however is its quiet little brother that still possesses the same good looks and charm without the tourist cheese.

You will find solitude even in the busier summer months and can quietly enjoy the world to yourself.

There are busy places – Kynance Cove is busy because it is so beautiful – but you will soon find yourself alone again as you head onward towards Falmouth.

Plymouth to Brixham

Get ready to disappear!

This walk takes in some of Devon’s most beautiful estuaries – the Yealm, the Avon, the Dart, the Kingsbridge and the Erme.

Heading up some of these rivers you will get a strong taste of Britain’s military, fishing and merchant naval history as you walk, taking in some stunning scenery as you go.

There are some harder sections both physically and mentally.

You will have some hard climbs as you ascend the cliffs (with amazing views at the top) but there are also small river crossings that can only be taken by foot ferry – you sometimes even have to phone ahead to arrange them!

That said, this stretch of coast takes in parts of South Devon that while on the map have been all but ignored by tourism thanks to inaccessibility.

For the adventurer in you that has to be a draw hasn’t it?!

If you’ve the legs for it this is certainly a six day trek that will reward you every day.

Thomas Hardy’s literature is one of Dorset’s most famous exports, albeit with a reputation of leaving you quite miserable as the characters go through difficulties and untimely deaths in 19th Century rural Dorset.

We can at least guarantee you won’t be crying due to the displeasure of this walk!

Much of the landscape and villages you pass through are almost unchanged since the great man walked here himself.

You may even meet people whose grandparents knew him personally.

As a word of warning, some of the coastline has had major cliff collapses in recent times – stay away from cliff edges and if on the beach, away from the cliff bases as people get hit by rock falls nearly every year.

As to the walking? We list this as challenging as there are a number of stages that will leave your lungs stretched to their limits and legs on fire as you climb and descend.

As ever that will lead to a broad grin both at the achievement of the stages and at the raw beauty of the surroundings you encounter.

It is also the longest walk in this article.

It is possible to do the walk in eight days but you need to be seriously fit!

Just five miles off the South Coast, this is a walk that you can take on according to your fitness levels.

Every year there is a 24 hour walking challenge where people attempt to do the entire length in one hit!

You can just chill and take a week over it – at least you can take time out to explore things as they take your fancy.

Whether the quaint seaside towns you walk through on your way or the wild scenery and rare flora and fauna you encounter there is plenty to reward you on this walking holiday.

Though an island, the Isle of Wight is part of the same geology of the nearby Jurassic Coast – limestone – and makes for similar plants and flowers to those you find in Dorset.

Did you know that Britain planned a space programme out of The Needles in the 1960’s?

Thankfully for Mother Nature this is not Britain’s Cape Canaveral but a stunning nature reserve these days!

You can start and finish at any point, and there are always good transport links to hotels and B&B’s – do book ahead as it gets extremely busy in summer.

This is arguably the flattest walk in this piece. Flat doesn’t mean boring.

A newbie to long distance walking will need to get used to walking on stiff legs in the morning and this can be a gentle introduction to such discipline.

That said we suggest that someone who’s reasonably fit could comfortably do it in four days.

For those into Britain’s maritime history you’re in for a treat on this walk.

Many of the yacht harbours were once naval and merchant ports.

The New Forest was originally maintained for building the Royal Navy fleet, while Beaulieu was once a World War 2 spy training base.

The River Hamble was a major RN shipbuilding site too.

Southampton is an important merchant naval port today – your walking boots may well have come into the UK in a shipping container there!

Portsmouth is the current home of the RN today with the Historic Royal Naval Dockyard an important stop.

The sea life, bird life and plant life is bewitching too.

For many of our readers this is going to be one of the most accessible long distance walks with its good transport links to Winchester from London and thereby almost every stop you take on the Way.

That doesn’t mean to say you will be surrounded by Londoners!

This is a classic among long distance walks in the UK with its often challenging sections that pay for themselves with astounding views and lovely villages.

There are different ways of doing this route – horses and mountain bikes are able to use it too, though on foot you’ll be glad you’re not on a bike on some of those climbs!

The chalk downland has its unique flora and fauna.

Trout love chalk streams, as do a range of other wildlife in such ecosystems.

You will see wildflower meadows that are so English that you couldn’t imagine anything different when you think of this country!

There has been human habitation in this region for Millennia and indeed, most of the scenery is down to mankind’s intervention – it would all be forest but for us.

You will see beacons, castles and stately homes as you go.

All part of the rewards of one of the best long distance walks in England.

Almost a thousand years ago, Britain was last invaded and fully conquered by the Norman Duke, and some say the families of his friends and relatives still run the country today!

In terms of an exploration of the Mediaeval history of Britain, this walk is one of the most important you will find.

You will see the beach at Pevensey where the Norman hordes arrived and get to explore the battlefield where Saxon King Harold famously was killed with an arrow through his eye.

Though very accessible from London (just a 90 minute train ride) East Sussex still retains much of its wild beauty that our invading King William would have recognised.

The High Weald and Brede Levels are very beautiful and you will get views across the Channel to Europe for much of the walk.

This is one of those walks you could do over a Bank Holiday weekend without much fuss.

Its easy reach by train from Ashford means it isn’t much of a trek to get to in the first place too.

This is the second-longest route that we show in this article.

It also requires a bit of planning as the book that originally mapped it is out of print!

That said, Kent Council has still way-marked the route that takes you along the Thames Estuary and around to the historic South Coast port of Hastings.

There are busy bits like Gravesend itself but there will be days when you hardly see another soul such as the North Kent Marches, home to millions of wading birds and their prey.

There are two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and several Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) along the way where you will find unique habitats and wildlife.

As you pass along the coastal path you will run into Celtic forts, churches, a cathedral, Martello tower and a number of castles that were built and fought over through time.

While there are some flat spots, the White Cliffs of Dover aren’t little hummocks – expect some hard days on the hill.

That said, you will fill your camera memory card with some excellent photos!

Of the hundreds of miles of walking we cover in the previous sections there are probably dozens of shorter walks to be done as you burrow into an OS Map to discover something that can be done in a day.

In this section we highlight three shorter circulars that are part of the longer walks – Penzance to Falmouth, the Hardy Way and the South Downs Way – to give you a taste of what can be done.

The Lizard Coastal Walk

Kynance Cove is widely held as one of the most beautiful stretches of UK coastline bar none.

It can get quite busy but you’ll soon leave the crowds behind as you head off up the South West Coast Path.

The walk broadly follows a stretch of the first linear, multi-day walk we looked at in this piece (Penzance to Falmouth) but after a few miles cuts inland and back to Kynance Cove, taking in some of the pretty inland countryside around Lizard Point.

Though we give it a 2/10 grade that’s not because it’s flat – there are some steep climbs that will leave your legs reporting in – but largely because it is a half day’s walk and won’t take that much out of you.

Getting to and from the walk isn’t challenging either thanks to good road and public transport links to the area.

Portland Coast Path

The Isle of Portland has only been part of the UK since the early 20th Century.

Before, it was classed as a self-governing Royal Manor like the Channel Islands.

There are members of the community whose families were here when the Normans arrived!

This isn’t an easy walk – your legs will tell you all about it when you get back to the car.

Saying that when you get to the top of the first climb you’ll see Chesil Beach sweeping into Lyme Bay – one of the best views in Dorset.

You will see two prisons, several quarries and hideaway beaches on the route, as well as the famous Portland Bill Lighthouse where you can grab a nice meal at the Lobster Pot cafe.

On a sunny day, a great way to see the Dorset coastline from end to end in all its glory thanks to the sea air and high cliffs allowing you to see more than 20 miles east and west.

Seven Sisters and Friston Forest Circular

This is a short length of the South Downs Way we covered earlier, only turning inland from the coast to take in Friston Forest and you back to the car on a pleasant circular walk.

The Seven Sisters are a chain of high chalk cliffs on the West Sussex coastline that have been an attraction to London folk for decades thanks to their easy reach from the capital.

The seven ‘sisters’ are Haven Brow, Short Brow, Rough Brow, Brass Point, Flagstaff Point, Flat Hill, and Baily’s Hill that technically end at Birling Gap (where you turn inland) but an eighth ‘sister’ – Went Hill Brow is slowly forming due to coastal erosion.

That erosion is an important reason to stay away from the cliff edge.

Unfortunately too many people make that mistake and a fall from those heights isn’t generally survivable.

Just inland of the Seven Sisters is Friston Forest, a nice retreat from summer heat and always enjoyable to explore through the year.

For those from the South East, the most accessible day walk here and you don’t even need to have a car to do it thanks to bus and train links.

Have we inspired you to get planning a multi-day trek on the English South Coast?

Whether an in-depth exploration of Dorset on the Hardy Way or a long stride down the Saxon Shore Way, we hope we have given you an idea or two of some decent treks.

Whether doing the trek through a dedicated walking holiday company or carrying your world on your between hotels and B&Bs, we hope you can think of a summer escape to freedom and fresh sea air!

Enjoy your hike!