Britain’s 15 greatest circular walks

What could be better than a walk – long or short, challenging or easy – that ends up where it began? Our expert rounds up the best of them

Going round in circles isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Especially when it comes to a walk. After all, there’s nothing more practical and convenient than finishing a hike back where you started. Plus, having ambled out from one spot into the farther horizons, you’ll probably return slightly changed. Maybe not seismically. But probably for the better, with cheeks ruddied and limbs stretched – there’s nothing to boost your mood like moving yourself about in fresh, gusty, bird-trilled air.
But not all routes are made equal. We’ve tramped about the country looking for some of the loveliest loops – circular walks that you can do in a full day or less, that pack a lot into a little. These shortish routes variously open up big views, are peppered with ancient sites, follow in historic footsteps, wend amid majestic scenery, offer opportunities to spot all sorts of wildlife or pass charming tearooms. They are walks that might be only a handful of miles long but – due to the interest or diversions or jaw-dropping vistas along the way – could happily fill many hours. 
So, pull on your boots, pack a picnic (or plan to pass a pub) and try these excellent round walks around the country.
Small but mighty, this loop on the North Norfolk coast meanders through the millennia, passing evidence of Bronze Age, Roman, Saxon and Norman habitation. It’s also brilliant for birds, taking in tidal flats where marsh harriers, curlews, redshanks and more might be spotted. Start from Deepdale Farm, worth a stop in itself: there’s a market, café, campsite and even willow-weaving workshops here. Then head west, to the lovely little creek-harbour of Brancaster Staithe, up Barrow Common and then down via the site of Branodunum, a fort first built around AD 200. The return is via a new inclusive boardwalk by the marshes, complete with seats, viewing platforms, bumper strips and wheelchair passing places. Nature for all.
Enjoying big sea views from the Bronze Age mound of Barrow Common.
Where to eat: The Crab Hut at Brancaster Staithe serves up fresh seafood, April-October. Or try the Jolly Sailors, for Brancaster Brewery beers and songs from Nelson’s Shantymen. 
The White Horse (01485 210262; whitehorsebrancaster.co.uk) has smart B&B doubles from £150pn. Excellent restaurant too.
Lynx Coastliner 36 serves Burnham Deepdale. Buy OS Explorer Map OL250. See norfolk.gov.uk. Plan a trip to Norfolk with our guide.
In 1932, the Kinder Scout Mass Trespass thrust our right to roam into the headlines. Now, thanks to those rambling rebels, we’re all allowed the walk across this legendary moorland plateau. This testing loop is an excellent way to soak up both hiking history and Peak District views. Starting from Edale, it picks up the Pennine Way to climb Jacob’s Ladder, an old packhorse track, passing farmland, wooded cloughs and blanket bog being regenerated by the National Trust. Kinder Scout itself is a wild, weird world of peat gullies, rocky downfalls and gritstone rocks – there’s nothing up here but nature and the spirits of trespassers past. The return is via the Grindsbrook footpath, with views over the Vale of Edale.
Looking out from the flat-topped rock of Noe Stool.
Buy supplies from Newfold Farm shop. Go for a post-walk pint in Edale’s Old Nags Head, the traditional start of the Pennine Way.
Edale’s Rambler Inn (01433 670268; theramblerinn.co.uk) has B&B doubles from £160pn.
Edale is on the Sheffield-Manchester Hope Valley railway line. Buy OS Explorer Map OL1. See nationaltrust.org.uk.
Up for a challenge? The Ullswater Way is a long but scenically spectacular loop right around the Lake District’s second-largest body of water. En route you’ll pass tumbling Aira Force, Glencoyne’s woods (of Wordsworth daffodil fame), a stretch Wainwright called “the most beautiful and rewarding walk in Lakeland”, the stone circle at Cockpit, and marvellous views in between. It’s seldom too tough – the biggest difficulty is the distance. And if you start to flag, opt out by cruising back to your start point via the dreamy Ullswater Steamer – the Way easily breaks down into four shorter sections.
Resting on Memorial Seat, on Gowbarrow Fell, for views across Ullswater and the Helvellyn range. 
Granny Dowbekin’s (grannydowbekins.co.uk) has been serving at Pooley Bridge since 1904. Or try Howtown Tearoom or Glenridding’s Fellbites.
The Quiet Site (01768 486337; thequietsite.co.uk), right on the route, has pitches and glamping; cabins (sleeping 2) from £100pn. 
Ullswater Steamers dock at Pooley Bridge, Glenridding, Howtown and Aira Force. Buy the Ullswater Way Guide (£6) or OS Explorer Map OL5. See ullswater.org/the-ullswater-way. Plan a trip to the Lake District with our guide.
Glen Affric is frequently referred to as “the most beautiful glen in Scotland”. Which is high praise indeed. Even better, although it’s wild and remote, you don’t have to be an ice axe-wielding mountaineer to enjoy it. A loop of Loch Affric is long but doable by anyone with a bit of stamina, and rewards with exceptional Highlands scenery. An anticlockwise circuit begins in birch woods, moving into patches of Caledonian pine – including the old “granny pines” that sheltered Bonnie Prince Charlie when he hid here in 1745. It then enters sparser terrain, with fine mountains all around and sublime views over the loch itself. Detour up the hillock near little Loch Salach a’ Ghiubhais for the best vantage.
Potentially sighting red deer and golden eagles.
The nearest options are in Tomich and Cannich – try the Slaters Arms or Affric Bar, a café in a bus.
The Tomich Hotel (01456 415399; tomichhotel.co.uk) has a bar, a restaurant and B&B doubles from £120pn.
There’s a charge for the car park. Avoid the route when the rivers are in spate. Buy OS Explorer Map 415. See walkhighlands.co.uk.
Wiltshire isn’t short on ancient lumps and bumps. But even so, this loop around Avebury packs in an impressive amount. The route starts at the village pub, which sits within the world’s biggest prehistoric stone circle – brilliantly, unlike Stonehenge, the standing stones here are unfenced and free to fondle. The trail then follows old tracks through chalk downland acned with tumuli, including a section of the ancient Ridgeway to Overton Hill and the site of the Sanctuary, a wooden henge dating from the early Bronze Age. The return leg passes East Kennet village and the 100ft-high Silbury Hill, Europe’s largest man-made mound, built between 2400 and 2000 BC, and still a mystery. 
Detouring to West Kennet Long Barrow, a phenomenal burial chamber built around 3650 BC.
Refuel at Avebury’s Red Lion. There’s also a café at Avebury Manor – the 16th-century pile itself is wonderful, though currently closed for repairs.
The Farm at Avebury (07340 374152; thefarmatavebury.co.uk) has cosy self-catering cottages (sleeping 2-6) in its converted stables, from £109pn.
There are buses to Avebury from Swindon. Buy OS Explorer Map 157. See northwessexdowns.org.uk.
To add depth to your rambling, seek out Walks for Mind and Spirit, a new book with route ideas spanning everything from pilgrim trails to Buddhist bimbles. Its loop in the Vale of Ewyas is particularly good, combining Black Mountains scenery with a hidden-away priory, founded in around 1100 – a true escape from the modern world. The loop starts at the striking ruins (now an atmospheric pub and hotel) and heads south down the valley, keeping to its eastern flank. It then leads via woodland and sheep-nibbled slopes to Cwmyoy church and a bridge over the river Honddu that allows you to return on the other side, climbing up on to the ridge for sweeping views.

Looking out from Garn Wen Cairn, over to Sugar Loaf and across the Bristol Channel to Exmoor.
Llanthony’s Half Moon Pub reopened this spring.
Llanthony Priory Hotel (01873 890487; llanthonyprioryhotel.co.uk) serves meals and has character-packed B&B doubles from £160pn. Llanthony Court Camping (01873 890359; llanthonycamping.co.uk) has pitches for £5pppn.
There is parking at Llanthony Priory. Buy Walks for Mind and Spirit (RRP £17.99; £13.50 from duncanpetersenpublishingltd.square.site) and OS Explorer Map OL13. See visitmonmouthshire.com.
The Hole of Horcum is sometimes called “England’s Grand Canyon”. A stretch? Perhaps. But this natural amphitheatre – 400ft deep, more than half a mile across – is dramatic nonetheless. It was formed by a lengthy geological process called natural sapping, though more fun is the legend that it was made when Wade the Giant scooped up a huge handful of dirt to throw at his wife. This gentle loop begins with immense 360s over the Hole, before following a track over Levisham Moor, a landscape abundant with archaeological remains – the beady-eyed might make out ancient barrows, banks and dykes lurking amid the heather. The trail eventually dips into Dundale Griff ravine before returning along the valley floor.
Adding on the 2-mile out-and-back to ruined Skelton Tower, an 1830 hunting lodge with fantastic views.
There’s sometimes an ice-cream van at Saltergate. Nearby Lockton Tea Rooms is a lovely cafe and display space for the Lockton Artists group.
The Horseshoe Inn (01751 460240; horseshoelevisham.co.uk) has B&B doubles from £110pn.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway stops at Levisham. Buy OS Explorer Map OL47. See northyorkmoors.org.uk.  Plan a trip to Yorkshire with our guide.
An hour by train from London, the Darent Valley – within the Kent Downs National Landscape – is far easier to reach than the lavender fields of Provence, yet just as aromatic come summertime. This circular stroll from Eynsford traverses Castle Farm, the UK’s largest producer of lavender oil; breathe in the purple blooms and visit the onsite shop. The route also passes other interesting diversions: impressive Lullingstone Roman Villa (currently closed for restoration), Shoreham Aircraft Museum, which commemorates the Battle of Britain, the grand Tudor pile of Lullingstone Castle, and sites linked to the artist Samuel Palmer (download an audio-visual walking guide; darent-valley.org.uk).
Pausing in Lullingstone Country Park amid the ancient oak, beech and hornbeam trees, which are up to 800-years-old.
Shoreham’s 15th-century Samuel Palmer pub serves local ales and wines from its own vineyard.
Near Shoreham, White Hill Woods (07889 998988; whitehillwoods.co.uk) has a shepherd’s hut and lodge (sleeping 2 and 4) from £95pn.
Eynsford and Shoreham have railway stations. Buy OS Explorer Map OL147. See kentdowns.org.uk.
There’s something satisfying about walking around an island. And fortunately the Isles of Scilly aren’t that big, making a circumnavigation of even St Mary’s – the biggest – easily doable in a delightful day. Navigation isn’t difficult: from Hugh Town’s Porthcressa Beach just head clockwise, keeping the sea on your left. First, loop the western peninsula, dominated by the old garrison’s coastal defences. Then continue around the coast, via rich grassland and heath, a succession of Bronze Age entrance graves, the Iron Age village remains on Halangy Down, the lighthouse at Peninnis Head and gorgeous views out over the waves to Scilly’s other isles and outcrops.
With luck, spotting cetaceans, from fin and humpback whales in midwinter to porpoises and common dolphins year-round.
Stop at Juliet’s Garden, by Porthloo Beach. Finish with tapas at Dibble & Grub on Porthcressa’s esplanade. 
Auriga apartment (01720 422082; scillyselfcatering.com), on Porthcressa Beach, costs from £990pw (sleeping 6).
St Mary’s is accessible via the Scillonian III from Penzance and Skybus from Land’s End, Newquay and Exeter (islesofscilly-travel.co.uk). Maps are available from Porthcressa’s Tourist Info Centre. Buy OS Explorer Map OL101. See visitislesofscilly.com. Plan a trip to the Isles of Scilly with our guide.
For a little taster of an epic historic hike, try this circuit from Gilsland, a village straddling the Cumbria/Northumberland border, right on Hadrian’s Wall. Recommended in one of Cicerone’s 15 Short Walks guides – a useful series for finding manageable strolls – this loop takes in fine bits of the Roman rampart. First following Hadrian’s Wall Path west, the route passes Harrow’s Scar milecastle, turret 49b and an old Roman bridge to reach Birdoswald Fort (english-heritage.org.uk) – detour to the visitor centre and gaze along the Wall’s longest remaining stretch, sidling off into the hills. The route then veers via wooded dells to a sulphurous spring that spurred the creation of Gilsland Spa, a Victorian health resort. Then it’s a ramble via the River Irthing to return.
Reaching King’s Stables, the best-preserved milecastle along the wall.
Try Gilsland’s House of Meg tearoom or Birdoswald’s cafe.
Greenhead Hotel & Hostel (016977 47411; greenheadbrampton.co.uk) has B&B doubles from £109pn, dorms from £15.95pppn.
The seasonal AD 122 Bus stops at Greenhead, near Gilsland. Buy OS Explorer Map OL43 or Cicerone’s 15 Short Walks: Hadrian’s Wall (£9.95; cicerone.co.uk). See visitgilsland.org.uk.
There are two unmissable circular excursions from Lynmouth, on the dramatic Exmoor coast: east down the Lyn Valley to Watersmeet, west through the Valley of Rocks. You could pick one or combine both into a single extraordinary loop. Start from Countisbury Hill, using the South West Coast Path to drop into Lynmouth harbour’s cluster of ice cream shops and tearooms. Ignore the cliff railway – the world’s highest, steepest water-powered line – and heft up on foot to reach the wild goats and tower-like crags of the Valley of Rocks, one of the country’s most breathtaking shorelines. After Lee Abbey the route bends back, climbing eventually to Myrtleberry Cleave, to look over Exmoor’s lush combes to the sea. Then drop to Watersmeet, before one last yomp uphill through the woods.
Taking a break at the magical, wood-tucked Watersmeet Cafe.
Try Mother Meldrum’s Tea Gardens in the Valley of Rocks. Or idyllic Lee Abbey Tea Cottage (mid-June to September). 
The 13th-century Blue Ball Inn (01598 741263; blueballinn.com), on Countisbury Hill, has B&B doubles from £120pn.
Coaches 309/310 run from Barnstaple to Lynmouth. Buy OS Explorer Map OL9. See southwestcoastpath.org.uk.
Often overlooked for higher-profile hiking areas, the Shropshire Hills National Landscape offers some of England’s best walking. And this five-miler, around the quartzite Stiperstones ridge, is one of the region’s best. There are cracking views – on a clear day you can see to Snowdonia. There are also plenty of legends: it’s said the Devil brought these rocks here; he sits in the formation known as the Devil’s Chair and, in hot weather, the whiff of brimstone still hangs in the air. The route starts at the Bog Visitor Centre, one of the only buildings to survive from the mining village that once thrived here. Follow a trail up and then make a full loop of this netherworld of rocks, heather and strange, sculptural tors.
Scrambling (very carefully) up 536m Manstone Rock, the ridge’s highest point.
Fuel up at The Bog cafe. Nearby, The Bridges is a rustic pub serving good food.
Nipstone Campsite (hipcamp.com) offers semi-wild camping beneath the Stiperstones, with pitches from £16pn. The Bridges will offer rooms later in 2024.
The Bog has a car park. Buy OS Explorer Map OL201. See visitshropshire.co.uk.
This year a series of 30-odd new circular walks is being launched along the Wales Coast Path. But perhaps some of the best seaside loops are in Pembrokeshire, where the shoreline is a designated national park and the scenery is magnificent. For an easy dose of awesome, hike around the far-west Marloes peninsula. Go anticlockwise, heading north to pick up the coast path, passing tiny Martin’s Haven harbour and the Deer Park, home to Welsh mountain ponies. From here there are fine views to Skomer and Skokholm islands, both nature reserves renowned for seabirds; boat trips sail from Martin’s Haven, though even on the mainland you’ll see choughs, shearwaters and more. Continue to Watery Bay, where an Iron Age fort sits on a promontory, then golden Marloes Sands, great for rock-pooling and swimming.
Spotting grey seals with their pups in late summer/early autumn.
The Runway Skiln Cafe, at the start, serves seasonal, local-sourced food.
East Hook Farm (01437 762211; easthookfarmhouse.co.uk) has B&B doubles from £112pn.
Marloes is served by the 315/316 bus and Puffin Shuttle hail-and-ride. Buy OS Explorer Map OL36. See pembrokeshirecoast.wales. Plan a trip to Pembrokeshire with our guide.
This loop along the River Clyde is packed with interest. The route begins at Unesco-listed New Lanark, a planned settlement of cotton mills and housing founded in 1785 by the utopian idealist Robert Owen, now a visitor attraction. From here, make a complete Falls of Clyde circuit, heading south down the gorge to Drummonds Hill then north on the opposite bank to Kirkfieldbank. First you’ll see the small cascade of Dundaff Linn. Then 27m-high Corra Linn, the horseshoe falls of Bonnington Linn, tumbling streams and the ever-burbling river, where you might spot kingfishers and otters.
Channeling the spirit of William Wallace – his first act of rebellion was killing the Sheriff of Lanark in 1297, after which he hid somewhere in this gorge; there’s a “Wallace’s Cave” near Corra Linn.
Try New Lanark’s Mill Cafe or Mill One restaurant. In Lanark itself, pick up Scottish goodies at Duke’s Deli.
New Lanark Mill Hotel (01555 667 200; newlanarkhotel.co.uk) has doubles from £99pn room-only.
Lanark (1.5 miles from New Lanark) is accessible by train and bus from Glasgow. Buy OS Explorer Map OL335. See walkhighlands.co.uk.
This south-west Isle of Wight circuit combines icons both natural and cultural. There are views of The Needles sea stacks, part of a chalk ridge that once linked the island to Dorset. And there are echoes of Tennyson – the poet moved here in the 1870s and walked daily on the downs. Start from pretty Freshwater Bay and stride along the dazzling-white clifftops like Lord Alfred; at 147m, the Tennyson Monument marks West Wight’s highest point. Continuing, you’ll reach the National Trust’s Needles Batteries, once used for top-secret rocket testing; there are cracking views from here too. Head for Headon Warren, then pass Farringford House, Tennyson’s former home, and Dimbola, where Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron lived – both now museums.
Species spotting – in summer the rich grassland is bright with pyramidal orchids and Adonis blue butterflies.
Freshwater Bay’s Piano Cafe does snacks and lunches. The Red Lion in nearby Freshwater does good pub food.
Bay Boutique at Freshwater Bay (01983 641143; stayfreshwaterbay.co.uk) has B&B doubles from £125pn.
Freshwater Bay is served by buses. Buy OS Explorer Map OL29. See wightaonb.org.uk.