Easter's here, and at Cool Places HQ we reckon there's no better time to get out and explore some of the nation's most epic landscape, countryside and woodlands. So here's a selection of great British walks to do this Easter...
1. Brimham Rocks – North Yorkshire
Yorkshire's very own Canyonlands, with spectacular view stretching to York Minster and the distant Yorkshire Wolds on a fine day. Lots of walks through the rocks and across the surrounding moors and fields. Better yet, walk here from nearby Pateley Bridge – a 9-mile circuit that takes about 4 hours.
2. The Ridgeway – Buckinghamshire
Part of a 5000-year-old drovers' track which once ran from Dorset all the way to the Norfolk coast, The Ridgeway is a fascinating walk that takes in rolling hills, riverside ambles, bluebell-lined woodland trails and quaint villages.
3. Bluebell Walks – the New Forest, Hampshire
There's no better place or time to see the bluebells than in the ancient New Forest at Easter. Bluebells don’t grow wild anywhere else in Europe so it’s a particularly English pastime. Two of the best places are the Broomy Inclosure, north of Linwood, and the Pondhead Inclosure, near Lyndhurst.
4. Merthyr Mawr – Vale of Glamorgan
Nothing screams spring time like roaming sheep, shetland ponies and wild flowers – and you can see them all at the pretty thatched village of Methyr Mawr in south Wales. Most people just pass through the village to get to the nearby sand dunes, but we think the village walk is particularly beautiful at Easter.
5. The Cleveland Way – The Norh York Moors National Park
The 110-mile National Trail that connects Helmsley, in the heart of the North York Moors, with the seaside at Filey, is one Britain's greatest long-distance trails. The traditional starting point is Helmsley's Market Cross, but there's all sorts of different routes you can take, and you can guarantee you'll see your fair share of heather woodlands, castles and deserted beaches along the way.
6. The Bath Skyline Walk – Bath
Recently voted the best National Trust walk in Britain, the six-mile Bath Skyline follows a circular route around the hills surrounding the city, dipping in and out of woodlands and across peaceful meadows. Perfect for escaping the city this Easter.
7. Strumpshaw Fen – Norfolk
One of Norfolk's most popular RSPB reserves, and glorious at this time of year, when the spring migrants put on quite a show, with 'dancing' pairs of marsh harriers, sedge and reed warblers, woodpeckers – and of course cuckoos! And in any case, birds aside, its big skies and reedy marshes, meadows and woodland are a beautiful spot for a walk.
8. Cressbrook Dale – the Peak District
This easy 6-mile walk starts in Litton, which huddles between limestone crags and a series of amazing gorges, and is perfect for seeing wild flowers, ash woods and hardly anyone else.
9. Martin's Haven Deer Park Walk – St Davids
There are no deer to be seen here, but it's still a really special walk, with paths leading around the precipitous cliffs, offering fabulous views of offshore islands, seabirds, and inaccessible coves where in season you may find seals coming in to bask or give birth to their young.
10. The Stevenson Way – Isle of Mull
Not for the faint-hearted, this one, but the Stevenson Way offers some of the wildest and most beautiful scenery in the Scotland.
