United Kingdom | A hiker’s paradise

(United Kingdom) Forget the strange cricket, the popular soccer or the very distinguished polo. The national sport of the English is hiking, which they practice with family or friends. And for good reason: their country seems to have been shaped to meet the needs of a walking club. Find out why the UK is a walker’s paradise.

Rights of way

In Quebec, we hike mainly in parks or on Crown land. In the UK, a complex system of public rights of way — often from a time when few major roads existed — persists to this day. One can therefore stroll along the edge of a field (and sometimes across it), along a river which would pass through private land or even through a domain of castellans. Just stay on the trail, sometimes marked, sometimes not. In the Scottish Highlands, the freedom of the hiker is even greater: there, a “right of vagrancy” makes it possible to cross almost any uncultivated ground, and even to camp there without authorization.

Ordnance Survey maps

To use rights of way, you need to be able to locate them. To locate them, you need a very precise map. This is why the English swear by the Ordnance Survey, a public agency whose products can be found in all good bookstores. On these plans, each building, each grove, each isolated farm is represented, which therefore allows the walker to locate himself quickly. Pink lines indicate the route of usable rights of way, even when they are not marked.

The weather… sometimes

Walking in the land of drizzle, mist and fog? While it’s true that the weather in the UK isn’t always good – especially in Scotland, Wales and Cornwall – the image of the country continually in the rain is a myth. Each year, Miami, New York or Boston receive more precipitation than London. And the cool weather that lasts from autumn to spring makes it possible to hike without turning into a mop or freezing your feet in the snow (except in the mountains).

The diverse landscapes

If you’re looking to walk in an English postcard, over green hills dotted with sheep, past a dark brick cottage, you’ll find one without a problem. But the United Kingdom offers many other topographies to explore on foot: from the plains of East Anglia to the Scottish Highlands via the South West coast or the mountains of Wales, there is something for everyone. . Attention, all the same: with a highest point at only 978 m in England (1345 m including Scotland), this is not the country of mountaineers or extreme sportsmen.

Commercials

Anyone who hikes in Europe quickly grasps the fundamental difference with the practice of hiking in North America: on the Old Continent, you can easily cross several villages in a single day’s walk because they are close to each other. . And in England, where village means pub, these establishments are at the heart of British community life. Each village of some importance has one of these resto-bars, while others are located in the open countryside. In addition to allowing you to eat in the middle of the course, several pubs also rent out a few rooms to travellers, often at competitive prices. And as they close relatively early, don’t worry about the noise of the revelers.

The train

Despite the massive closure of small rural stations in the second half of the 20^e century, the English countryside is still relatively accessible by rail. In just an hour by train from central London, several agricultural regions are accessible and ready to welcome walkers. For a one-day hike without retracing your steps, you can often trace a route between two train stations and thus return home immediately. Buses usually reach the more isolated localities. Be careful, however: bus and train are much less numerous on Sundays.