Walking holidays for beginners: how to choose a route you'll actually enjoy

A walking holiday sounds like something for people with expensive boots and strong opinions about maps. It is not. It is a holiday where you walk from one bed to the next, or out from one base each day, and somebody else deals with the luggage. For most people over 50 it is the easiest way into slow travel.

This is general information. If you have a heart condition, high blood pressure or joint problems, or have been inactive for a while, check with your GP (family doctor) before taking on more walking than you are used to. Our complete guide to travel after 50 covers the wider preparation.

Start with the daily distance, not the route

The beginner’s mistake is to choose a famous path and then discover what it asks per day. Do it the other way round: decide what you can comfortably walk five or six days running, and let that choose the route.

The official South Downs Way page puts it plainly: anyone reasonably fit can walk it, and if you can comfortably walk 12 miles (20 km) a day you should manage without difficulty. Twelve miles is a full day for most people. Test it: walk that distance at home, several times, in the shoes you will wear. If it feels fine, the holiday will. If not, plan shorter days — every long route can be broken into smaller stages.

The US National Park Service has a good rule for pace: if you can talk while you are walking, you are going at the right speed.

UK National Trails: the obvious place to begin

England and Wales have around 3,600 miles (5,800 km) of National Trail, waymarked, each with a dedicated officer and an official website full of itineraries. Two suit beginners particularly well.

Hadrian’s Wall Path runs 84 miles (135 km) from Wallsend, near Newcastle, to Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria. The official site calls it relatively easy for anyone reasonably fit, planned as a seven-day walk, with one harder central section of 23 miles (37 km) between Chollerford and Birdoswald. It recommends May to October and warns that July and August are very busy.

The South Downs Way runs 100 miles (160 km) from Winchester to Eastbourne, typically over about nine days. Villages sit at the foot of the downs, so you walk down to bed each evening. A railway line runs alongside, with stations at Petersfield, Amberley, Hassocks and Lewes, so you can walk it in sections over several trips.

The trail pages also say something every beginner should know: several companies will move your bags, help you plan, or arrange a full package. Baggage transfer turns a long-distance path into something manageable — you carry a daypack and the heavy bag goes ahead by van. Book accommodation in advance; it is limited in some areas.

The Camino: a walk with a certificate at the end

The routes to Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain are beginner-friendly for a simple reason: you do not have to do all of it. The Pilgrim’s Reception Office issues the Compostela certificate to anyone who has walked at least the last 100 continuous kilometres (about 62 miles) into the city on one route, or cycled 200 km. You collect stamps in a pilgrim passport, the credencial, to prove it, and can complete the walk in stages provided you keep the order.

A hundred kilometres over five or six days is a realistic first walking holiday, on paths built for walkers: waymarks, hostels, cafés, and baggage services on the popular stretches. Go in spring or autumn, not high summer.

US National Park trails

The US National Park Service looks after more than 21,000 miles of trail, and its National Scenic Trails run to enormous lengths — the Appalachian Trail is 2,190 miles, the Pacific Crest 2,650. Nobody is suggesting you walk one. Every long trail has short, well-served sections, and every national park has graded day hikes.

Two practical things. The America the Beautiful Senior Pass: US citizens and permanent residents aged 62 and over can buy an annual pass for $20 or a lifetime pass for $80, covering entrance and standard day-use fees at national parks and other federal sites. And the Park Service’s safety advice: check the weather, drink as you are thirsty, wear sturdy rubber-soled boots with ankle support, and leave a written trip plan with someone not on the walk — it is what search and rescue teams work from.

The Ramblers: company, routes and a way to practise

If you would rather not plan or walk alone, the Ramblers are the answer in Britain. They run over 500 groups and some 50,000 group walks, and their online library holds more than 4,000 vetted routes across England, Scotland and Wales. Their Wellbeing Walks are free, need no booking, are led by volunteers, and start at just 10 minutes long at a slow to steady pace — a good place to test your legs before committing to a week. A few led walks will also teach you how fast you actually go and what you wish you had packed.

Kit, without the fuss

Broken-in shoes or boots, a daypack, a waterproof, water, blister plasters (bandages) and layers rather than bulk. Walking poles save knees on descents; learn to use them at home. Rest days every third or fourth day are part of the plan, not a failure of it.

To plan the whole thing — route, costs, insurance, health and a twelve-week countdown — our Slow Travel After 50 workbook has a walking-holiday section and a packing list. For getting to the start without a car, see travelling by train after 50.

This week

• Walk your candidate daily distance once, and note how you feel the next morning.
• Find your nearest Ramblers group walk and go.
• Read one official trail page and write down the stages you would actually do.
• If you have a condition, book a GP conversation before you book the holiday.