Hiking in the UK is one of the best ways to see what this beautiful and varied landscape has to offer. We’ve spent a lot of the last 10 years since we got into hiking exploring the UK on foot. Now, we live in the Lake District and are lucky to get out in the mountains every week.
What we love is just how unique and varied the UK is – a ramble in the Cotswolds will give you a very different experience to demanding Lake District climbs. But with this variety comes vastly varied terrain and unpredictable weather.
We decided to build this guide because we were frustrated with some of the cookie cutter advice we’ve seen out there when it comes to UK hiking essentials. Everything in this guide comes from our years of real hikes and making mistakes.
Getting the most out of hiking in the UK is about being prepared and not perfect. By the end of our guide, we hope you’ll have a better idea of what hiking gear for the UK works best and what will help you enjoy your time outdoors more.
This guide to UK hiking essentials focuses in on the gear we actually use, the advice we put into practise ourselves and the tips we’d offer anyone. Our aim is to help you feel more confident on the trail.
If you’re on the hunt for more specific hikes or destination guides, then we’d recommend you check out our UK destination hub.
There’s lots of overview guides like things to do in Northumberland, best hikes in the Peak District, Epping Forest Walks, the Jurassic Coast and Snowdonia Routes as well as individual guides like the Malham Cove Walk, Rydal Caves, Tarn Hows Walk and Buttermere Infinity Pools.
January 2026 Update: We keep this article updated regularly as we are constantly learning in the outdoors. Most recently, we’ve updated this article with some new tips for preventing your water from freezing on hikes in harsh Winter conditions.
What to Pack for Hiking in the UK
We love the variety that the UK offers when it comes to hiking. With this diversity, the weather and conditions vary dramatically from area to area.
This section is all about thinking carefully about where you’re going to visit and what you need to pack. We’ll look at layers for hiking in UK weather, the gear we actually use, and some of our tips that will help you adapt to different locations easily.
Getting Layering Right for Your Hike
With the massive changes in weather, it’s really important to keep in mind that what to pack for a day hike in the UK could look quite different. Be that location, time of year or a bit of a mix.
There’s been plenty of times when we’ve been enjoying Snowdonia routes where we’ve pretty much gone prepared for four seasons in a day. And needed everything we’ve brought.
Likewise, now we live in the Lake District, there aren’t many times that go by where we don’t take a rain coat or extra layers in our daypacks as a precaution.
This can make deciding what to pack for hiking in the UK a little bit tricky. We’ve felt the same frustrations as you likely have around feeling like you need to bring excessive stuff with you, even on a summer’s day.
However, a key, core layering system is what we recommend to anyone who asks us. This is the system we use ourselves when it comes to UK hiking gear.
We find this allows us to chop and change depending on where we are – never getting caught out. This can be adjusted depending on where you’re hiking and the kind of temperatures/conditions you’re likely to experience.
We go into this more as well in our what to wear hiking article, this is well worth a read if you’re new to hiking. Even if you’re not, you might find it helpful if you’re looking to step your gear up.
Though, in essence, the best layering system for hiking is made up out of a base layer, a mid layer and an outer layer system. Let’s go through each of these individually.
Base Layers
We have a couple of different base layers that we alternate between depending on whether it’s colder or hotter. For winter conditions, we find merino layers are best.
There have been plenty of times when we’ve been winter hiking in the Scottish Highlands and the moisture wicking properties of a good merino base layer has kept our skin free from sweat. Which, when it’s cold is exactly what you want.
We both really love the Rab Conduit Base Layer as it’s really well fitted and washes up really well. This is a little on the pricier side, and something we’ve moved onto the more we’ve hiked, and on the cheaper end, we have got a lot of amazing use out of the Merino.tech layers.
For summer hiking, depending on the actual temperature, we may still opt for a merino layer, as they also keep you cool too. However, if it’s hotter, we move towards gym t-shirts.
We’ve tried out loads of expensive options for gym style trail t-shirts over the years, but to be honest they’ve never felt worth the money. More recently, we’ve started wearing these ones which we’ve been really impressed with for the price.
We would tend to advise you to avoid cotton when it comes to hiking. If it gets wet, it takes a really long time to dry (not great for rain). If it gets sweaty, it leaves a layer of moisture next to your skin. This combined with wind can make you feel really cold, really fast!
Mid Layers
Mid layers are an area that are important to have options when it comes to what to wear hiking in the UK. Your mid layer is your main layer of insulation, so you’ll want to vary this depending on the temperature.
If we know we’re going to be hiking somewhere cooler, or it’s winter, then we’ll use either the Rab Nebitron Pro Jacket or the Salewa Ortles Hybrid Jacket. These both give a good pack of insulation for even snowy ascents in the deep of winter.
We’ve found these are both overkill pretty quickly when working up a sweat outside of very cold winter conditions. As a general, three season mid layer hiking jacket, we love the Rab Xenair Alpine Light Jacket.
Fay particularly has been reaching for this jacket on repeat for quite a while, from lower level strolls to windy days higher in the peaks. At first we were dubious about how thin it was, but actually it’s shape and thickness is what makes it an incredible all rounder.
If things are warmer still and we just want a little extra warmth, if it’s a little cloudy or there’s a bit of wind, we both go for our Rab Nexus Hoody. It’s really lightweight and is probably one of our most worn pieces of UK hiking clothing.
We tend to bring a mix of these layers (bar our full-on winter puffy layers) for a lot of hiking we do. There has been plenty of times when, even hiking in the Peak District has had us go from a t-shirt to a much thicker layer even in the middle of summer.
If you’re looking for a mid layer that is going to give you the insulation you need, we’d recommend reading out best down jackets for hiking guide. This covers the six puffy jackets we actually reach for again and again and is full of useful information (and tested for years outdoors) that will help you decide and get the right jacket for you.
Outer Layer
One mistake we see a lot of people make is to buy a rain jacket that also includes padding, to work like an overall jacket that combines a mid layer and an outer layer. However, this really limits the use of your outer rain layer.
We always go for a thin outer layer, which just provides protection against wind and rain. This means you’re making your gear work smarter and not harder and will need to buy less overall.
In practise, this means we use the same raincoats in summer to ward of showers as we do placed over thicker winter layers for snowy ascents in the Lake District and Scotland.
We’ve spent a lot of time testing out rain jackets over time to build out our guide to the best waterproof rain jackets. This goes into a lot more detail of what you should look for depending on your budget and each jacket we recommend includes a real, tried and tested review.
As time has gone on, our favourite rain jacket has become our trusted Rab Downpour Plus Waterproof Jacket. We both have one and love them. They’ve never failed to keep us dry, which is saying something with some of the storms we’ve been caught in between the Lake District, Snowdonia and Scotland!
Trousers for Hiking
The trousers you wear for hiking in the UK are a bit of a personal preference. However, we’d always recommend having a two layered system available (i.e. the ones you’re wearing and waterproof rain trousers to slip over the top if the weather turns).
We both have our favourites for general hiking. From years of trial and error, Fay much prefers hiking in leggings. The Under Armour HeatGear leggings are at the top of Fay’s list as they just fit really well, don’t ride up/fall down and are great for big stretches.
Matt loves a more soft shell style and really loves the prAna Brion Pants. He’s been wearing these for years and finds they work perfectly for three seasons and can be stretched further still with a merino tight base layer.
Whatever you decide to go for as your main hiking trousers, make sure that they have good stretch (or articulated points) to help make ascents and descents feel easy and effortless.
When it comes to a waterproof layer, this is something we would recommend always having stored in your daypack. There were so many times before we started doing this where we wished we had.
We both really love the Rab Downpour Eco Pants, which have become a favourite from years of use and have reviewed these trousers in detail. We have a full guide on the best waterproof rain pants for hiking, all tested in detail, which includes everything you need to know to find the perfect pair for your budget.
Think Ahead About Your Hiking Shoes or Boots for UK Trails
We think one of the most important things to get right when it comes to what to wear hiking in the UK is hiking shoes or boots. And it’s so easy to get it very, very wrong!
We actually think that it’s good to have at least two pairs of hiking shoes/boots. Generally, for most hikers in the UK, we recommend having at least one pair of waterproof boots and a pair of hiking shoes that are waterproof.
There are of course plenty of trails or parts of the year where waterproof hiking shoes may be overkill. However, we literally can’t count the amount of times we’ve come across a boggy or really wet section of a trail that demands something waterproof.
They also allow you to just enjoy the trail rather than having to step around things. A personal favourite of ours for making the most of waterfall and river hopping too.
We recommend really checking the hiking boots you have (or want to buy) to make sure they’re waterproof and not water repellent. This will likely either be Gore-Tex or a brand specific finish.
When we first started hiking, we bought only water repellent boots and ended up getting completely soaked through on a muddy hike about a week later in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Since then, waterproof boots became our go to.
We’ve spent years testing and reviewing for our guide on the best hiking boots which we’d really recommend you check out as it covers everything you need to know in a lot of detail to find the right pair.
We both have a couple of pairs we love for different circumstances. Fay loves the Danner Mountain Leaf 600 GTX for pretty much three seasons. They get used reliably on all trails from Rydal Caves in the Lake District to any trail you could imagine in Snowdonia. They’re so comfortable and just never give up.
In winter, Fay also really loves the Scarpa Ribelle Lite HD as they handle rocky trails and colder climates really well to keep your feet cosy warm (but not over heating). They’ve hiked all around the UK and are as robust as the day Fay bought them.
Matt really likes more rigid hiking boots and will usually go for this over hiking shoes. He’s pretty clumsy so having that extra bit of ankle support helps to avoid any problems whilst we’re outside.
If you feel a little like you’re the same, then hiking boots may be best for you. He loves a combination of the Salewa Men’s Alp Trainer and the Danner Crag Rat EVO when it comes to more full on winter stuff.
In terms of hiking shoes, you can get away with trail runners, but we really wouldn’t recommend it. Of course, there’s a good few trails we’ve hiked in summer where breathable shoes haven’t been an issue, but more times than not we’ve regretted it.
When it comes to UK hiking gear and shoes, you can have a pretty miserable time if you get wet, cold feet early on. Trust us, we’ve been there.
That said, living in the Lake District, we’re always prepared for water on the trail, so we’ve just learnt to keep that in mind. We’ve tested likely hundreds of hours on the trail for our guide to the best hiking shoes that offer that balance between trail runner and hiking shoe, as well as waterproof options.
In terms of waterproof hiking shoes, which we’d recommend for something fast and light when conditions allow, we love the Danner Trail 2650 hiking shoe. This is actually probably Fay’s all time favourite hiking shoe. It’s so incredibly comfortable.
Waterproof hiking shoes get the balance right between being able to get out there fast. They let you move quickly and have a sense of vibrancy that you don’t always get with hiking boots.
We’ve trail tested a lot of shoes for our best waterproof hiking shoes guide that get an amazing balance of this. This also goes into a lot more detail about how to decide which hiking shoes are right for you depending on where you plan to use them.
We also have a guide on the best budget hiking shoes which is great if you have a specific price point you need to stick to. This hyper focused guide has some of our favourite pairs in it, so it’s well worth a read.
What We Pack in Our Daypacks (and How This Adapts)
A lot of people get stuck when working out what to pack for a day hike in the UK, especially if you’re expecting changeable weather. A lot of people get bogged down with bringing gear for every eventuality.
There’s often an idea that UK hiking gear needs to be bulky and built to withstand extremes. This isn’t always the case, and can often slow you down and make you more uncomfortable.
It’s also really easy to end up with a pack that doesn’t feel comfortable, doesn’t fit you right or is too big or too small. We know this all too well first hand.
So, when you combine all these things together it can make for a pretty uncomfortable day out which you likely won’t enjoy. Not long after we started hiking, we went on a trip hiking in Snowdonia.
We both were still using general backpacks that didn’t have much back support and were both bringing way too much with us. It was a hot sunny day and at the end, we both had incredibly sore red patches on our shoulders from where our packs had rubbed, made worse by the sun.
In this section, we’ll cover everything you need to know about what to pack, and how to adapt this to different seasons and weather. The solid system we have now is versatile and can be put together over time.
If you want to go into this in even more detail than we cover here, we’d also recommend reading our what to bring on a hike article.
Choose the Right Pack Size
For us, this one is really important and will be pretty individual to you. We’d typically say you should be looking around 20-30L for the ideal daypack.
This will give you enough room for most of, if not all of the basics below depending on the specific kit you have. We’d recommend going bigger if you plan to be out for long periods as you’ll need to consider water storage.
However, your pack size will be determined mostly by what extras you want to bring. For us, bringing camera gear, which is often heavy is an important extra. So, we prioritise packs like the Gregory Citro 24 (Matt loves this one) and the Osprey Talon 22 (Fay’s all time favourite).
On days where we don’t want to carry as much weight, or don’t want a full back suspension system, Fay usually opts for the Rab Tensor 20. Whilst the 2 litre difference between this and the Talon isn’t much, the shape feels a lot more compact and better suited to light hikes.
Matt generally prefers to stick to a full suspension daypack whatever really, but also loves using the Gregory Maya 25. This is more of a personal preference. The Rab Adrift has been impressing him a lot lately too.
Another area that you should consider is your frame. If you’re very petite, you may want to look at a pack that’s between 18-22L as your optimal. Also consider shape.
Some packs are narrow, whereas some are boxier, and each of these can suit different torso lengths better than others. So, it’s a good idea to consider shape when choosing.
The daypacks we love that we’ve listed above have come from literally hundreds of hours of hiking, testing and really feeling into the comfort they give. Over time, your daypack will kind of become like part of the hike itself.
We have a full guide to the best daypacks for hiking which is a great place to start if you’re not sure exactly what is the best fit you. This guide covers our carefully considered favourites that we’ve actually used and tested to the full.
This also covers a lot more detailed advice on how to choose the right daypack for hiking and includes everything we’ve learnt over the years from countless trial and error.
Likewise, we also have a hyper focused guide on lightweight daypacks, which includes a lot of the packs we personally use that we’ve written about above.
Our Daypack Essentials List (Always Packed):
Over the years, we’ve been able to get our main list of what we always have packed down to the following fairly important items. You can use this list as your base level and build from there if there are any specific extras you need.
Water
We like to bring a 32oz Hydro Flask for most day hikes. If it is going to be hot, full sun or longer, we will bring two. We have found that putting our water bottles in each other’s packs makes it much easier to drink on the go as you don’t have to take your whole pack off.
If we are going on longer hikes and it’s hot, we use a water reservoir. We personally use the Osprey 2.5l ones. In the past we tried cheaper water reservoirs and they leaked. We’ve had these for 4 years and they are still perfect.
In very cold weather, your water can freeze. We found this out the hard way on a winter hike on Helvellyn (the third-highest mountain in England) when the temperature dropped well into minus figures and the drinking tubes on our water reservoirs froze solid.
In extreme cold, bottles are a better solution than water reservoirs. Be sure to stash them upside down in your bag as ice forms from the top down and this way, ice will not plug up the mouth of the bottle.
Food and Snacks
We always have snacks in our pack no matter how long the trail is. We usually have at least two Cliff Bars each in our bags. These won’t get eaten every hike, it’s usually as a precaution.
Though generally your hiking snack should be something you really love and actually tastes nice to you. It needs to be something you actually want to eat.
If you’re going to be out for more than about 3 hours, or around a meal time, we would always recommend taking a bigger meal. This should have a focus on carbohydrates and protein.
A sandwich with protein and non-perishable veggies inside, pasta salad with protein or rice with protein are all good bases to work from. These will keep you full and give you the energy you need.
If you want some more inspiration we’ve written a number of guides on nutrition for hiking. The one we think will be most useful for you is backpacking meal recipes.
Whilst this is focused on backpacking you’ll find a section near the start with backpacking meal ideas that work well for day hiking meals too.
When considering what food to bring, you want something that can transport easily. Make sure it goes into a protective Tupperware style tub before you put it in your pack too.
GPS on a Phone and Map and Compass as Backup
We generally use a combination of Outdooractive and AllTrails for every map we use. Whilst some old school people will still sneer at this, we think this is more than a solid solution in today’s world.
The reality is this makes it easier to see where you’re going and keep track of things easily. We always make sure our maps are downloaded and generally switch onto Airplane mode when we head out.
We do like to carry a paper map and compass as a backup, as many of the fells where we live in the fog can seem featureless. So this is a good safety net for us.
A compass doesn’t need to expensive, and learning to use it alongside reading maps can make planning your own routes a lot more possible. We pretty much plan all our routes from scratch now and much prefer what we get to see this way.
We have a guide to the best compasses for hiking which covers some of the best, relatively cheap options out there that we’ve tested on massively differing terrain. It doesn’t take up much space in your pack and is well worth having.
We don’t always think having a power bank is needed if your hike is short and you conserve your phone battery. For anything over three hours we usually carry one.
Anything pretty cheap from Amazon will do here – it doesn’t need to be fancy! We’ve tried lots of cheaper and expensive ones and to be honest there isn’t much in it – so don’t waste your money.
Headtorch
A headtorch is always in one of our smaller compartments as they come in really handy if you end up staying out longer than planned.
Whilst you can use your phone, we’ve found that just having a torch on your head and not having to think about it is much better for stability on rougher trails.
We’ve tried a good few as time has gone by and settled on the Petzl Actik Core a few years ago. It just works really well, uses USB to charge and lasts for ages. They also keep their charge pretty well too so if you don’t use it for a while, it should still be good to go.
Layers
We covered what layers work best earlier on in this article, but you will want to make sure you have space for some of them in your daypack. Depending on the temperature, you may want your mid layer/puffy, your waterproof rain jacket and your rain trousers.
Try to get an understanding of how hot your body feels when you work up a sweat as this will help get an idea of how many layers to bring. We’ve brought loads in the past and ended up stripping them off and cramming them in our packs within half an hour.
First Aid
We don’t really believe you need a full on first aid kit for hiking in the UK. You just need to have a few basic items that will see you through and you can make this up from a pharmacy or supermarket easily.
We have ended up using a small pencil case with a bandage, plasters, hand sanitiser, scissors, tweezers, some pads for blisters and a tick remover. This is all we’ve ever needed in all the years we’ve been hiking.
Making up a kit yourself means you can bring what’s relevant to you too. If you need any specific medications or adjustments, this is a good place to keep it.
For us, if we used an off the shelf first aid kit, it would contain waterproof plasters which give Fay a rash, so we always carry fabric plasters instead. It’s a bit of kit that will keep you prepared but doesn’t need complicating.
Hiking poles
Whether you see hiking poles as an essential or not is personal preference. We do. They make a big difference to how your legs, back and knees feel over steep trails and can provide a lot of stability.
For us, they’ve been massively helpful on some of the steep ascents we have in the Lake District and on winter downhills in the Scottish Highlands. They take away the worry and just give an extra layer of support.
We’ve tested a lot of different hiking poles for our guide to the best trekking poles and have a couple of poles that are our go to options depending on the trail conditions.
These are the Leki Cressida FX Carbon AS Trekking Pole which we’ve reviewed in detail. They pack down really small and can easily go on the side of or inside your daypack. They’re great to bring with you if you know you won’t need them all the time.
We also love the MSR Dynalock Explore Backcountry Poles as they are the perfect length for steep downhill hiking. They really impressed us when we were reviewing them and are constantly used when we’re out in the mountains here.
Small Extras That Make a Big Difference
These are sun cream, sunglasses, a peaked cap, a warmer hat, gloves and a buff. You will likely have some of these options already, and you can just use what works best for you.
There’s a couple of specific options that we want to cover that we’ve found work here, the rest is straight forward and we don’t think needs to be covered in more detail.
We hate the greasy feeling you get a lot from sun lotion, and really love this Neutrogena lotion. It’s more pricey in the UK, but it is well worth it. It isn’t greasy and feels really subtle on your skin.
We use powder sun lotion like this one to stop our scalps burning and being greasy from sun lotion. It’s pretty amazing and lasts ages!
How We Adapt This Per Season/Conditions
The base list above is a good starting point and there are few additions you can make depending on the conditions. We’d recommend looking ahead and having extra kit to add based on this.
We divide this fairly simply in the following ways:
- If it’s cold: include a warm hat, gloves (our best winter hiking gloves guide covers some great options here), and a warm drink in a Hydro Flask. We’d also recommend reading our winter hiking tips article for more on what to bring specifically if you’re looking at snow hiking too.
- If its been really wet: add a pair of gaiters, bring spare socks and make sure your waterproof layers are packed. Waterproof boots or shoes are essential here too.
- If your hike is long: extra food and water make all the difference.
- If it’s hot: bring extra layers if climbing higher, water, sunscreen.
UK Hiking Tips – How We Prep and Stay Safe
Everybody talks about safety when it comes to the outdoors. The truth is, it doesn’t need to be something that bogs you down, it’s just a few simple checks you can do to feel confident that you’re ready to take it on.
This section covers all of the UK hiking tips and advice we use ourselves every time we head outside. After a while, this will all become second nature.
The chances are, if you’ve being hiking for a while you may already be doing most of it. This section aims to go through how to prepare for a hike UK style, no fluff, just easy to follow and easy to remember.
Staying Safe: The Prep We Do Before All Our Hikes
Whether you’re looking for UK hiking tips for beginners or how to prepare for a hike in the UK, it’s the same either way. We’ve divided the key areas we look at below into two logical sections.
Check Gear, Weather Reports, Conditions and Terrain in Advance
Before any hike, we make sure everything we’re wearing and bringing is still working ok. As we hike a lot, this is something we can check on the previous hike (like water bottles for example).
If we haven’t used something for a while (like waterproof trousers) we like to make sure they’re still waterproof and if not, give them a waterproofing treatment. You also want to make sure things like your rain coat still stands too.
We also check to make sure our phones are charged, maps are downloaded and we have snacks, hats and gloves. Just basically the main essentials are covered.
Next up is checking weather reports. This is probably one of our biggest hiking safety tips for the UK. We check how things have been in that area the days before and what it’s saying hour by hour.
We often use the Met Office weather reports as a general idea. Then if we need to, we also use a mountain specific forecast like MWIS (Mountain Weather Information Service) if the conditions look changeable.
We are always open to adapting routes or changing which trail we’ll do if conditions look like they’ll change. There’s been countless times where we’ve rethought things due to wind, rain and poor visibility.
Whilst its always sad, sometimes conditions aren’t right. There’s one hike we’ve been wanting to do in the Lake District for about two years, and every time we’ve had the opportunity to do it, the conditions have meant that due to its exposure, it wouldn’t be fun. So, it’s about being adaptable.
When deciding on your route, check the elevation, kinds of surfaces you’ll be walking on and the terrain in advance. This is where starting to understand the topography on your mapping software makes a big difference.
The contours around your trail will start to give you an idea of any steep sections. You should always over estimate the time needed as well as the type of conditions matter more.
If you find sections that are steeper, or muddy, icy or uneven, this will take a lot longer to hike over than you think. The first time we did the Kinder Scout hike in the Peak District, we massively underestimated how long the 16km circuit we had planned would take.
The entire plateau at the top had so many small rocks to navigate and small up and downhills that it wasn’t just a case of powering along. This is also personal too, as some people naturally seem to bound over things quicker.
So, we’ve learnt to base all of these things on our own experiences and what we know about the way we hike. We also know we stop about 10,000 for photos. So that has to factor in too.
Likewise, the ascent you’ll need to cover should be right at the top of your mind too. As a 10km flat walk in Epping Forest is very different to a 10km walk with significant height in Snowdonia.
If you’re new to hiking and aren’t sure of your fitness, we always advise going for trails with less up and downhill to begin and building up as you get more confidence. Not every hike has to be huge, demanding and full on to feel incredible.
Parking and Back-Up Plans
Due to the nature of where most hiking trails start, the road to get to them can be pretty narrow, with remote trailheads. Some hikes over the years in the UK have become really popular and the parking isn’t suitable for the number of people who want to do it.
We’ve seen this all over the country, but it’s just not good to park along the side of a road (unless there is an actual parking spot and not a passing place). Having a back up hike planned is essential, especially at busier times.
Living in the Lake District, we always have a secondary trail planned, especially in summer. You can also see if there are any different start points you could use for the trail or if it makes sense to start from a difference village.
It’s wise to avoid some of the really popular routes on weekends, especially in National Parks. Don’t just follow what everyone else is doing – if one person sets a trend it can cause real problems, especially in an emergency and services can’t get through.
We always like to swing it as ‘if the parking is this packed, it’s not going to be any different on the hike, and that’s not what we enjoy’. This usually gets rid of any FOMO and we head on and enjoy our backup.
UK Hiking Tips: What We Do to Make the Most of Every Trip
We love making the most out of everywhere we explore, and we feel that the UK is such a stunning place to do it. We very much have a relaxed attitude when it comes to exploring, and we feel strongly that these tips will show you how to enjoy hiking more.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking for beginner hiking tips for the UK or whether you’re more advanced, getting the most out of (or rather, not putting pressure on yourself) is going to give you the best experience.
Remember it should be about fun, and remember why you wanted to get out and explore in the first place. These UK hiking tips have really helped us!
Pacing and Being Realistic: Remember Why You Wanted to in the First Place
When we first started getting outdoors, we were met with lots of fairly toxic advice. To be honest, there’s still a lot out there.
One of our aims with This Expansive Adventure was to help shift away from that. So, if that’s not your bag either, you’re in the right place.
Neither of us were naturally very outdoorsy when we first started, and it’s taken years of conditioning and experience to do some of the things we enjoy today. Likewise, we always love mixing in shorter or less demanding trails. Everything is met with an attitude of curiosity.
One of the biggest things we say is to be honest with what your body feels up for. On the daily and take that as final. Remember, it should be fun and not punishment.
A lot of hiking for beginners in the UK is sneered at by some, but we think this is completely the wrong attitude. It should be about enjoyment over performance. It’s not a race, it’s about being there!
So, take it at the pace that suits you, do trails that are right for you and build, pace and work as you feel is right for you. Especially if you struggle with anything like fatigue, autoimmune diseases or conditions that can give you Post Exertional Malaise.
Never do anything that you know is going to harm you, your body or impact your recovery afterwards. It just isn’t worth it. Don’t keep pushing past your limit.
Choose the Right Trail for You
We’ve touched on this above, but picking your trail based on your energy is one thing. Picking based on the weather is a really smart move too.
We also are firm believers in not just going for the most obvious routes that social media says. We’ve had some of our best experiences on the other side of the valley in Snowdonia amongst quieter peaks looking at everyone at the summit waiting in a long queue to touch the trig on Eryri. (Not our idea of fun).
There’s also nothing wrong with returning to routes you’ve done before. These can actually be some of the best routes. For example, they’re great if you need something familiar for your energy that day.
Some of our favourite hikes are ones we’ve done countless times, and every time we see something different.
Lastly, turning back really doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It can happen for so many reasons – weather changes, energy levels and a whole range of others. We used to beat ourselves up about this, but since we shifted this thinking, we have so much more fun outdoors.
The outdoors is about connecting with it all in a way that’s fun for you. The great thing is that can be different for everyone. We both §have different goals and things we love outdoors more than the other, and we love that!
Enjoy Hiking in the UK
Whilst it’s fun, hiking can also be pretty daunting. To be honest, it can be both at the same time. We’ve been there and we still experience those feelings even now.
However, UK hiking doesn’t need to be overwhelming, and your confidence will build over time and with experience. Going into it with gear that’s right for you and a practical, level headed and mindset that’s sympathetic to where you are will really help.
We hope that this guide has helped you to feel more confident with the UK hiking essentials. It’s put together from all the experience we’ve built up from our real experiences of hiking all over the UK. The things we’ve done right, and how we’ve learnt from the things that have gone wrong.
Our gear and equipment hub covers so much more on the specifics of what you will want to bring on your hikes and what products are best for different scenarios. These can also really help compare based on your budget and needs.
This guide focuses on the specifics of how to get the most out of UK hiking and the essentials you need to know. However, we also have plenty of other destinations guides and specific hiking guides in our UK travel guides hub too to give you lots of inspiration to get out there more.
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