Britain’s 10 best autumnal walks

Lace up your hiking boots and make tracks for Britain’s walking trails this autumn

Autumn is a magical season for walking. Britain’s green and pleasant lands transform into a kaleidoscope of colour, a leafy masterpiece painted in vibrant reds, oranges and yellows. The palette is warm and rich, with golden hues, and there’s always a mesmerising sense of change in the air. Nature is in transition and our broadleaved canopies are ever-evolving. 
Hiking from September to November is a wonderful assault on the senses too. There’s the crunch of frosty leaves underfoot, the cosy warmth of a scarf wrapped around your neck, and the earthy aromas of falling vegetation. The roars of rutting deer and the pitter-patter of foraging squirrels fill the air, while morning mists and sun-dappled light add romance to the landscape.
In autumn you’ll also dodge the summer crowds. Trails will be quieter, car parks less log-jammed and the sense of escapism enhanced – plus you’ve still got a decent chance of dry, sunny weather. For these reasons, autumnal ambling is ideal for the whole family, whether you’re after a gentle stroll in a National Trust deciduous woodland or a big adventure exploring a mountainous forest. From Hampshire to the Scottish Highlands, here are 10 of Britain’s best autumnal walks. 
Famed for its natural spring water, Worcestershire spa town Great Malvern is a revitalising place. Here JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis discussed their literary ambitions and Elgar composed his orchestral masterpieces. It’s easy to see why Great Malvern’s enviable position at the foot of the Malvern Hills inspired such genius. Great by name, great by nature, the town nestles at the foot of a sweeping ridge of undulating hills, rising and falling with quintessential English charm. 
Boasting views of the Cotswolds one way and Wales’ Black Mountains to the other, walking in the Malvern Hills is superlative in autumn. The surrounding countryside flushes in deep reds, burnt oranges and tawny browns, and the airy ridgeline serves up bird’s eye views of this seasonal burst of colour. The area’s most iconic route climbs steeply to Worcestershire Beacon (425m) before looping back to town via Upper Colwall and North Hill.  
Grab refreshments at St Ann’s Well cafe, the site of a natural spring famed in the 19th century for its alleged curative powers.
Colwall Park Hotel (01684 540000; colwall.co.uk) has double rooms from £138 including breakfast.
Like an explosion of vibrantly earthy colours, the autumnal palette of the Ashridge Estate’s ancient woodlands is difficult to beat. Beech, oak and lime trees display rich reds and warm oranges, while the crisp dawn air fills with the guttural roars of rutting fallow deer. Located in the Chilterns National Landscape (formerly AONB), within striking distance of central London (90 minutes by car), the 5,000-acre National Trust estate was once a royal residence of Henry VIII and its grounds were shaped by famed landscaper Capability Brown in the late 1700s. 
Four official waymarked routes explore the estate. Energetic hikers will love the nine-mile Wildlife Walk (also known as the Ashridge Estate Boundary Trail), which visits Ivinghoe Beacon, but a superb shorter alternative is the three-mile Foresters’ Walk. This circular, anti-clockwise hike explores deer meadows and historic woodlands, and serves up lovely views of Ashridge House.
Climb 172 steps up Bridgewater Monument for grand views across the estate (re-opening in spring 2025).
Sopwell House (01727 864477; sopwellhouse.co.uk) in St Albans has double rooms from £399 including breakfast.
Home to England’s largest forest and northern Europe’s biggest man made lake, Kielder Water and Forest Park is a Northumberland gem. It’s a safe haven for 50 per cent of England’s embattled red squirrel population, and spotting the cute-faced, big-eared arboreal rodents is one of Kielder’s real delights. You might also catch a glimpse of otters, roe deer, pipistrelle bats or several pairs of breeding ospreys. 
Numerous waymarked walks offer something for everyone in Kielder. The two-mile Duchess Trail and one-and-a-half-mile Duke’s Trail are firm family favourites, while the eight-mile climb up Deadwater Fell and 26-mile Lakeside Way are perfect for fitness fanatics. But an excellent middle-ground option is the Bull Crag Peninsular Walk, which loops around a dramatic headland jutting out of Kielder Water’s southern shoreline. The scenery is mixed and ever-changing, with a mesmerising dichotomy between the dense woodland and the open expanse of water.    
Go stargazing after dark – Kielder’s skies are the darkest night skies in all of England.
Layside (07740 312176; layside.com) in Hexham has double rooms from £98 including breakfast.
Billed as England’s only true mountain forest, Whinlatter cloaks the rugged Lake District fells to the west of Thornthwaite village, near Keswick. Rising to over 1,500ft above sea level, it has a polarity that’s both mesmerising and bemusing. Is it a forest, or a mountain, or some elusive crossbreed of the two? Either way, it’s a beautiful place to wander in any weather. When rain clouds envelop the canopy, the forest has an ethereal, Tolkien-esque atmosphere; when the sun shines, it feels friendlier, as if the trees are alive with hope.  
From the modern visitor centre, several colour-coded routes include the two-mile Comb Beck Trail and four-mile Wow Trail. But better still is the Seat How trail, which climbs steadily to 495m. Tree cover is thick, dominated by sitka spruce evergreens, but where they relent you’ll be rewarded with window-like panoramas across Skiddaw, Bassenthwaite and Grisedale Pike. 
Kids will love the interactive Gruffalo sculpture trail and Go Ape high ropes course.
The Cottage in the Wood (017687 78409; thecottageinthewood.co.uk) has double rooms from £130 including breakfast.
Wandering Borrowdale’s ancient Atlantic oakwoods is like travelling back in time; a secret glimpse of a bygone era when temperate rainforest carpeted much of western Europe. Now these rare habitats cover less than one per cent of the UK, but the Borrowdale Valley in the Lake District is one stronghold. Here fungi-rich, lichen-draped woodlands are labyrinthine and ethereal – and so precious they were recently declared a national nature reserve to commemorate King Charles III’s coronation. 
A gentle stroll through Great Wood is the perfect introduction to Borrowdale’s rainforests, as is the simple Bowder Stone trail near Grange. But for the full experience, a challenging 15-mile loop of Derwentwater from Keswick via Great Wood, the Jaws of Borrowdale and Castle Crag is a fantastic autumnal outing. The wet and humid environment of lush ferns, oak and birch paint a mosaic of golden yellows and oranges across Lakeland’s mountains. 
Stop for a flat white and slice of lemon drizzle at Beatrix Potter-themed Lingholm Kitchen. 
Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa (017687 77285; lakedistricthotels.net/lodorefalls) in Borrowdale has double rooms from £259 including breakfast.
Lovingly known as the “Highlands of the Lowlands”, Galloway Forest Park brings a taste of Scotland’s rugged far north to the southern borders. The 300-square-mile park is so starved of light pollution, its inky-black night skies are world-renowned for stargazing, while the landscape is a mix of remote glens, windswept moorland, towering mountains and vast tracts of ancient woodland – all with a dizzying sense of far-flung isolation.  

An excellent autumnal walk in Galloway is the six-mile Loch Trool loop, a route brimming with historical intrigue. Here, 700 years ago, Robert the Bruce and a band of 300 Scots defeated a 1,500-strong English army, hurling boulders at their enemy and pitching them into the water. A huge granite boulder (Bruce’s Stone) commemorates the victory, but the violence of war couldn’t be further from Loch Trool’s current vibe. It’s a quiet, understated place for tranquil wanderings past sessile oaks. 
For a post-hike feast, the House o’Hill pub serves locally-sourced venison and shellfish.
Trigony House Hotel & Garden Spa (01848 331211; trigonyhotel.co.uk) in Thornhill has double rooms from £165 including breakfast.
Beaches and forests are not natural bedfellows, but at Newborough on the Isle of Anglesey sand and tree come together in surprising harmony. This coastal-woodland collaboration is strikingly beautiful, with rolling dunes and golden sands backed by a forest of tall Corsican pines. Shaped over thousands of years by the wind and sea, this unique landscape was named Wales’ first coastal national nature reserve in 1955.
Arguably Newborough’s best walk is the four-mile Saint, Sand and Sea Trail, which explores pine forests, beaches, dunes and the lighthouse-topped tidal island of Ynys Llanddwyn. In autumn Newborough Forest flushes with mustard, ochre and copper hues, while migratory wildfowl including brent geese, shelduck and wigeon are joined on the salt marsh and estuary by redshanks and plovers. Or, if you’re not enthused by birdwatching, there’s also the chance to spot mischievous red squirrels dancing through the pines. 
Learn about the legend of Saint Dwynwen with this trail’s accompanying audio guide (download at naturalresources.wales).
The Bull’s Head Inn (01248 810329; inncollectiongroup.com/bulls-head-inn) in Beaumaris has double rooms from £119 including breakfast.
The New Forest is a magical place for an autumnal stroll with the whole family. When proudly wearing its pre-winter coat, the national park’s 220 square miles of ancient woodland burst with colour and its 150 miles of public footpaths gleam with a golden-hued charm. In 1079 William the Conqueror famously seized the New Forest for royal hunting pursuits, but 1,000 years later animals roam freely through these broadleaf lands. With a spot of luck, you’ll catch a glimpse of muntjac deer, Dartford warblers or the semi-feral New Forest pony. 
Family-friendly hiking options are ten-a-penny in the New Forest, but Bolderwood is a great place to start. From the car park along Ornamental Drive, three waymarked trails meander through historic woodland so dramatic it was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II as part of her 2022 platinum jubilee celebrations. The best of the trio is the Radnor Trail, a two-mile circular serving up an intimate interaction with English oaks, ancient Douglas firs (dating back to 1860) and some of the New Forest’s tallest redwoods. 
Stop at the wildlife-watching platform for your chance to see a herd of fallow deer.
Daisybank Cottage Boutique Bed & Breakfast (01590 622086; bedandbreakfast-newforest.co.uk) in Brockenhurst has double rooms from £179 including breakfast
Is this Scotland’s most beautiful glen? Boasting a beguiling mix of freshwater lochs, grand mountains and native pinewoods, Glen Affric is commonly cited as the glen above all other Highland glens. It’s an amazing place to visit at any time of year, but in autumn it’s even more magical. Ancient Caledonian pines and haunting moorlands morph colours into golden hues, while the misty dawn air echoes with the yearning roars of rutting red deer stags. 
A 10-mile loop of Loch Affric is the area’s most popular outing, but why not make a real adventure of it? The Affric Kintail Way is a 44-mile, long-distance hiking trail from Drumnadrochit on the shores of Loch Ness to Morvich in Kintail. The bothies and hostels en-route are charmingly rustic and the surrounding mountains – including the lofty Carn Eige (1,183m) – are ruggedly untamed. Only suitable for experienced hikers. 
Stay overnight at Glen Affric Youth Hostel, one of the remotest accommodations in Britain.
Loch Ness Lodge (01456 459469; lochnesslodge.cobbshotels.com) has double rooms from £221 including breakfast.
One of the narrowest valleys in South Wales, the steep-sided Afan Valley stretches 15 miles from Cwmafan to the sea at Port Talbot, close to Swansea. It’s a beloved outdoor recreation hub, known in particular for its gnarly mountain biking trails, but the area is ideal for an autumnal hike too. The 48-square-mile Afan Forest Park lies within the valley and is a great place for wildlife spotting. With a bit of luck, you might spot fallow deer, woodpeckers or redstarts, and in autumn the area’s trees turn vibrant yellows and oranges. 
For an easy stroll try the one-mile Old Parish Road Walk or the three-mile River and Railway Walk, but to truly experience Afan Forest’s delights look no further than the strenuous Gyfylchi Ridgetop Trail. After an initially steep ascent, the ridge walking offers first-rate views across Afan’s colourful autumnal scenery. 
Learn about Afan Valley’s mining heritage at the visitor centre’s South Wales Miners’ Museum.
The Grand Hotel Swansea (01792 645898; thegrandhotelswansea.co.uk) has double rooms from £119 including breakfast.