British hiking towns off the beaten path.
Less-touristed hiking towns in Britain, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Aberdyfi
A photogenic Welsh village on the Dyfi estuary, Aberdyfi sits within Snowdonia National Park and draws golfers, sailors, and watersports enthusiasts to its w…
Porthmadog
This pocket-sized coastal town in Gwynedd, Wales, Porthmadog grew in the 19th century as a slate port on the Glaslyn estuary, and its surviving wharves now s…
Tywyn
Home to the Talyllyn Railway and the Cadfan Stone — an early medieval cross bearing the oldest known written Welsh — this small seaside town sits on the Card…
Llangattock
Sitting on the western bank of the River Usk in the Brecon Beacons National Park, this small Welsh village faces the town of Crickhowell across the water, wi…
Combe Martin
This small seaside village on the North Devon coast, Combe Martin sits in a sheltered cove at the northwest edge of Exmoor National Park.
Llanidloes
This modest Welsh town in Powys sits at the first point on the River Severn, counting from the source, and makes a reasonable base for the surrounding mounta…
Dulverton
A compact Somerset village on the River Exe at the edge of Exmoor, Dulverton serves as the base for the Exmoor National Park Authority and a practical gatewa…
Holmfirth
Best known as the filming location for the BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine, which ran from 1973 to 2010, Holmfirth is a stone-built West Yorkshire town in…
East Retford
Market town in Nottinghamshire sitting on the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal, Retford (also known as East Retford) has a walkable centre dense with li…
Ganllwyd
Gold-mining history gives this small Snowdonia hamlet an unexpected industrial past: remains of the former workings are visible behind the village hall, and…
Machynlleth
Machynlleth, a compact market town in the Dyfi Valley in Powys, Wales, claims the title of "ancient capital of Wales" as the seat of Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh Pa…
Maentwrog
This tiny village in the Vale of Ffestiniog within Snowdonia National Park, Maentwrog sits alongside the River Dwyryd with the Moelwyn Bach mountains to the…
Burnsall
A tiny village on the River Wharfe in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Burnsall draws walkers on the Dalesway long-distance route, which crosses its five-a…
Brecon
This small market town in mid Wales sitting within the Brecon Beacons National Park, where the rivers Honddu and Usk meet in the town centre.
Towednack
This small churchtown and civil parish in Cornwall, close to St Ives and the Atlantic coast, sitting within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty —…
Edzell
Georgian planned village in Angus, Scotland, laid out with a broad main street and a grid of side streets beside the River North Esk, in the foothills of the…
Pontypridd
Sitting at the confluence of the Taff and Rhondda rivers in South Wales, Pontypridd is a walkable town with a café-filled centre, historic churches, and moun…
Kendal
Known as the "Auld Grey Town" for its grey limestone buildings, Kendal is a market town in Cumbria just outside the Lake District, sitting on the River Kent.
Youlgreave
One of the larger villages in the Peak District National Park, Youlgreave sits on the River Bradford in Derbyshire and carries a heritage-dense streetscape f…
Crowborough
Crowborough sits at the edge of Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, making it the highest town in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a base for…
Chepstow
Chepstow's clifftop castle, often cited as the oldest surviving stone castle in Britain, rises directly above the tidal River Wye in this small Welsh border…
Sharow
A small village just north-east of Ripon in North Yorkshire, Sharow is home to St John's Church, whose two-acre churchyard has been managed as a wildlife hab…
Penmaenpool
A modest hamlet on the south bank of the Mawddach estuary in Gwynedd, set within Snowdonia National Park amid mountain terrain.
Braithwaite
A tiny Lake District hamlet in Cumbria sitting beside Coledale Beck, with the Grisedale Pike ridge to the east and Whinlatter Forest's walking trails close by.
Wadebridge
Modest town in north Cornwall straddling the River Camel, Wadebridge has a pedestrianised main shopping street, Molesworth Street, with cafés and restaurants…
Buxton
England's highest market town, Buxton sits at around 1,000 feet above sea level on the edge of the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire.
Trefriw
Trefriw is a tiny Welsh village on the western slopes of the Conwy Valley, mostly within Snowdonia National Park, known for its working woollen mill — powere…
Ashburton
A heritage-dense compact town on the south-eastern edge of Dartmoor in Devon, Ashburton has a walkable centre thick with listed buildings, cafés, and restaur…
Dinas Mawddwy
This little village in Snowdonia National Park, Gwynedd, where the Rivers Cerist and Dyfi meet beneath the surrounding hills.
Llanfrynach
This tiny village in the Brecon Beacons National Park, southeast of Brecon, Llanfrynach sits alongside the Nant Menasgin stream and the Monmouthshire and Bre…
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Slate-mining heritage defines this small Welsh town in Gwynedd, where the Ffestiniog Railway — a historic narrow-gauge line — and the Llechwedd Slate Caverns…
Maryport
This small Cumbrian coastal town on the Solway Firth, Maryport grew around a harbour built at the mouth of the River Ellen in the mid-18th century and sits a…
Pen-y-cae
Little linear village in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Powys, Wales, running along the A4067 beside the River Tawe, between Abercraf and Craig-y-Nos Ca…
Bowness-on-Windermere
This lakeside town in Cumbria's Lake District National Park serves as the main tourist hub for the South Lakes area, sitting directly on the shore of Winderm…
Price Town
Compact Welsh valley village set along the River Ogmore beneath broad green hills, with a brick clock tower at its crossroads and historic colliery-era stone…
Hattersley
A Greater Manchester housing estate on the eastern edge of Tameside, Hattersley sits at the fringe of upland country with the Peak District's open moorland w…
Upper Broadheath
A tiny hamlet in Worcestershire sitting right at the water's edge, with upland country close by and listed heritage architecture nearby, making it a quiet ba…
Sennybridge
A tiny upland hamlet in Wales sitting right at the water's edge, Sennybridge offers a rugged rural base for exploring the surrounding hills and the wider reg…
Penallt
A modest village in the Welsh uplands where the land meets the water, Penallt sits within easy reach of several UNESCO World Heritage sites and offers a quie…