Ten Things I Learned from Trekking in the British Isles

Signs from the eight treks we completed in the UK and Ireland

On Sunday, May 8, 2022 we took the first of about 1.4 million hiking steps as we left the city of Bath, England to begin the Cotswold Way – our initial Trekking the British Isles long distance trek. Eight treks and 700 miles later, we took our final steps on Tuesday, August 23 as we completed the Kerry Way in Killarney, Ireland.

Standing at the beginning of the Cotswold Way in Bath, England; completing the Kerry Way in Killarney, Ireland

During our 55 stages of hiking we experienced rainy weather, gusty winds, limited visibility, and temperatures ranging from the 40°Fs to the 80°Fs. We dealt with challenging terrain, food issues, badly marked trails, hundreds of gates and stiles, thousands of sheep, and a few aggressive cows. And along the way we visited many cultural and historical sites and experienced incredible natural beauty.

Even though we have hiked almost 5,000 miles while Trekking the Planet, there is always something to discover from every adventure. So here are the 10 things I learned from our latest journey in the British Isles.

1. There is No Such Thing as Bad Weather

Because we were hiking in the British Isles, we knew with certainty that we would have days of foul weather. It didn’t take us long to encounter bad conditions. During Stage 4 of the Cotswold Way, we hiked most of the day in a steady rain. The temperature was only about 60°F, so it was easy to get cold if we stopped for any period of time.

What made things more comfortable was having the proper rain gear. For this trip we brought the waterproof pants that we use on our backpacking trips. They fit right over our trekking pants and have leg zippers to easily slip them on and off. We upgraded our rain jackets on this journey because of the colder weather. Although the jackets were heavier than the ones we typically use for backpacking, they kept us much warmer.

The backpacks we purchased this year also came with pack covers. We have not been fans of pack covers in the past, using waterproof pack-it cubes instead. But after this trip, we changed our minds. The covers were lightweight, fit well over the packs, and our contents never got wet, no matter how many hours we walked in the rain.

We also had very windy days on the Speyside Way in Scotland, with wind gusts up to 30 miles an hour. Our rain jackets functioned well as wind breakers, so we also stayed comfortable in the blustery conditions.

We were up for hiking in any weather, except when lightning was in the forecast. The only day we had an issue with lightning was on our second stage of the Kerry Way in Ireland. In that case, we left very early to ensure that we had all of our exposed climbing done before any rain began to fall. We reached our accommodations well ahead of the rain, thunder, and lightning that came in the late afternoon.

On every trek we ended up experiencing some rain. Having the right equipment took the worry out of getting wet. And we found that we actually enjoyed hiking in the elements.

Clockwise from top left: Hiking in the rain – Hadrian’s Wall Path (with pack cover), the Wicklow Way, the Speyside Way, and the John Muir Way

2. You Can’t Always Get the View that You Want

During our eight treks we had generally good weather. It did rain occasionally, but overall we had plenty of nice days hiking in forests, along rivers, in the mountains, and on the coasts. However, there were some days of trekking that were supposed to feature outstanding views. And it was disappointing when we reached the viewpoint with nothing to see.

On the Wicklow Way in Ireland, we had nice views on the first hiking day. There was quite a bit of climbing during Stage 2 to a trekking vista from the top of a mountain range. It was supposed to have the best views of the entire trek, and we would see lakes and other mountains. But the rainy and windy weather resulted in very limited visibility, so we saw nothing at the top. In fact, a local hiker we met coming the other way apologized to us about the lack of a view.

That stage on the Wicklow Way was not the only day where we had visibility issues. On the John Muir Way in Scotland we had an optional climb to Bar Hill, the location of the highest fort on the ancient Antonine Wall. It was rainy and windy, and we saw nothing after the steep climb. And on the Kerry Way we had a 10-hour hiking day in the rain and wind with no views.

Because we were fortunate to hike over 50 days in the UK and Ireland, I focused on some of the great vistas we had already seen to compensate for the lack of scenery during a particular stage.

Left, top to bottom: Views from the Speyside Way and the Wicklow Way; view from the Causeway Coast Way

3. Trail Elevation Gain is More of a Guideline

When we planned our treks, we were careful to create hiking plans for each day that were reasonable from a mileage and elevation gain standpoint. For each of the 55 stages that we hiked I used the Gaia GPS app to create daily GPX files. The files gave us an idea of how difficult the stages would be, dictating what time to start and how long it would take to cover the distance. As we completed our first Cotswold Way trek, our actual distance and gain aligned closely to what I had forecast in the GPX stages.

On our second trek, along the Hadrian’s Wall Path in England, we encountered a stage that ended up being very different than the GPX route I had created. Stage 3 of the Hadrian’s Wall Path was considered the most difficult day. The GPX I produced forecasted a distance of 18.6 miles, with an elevation gain of 2,160 feet. And as we hiked the trail, things seemed to mimic the GPX file that Darren loaded into his watch to assist with our tracking.

Toward the end of the day we began to hike up and down some undulating hills, alternating between ascending stairs and climbing rock paths. We soon blew past the anticipated elevation gain for the stage. Darren’s watch kept displaying that we had just a few feet of elevation gain left. Yet we could see another set of hills (and climbing) ahead of us. It was discouraging, but all we could do was to keep moving.

Steep stair and rock climbs on the Hadrian’s Wall Path

Finally, we reached the turnoff to our hotel and the end of our day. Checking our actual mileage, we had covered 20.4 miles and gained 2,862 feet – much different than what we had thought. I was concerned, because it had been a difficult 10-hour day, and I worried that we might have more stages that would be wildly different than what we had forecast.

We attributed the difference in the GPX vs our actual hike to the steep ascents and descents of the stage. Sure enough, the next day we noted just a slight difference in the elevation gain when our ascents and descents were not as steep. Later, when we had a couple of other near vertical stages, like on the Kerry Way, we knew to not rely on our GPX forecast too closely.

4. Look for Creative Ways to Carry Multiple Days of Food

There were many logistics to work through on our treks: daily mileage and elevation gain profiles, accommodations, access to and from the trail, and weather. One of the most critical considerations was food. And to keep our backpack weight down, the goal was to carry as little food as possible.

On some treks, where we passed towns daily, we had plenty of opportunities to buy food. So on those days we visited grocery stores to purchase the food we would need for the next day’s walk. But a couple of treks required us to really think outside of the box to ensure we had ample food to support multiple days of trekking.

On the Causeway Coast Way in Northern Ireland we wanted to take our time to hike the 32-mile distance. We found an idyllic cottage on a working farm overlooking the ocean to spend our first night. The only catch was that we would need to bring all our own food, as there was no nearby town. And we would also need to carry lunches for a couple of days, since there were no stores. So we did some grocery shopping across the street from the start of the trek. Food in hand, we found a park bench to divvy up the items, dividing the contents between our two backpacks.

On the Kerry Way, things got even more complex. Because of accommodation constraints that existed on the trail, we had to book a two-night minimum stay at a farm cottage. It was after our first day of trekking, so we loaded our packs up with two full days full of food and carried the weight 15 miles in hot and humid conditions to the end of the stage. As we did on the Causeway Coast Way, we perused the store to carefully search for lightweight items that had enough calories to keep us going during our full hiking days.

It was strange to take a rest day after one hiking stage, but we enjoyed the peacefulness of the setting and felt much more rested for the challenging trekking days to come.

5. Not Every Trek Will Work Out the Way You Hoped

Our fourth trek was on the Speyside Way along the River Spey in Scotland. This trek was on our list from the beginning because we felt it was a great combination of hiking through a Scottish national park and experiencing the whiskey heritage of the area. And while we trekked, we were treated to some beautiful mountain, forest, and river scenery. But the whiskey part did not quite work out the way we hoped.

When we had planned this same trip (before canceling) in 2020, we noted that there were many whiskey distilleries along the trekking route. We envisioned hiking and visiting distilleries along the way to take tours and sample their wares. But things were not quite back to normal in June of 2022, and when we reached the heart of the whiskey area, we discovered that distilleries were not yet running tours and were not open for tastings. So we had to pivot.

While on the trail we found pubs that had local whiskey and created our own samplers to try.

Sampling some local whiskey

A rest day was specifically scheduled in the town of Dufftown, where nine distilleries were located. We spent that morning walking all over town to try to find a distillery that was open. Nothing was, to our disappointment. So we found a shop with airline bottles of whiskey. We bought a few bottles and used our rest day to sample them in our B&B room.

Closed distillery sign; sampling airline bottles of whiskey in Dufftown

It was not what we had initially envisioned, but we made the best of it and still enjoyed our time hiking the Speyside Way.

6. Ease on Down the Road

When we trekked in Europe in 2018, some of our hiking routes were not on dirt trails. For example, during our Camino Portugues trek in Portugal and Spain, we walked significant miles on cobblestones and completed a couple of busy road walking sections.

This year, we had some road walking on every one of our eight treks. Some of it was very brief, with just one busy stretch on the Cotswold Way. Other portions were more eventful, like when we dodged road paving equipment on the Kerry Way.

Busy highway on the Cotswold Way; road paving on the Kerry Way

It was on the island of Ireland that the walking became significant and somewhat dangerous. We first experienced this during our Causeway Coast Way trek in Northern Ireland. I had read when researching the trek that many hikers chose to skip the first seven miles because of the busy road walking.

Since Darren had run across the United States in 2015, he is somewhat of an expert at navigating roads with vehicles. So he taught me his techniques to use during our trekking. The most basic approach was to walk against the traffic, except when coming to a blind corner; then we needed to walk on the widest side of the road. If one side of the road had a better shoulder or jumping off point from approaching traffic, we used it. And we took turns walking in front and shouting “car” to the person in the rear when a vehicle approached.

We had more walking “opportunities” on the South Leinster Way in Ireland than any other hike. We knew beforehand that 55% of the trek was on roads, and while some of the streets were quiet, we also had our share of busy thoroughfares to negotiate.

Walking on narrow roads with no shoulder kept us on our toes. And there was nothing worse than hearing a tractor coming our way and deciding what our next move should be.

Even though we had to contend with the road walking, we so enjoyed the off-the-beaten path experience of hiking through rural Ireland and visiting several quaint towns and villages along the way.

7. Variety Makes for the Most Interesting Treks

When we researched our trekking candidates, I found a hike that might interest Darren. The 134-mile John Muir Way is a fairly new Scottish National Trail with good accommodation locations and a combination of natural scenery and cultural sites. And I knew Darren would be interested in its traverse coast-to-coast across Scotland. And sure enough, he was hooked, and the trek made our list. What I didn’t count on was the amazing diversity of sites that we would see during our 10 days of hiking.

From the first day when we left the town of Helensburgh on the west coast of Scotland, the trail did an excellent job of routing us through a national park adjacent to a loch, along historic canals and railway paths, past numerous castles and manors, along the ancient Antonine Wall, and to more modern marvels like the Falkirk Wheel and the Forth Bridge. We literally woke up each morning of the trek looking forward to what the day’s stage would bring.

Some of the cultural sites and natural beauty we encountered on the John Muir Way

After walking through Edinburgh, the later stages had us trekking along miles of beautiful coastline, and past seaside villages and golf courses, before ending on the east coast of Scotland in John Muir’s birthplace of Dunbar. And we even received a certificate of completion from John Muir’s Birthplace, which is now a museum.

For a trek that is not as well-known as some of the others that we completed, the wonderful feeling we received from exploring Scotland stayed with us for a long time after we finished.  

8. Buses and Pickups can Expand Accommodation Options

When planning our accommodations for each night of trekking, we wanted to stay as close to the trail as possible. Of course, that didn’t always work out, and many days we had to walk a short distance off the path to sleep. We tried to keep the distance around a mile, but some nights we had to go two miles, and one day over three miles off the trail.

What I learned when planning this trip was not to be shy about using public transportation to route us to hotels or B&Bs. We used a bus on the Cotswold Way in England to take us to a hotel where we had scheduled a rest day. It only ran once an hour, so we were motivated to reach the bus stop on time. We made it with about 10 minutes to spare. 

The Wicklow Way trek in Ireland is notorious for having limited accommodations along the trail. In fact, we only spent one night of our seven stages near the path. In addition to walking off the trail, we also had local B&B pickups scheduled on a couple of nights.

When planning the very first night of the trek I found several places to stay in a small village. The only catch was that it was five miles off the trail – way too far to walk. But there was a bus service to the village that began a mile from the path, so we decided to walk the distance, board the bus and stay in the village. And we were glad that we did, as we enjoyed a nice sunny afternoon eating at an excellent restaurant there.

In the morning we retraced our steps, boarding the first bus of the day to its termination and carefully road walking back to the trail and another stage of hiking.

9. Sheep are Good and Cows are Bad

From the moment we began hiking the Cotswold Way in May, we came upon sheep. We passed hundreds and hundreds of sheep grazing on large grassy hills. By the time we finished trekking 700 miles later, that number was surely in the tens of thousands (if not more). And we never got tired of the sheep – they were cute and they moved off the path when we got near. I can’t say the same for the cows that we encountered.

Clockwise from top left: Sheep on the Cotswold Way, the Causeway Coast Way, Hadrian’s Wall Path, and the Kerry Way

We have hiked quite a bit with cows in the past. When we trekked across Switzerland in 2018, we passed hundreds of cows and never had any issues. But it was something about the cows in the UK and Ireland that challenged us again and again.

The first issue we faced was on the Hadrian’s Wall Path. For some strange reason, a cow began to charge at me when I was hiking through a field with another woman who we had met earlier that day. I stood my ground and the cow stopped, but the woman was spooked and decided to hike on her own for the rest of the day. Later, on that same trek, Darren and I came across a bunch of cows blocking our way on a narrow path. Eventually, we found a way through, but the cows were not too happy with us.

On the John Muir Way, we had to cut a break short because of an agitated cow and her calf. On the Speyside Way, a bunch of cows stampeded along a fence as we hiked by. Groups of cows would stop and stare at us along the South Leinster Way.

Clockwise from top left: Blocking the narrow path on the Hadrian’s Wall Path; cow and calf on the John Muir Way; stampeding cows on the Speyside Way; cows staring at us on the South Leinster Way

Finally, on the Kerry Way, with only a day and a half left on our final trek, we had an issue when a bull, cow, and calf stood between us and a stile we needed to climb over.

In this case, we had another instance of a bull readying to charge us, but fortunately he backed down. I was so relieved to climb over the stile and get out of their way.

Hopefully, our cow encounters are solely a British and Irish phenomenon, and we will have better luck in the future.

10. It is Not the Destination, But the Journey

On past treks we tended to focus on completing the day’s hiking miles with as few breaks as possible. For this journey, we chose to moderate our pace and take more breaks. And even on the days when the weather was bad, the trail was tricky, or the elevation gain was great, we tried to enjoy our time trekking. Most days, if we ended our hike at a town or village, we headed to a local pub to celebrate the day’s accomplishment and reflect on what we had seen and experienced during the stage.

Enjoying a beer at the end of a Kerry Way stage; Finishing up a late lunch and beer at the end of a Wicklow Way stage

We also tried to fit in some restaurant lunch stops where possible. On some treks, like the Kerry Way, this was a necessity, because we planned to sleep outside of towns that had a grocery store or restaurant. Other days, we factored a lunch stop into our plans because we wanted to slow down and experience the local culture while taking a break from walking.

Our first try at eating lunch on the trail did not end well. Toward the end of the Cotswold Way, we decided to stop for lunch in the village of Stanton. When we arrived there, there were many tables available, but they would only serve us drinks because they did not have enough staff to cook lunch unless a prior reservation had been made. Disappointed, we split a beer and moved on.

We had better luck while hiking the John Muir Way. There, we stopped for meals a few times. One day we ate a meal next to the Union Canal. It ended up being a late breakfast because of the time we arrived. Another day we ate lunch in the village of Blackness and enjoyed a steak and ale pie. One of our favorite meal stops was at the Falkirk Wheel, where we had an opportunity to watch the rotating lift move boats 79 feet in elevation.

Eating a late breakfast on Union Canal; steak and ale pie lunch in the village of Blackness

On a long day hiking 19.3 miles in the rain on the Hadrian’s Wall Path, we decided to stop at a pub to dry out a little and take a lunch break. Before stopping, we questioned the wisdom of taking a 45-minute to one hour break on such a long day of hiking. But we found that we actually made better progress than if we had just taken a 20-minute lunch break while sitting on a rock adjacent to the path.

Having restaurants close to the trail was a luxury for us, so we did enjoy those lunch breaks when we were able to take them.

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