7 Best Multi-Day Hikes in the UK and Ireland for 2026

The best multi-day hikes in the UK and Ireland are the 214 km Kerry Way, the 154 km West Highland Way, the 135 km Hadrian's Wall Path, the 129 km Wicklow Way and the 125 km Great Glen Way. All five run village to village, so you can walk them in 2026 with a light pack and a bed every night.

These islands do long-distance walking differently from the Alps or the American West. Instead of huts or wild camping, you get B&Bs, pubs and baggage-transfer vans, and instead of altitude you get weather. None of the seven trails below climbs higher than 850 m, yet each can serve up four seasons in an afternoon. We have ranked them by overall experience, not difficulty, and every entry includes the numbers you need to shortlist it.

How do the best UK and Ireland trails compare?

1. Kerry Way — Ireland's biggest and wildest waymarked loop

The Kerry Way circles the Iveragh Peninsula in Ireland's southwest: 214 km from Killarney back to Killarney, usually walked in 9 stages. It passes under Carrauntoohil (1,038 m, Ireland's highest mountain), crosses the old drovers' path over Lack Road, and spends days four to seven within sight of the Atlantic. It is the most scenically complete walk on either island — lakes, oak forest, blanket bog, hill passes and coast in a single loop. The price is weather: this is one of the wettest corners of Europe, so a serious rain layer system is non-negotiable. Daily stages run 13–31 km; if you want to know what that means in hours for your pace, run the stages through the hiking time calculator before you book beds.

2. West Highland Way — the classic for a reason

Scotland's flagship trail covers 154 km from Milngavie, on Glasgow's edge, to Fort William under Ben Nevis. Around 36,000 people walk the full route each year, which means superb infrastructure: baggage transfer from about £10 per stage, honesty boxes, and bunkhouses spaced a day apart. The Loch Lomond shore section is rockier and slower than most first-timers expect — budget 7–8 hours for the 22 km Rowardennan to Inverarnan stage. If Scotland is your target, our guide to the best hikes in the Scottish Highlands puts it next to its quieter neighbours.

3. Hadrian's Wall Path — history every kilometre

The 135 km Hadrian's Wall Path follows a UNESCO World Heritage Site coast to coast, from Wallsend near Newcastle to Bowness-on-Solway. The central 40 km between Chollerford and Birdoswald deliver the famous wall sections, Roman forts (Housesteads, Vindolanda) and all of the climbing — roughly 1,400 m of the route's 2,200 m total. The rest is gentle farmland. With no stage over 25 km and a bus (the AD122) shadowing the route, it is the best choice for a first multi-day walk; see our Hadrian's Wall difficulty guide for a stage-by-stage breakdown. The official National Trails page asks walkers to avoid the route in deep winter to protect the archaeology — plan for April to October.

4. Wicklow Way — mountains an hour from Dublin

The Wicklow Way runs 129 km from Marlay Park in Dublin's suburbs to Clonegal in County Carlow, crossing the granite spine of the Wicklow Mountains. Opened in 1980 as Ireland's first waymarked trail, it peaks at 630 m on White Hill and drops into Glendalough, a 6th-century monastic valley that is worth a rest day on its own. The northern half is the highlight; the southern half softens into forest roads and farmland. Most walkers take 6 days and pre-book B&Bs, because beds in Glenmalure and Tinahely are scarce — there are fewer than a dozen options in each.

5. Great Glen Way — the gentle Highland line

From Fort William to Inverness, the Great Glen Way tracks Scotland's great geological fault for 125 km past Loch Lochy and Loch Ness. Canal towpaths and forest tracks keep it easy underfoot, while the high-route options above Drumnadrochit add real Highland views for about 350 m of extra climbing. It pairs naturally with Hadrian's Wall as a first big walk — our Great Glen Way vs Hadrian's Wall comparison settles which suits you better.

6. Pennine Way — the hard one

Britain's oldest National Trail is also its toughest: 431 km along the backbone of England from Edale to Kirk Yetholm, with around 11,000 m of cumulative ascent and long exposed sections over Kinder Scout, Cross Fell (893 m) and the Cheviots. Allow 16–19 days and genuine navigation skills — mist on the high moors erases the path, and the famous Kinder and Bleaklow peat groughs still swallow boots whole despite decades of flagstone laying. Completion rates tell the story: a meaningful share of starters bail at Hawes or Alston, roughly the halfway marks. This is the one to build up to, not start with — two of the shorter trails on this list first is the sensible apprenticeship.

7. Causeway Coast Way — the short, spectacular weekend

Northern Ireland's 53 km Causeway Coast Way packs the Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and the Dunluce Castle ruins into 2–3 days between Portstewart and Ballycastle. Total ascent is only about 1,100 m, the path rarely leaves earshot of the sea, and both ends have direct bus links to Belfast (under 2 hours). It works as a long weekend in its own right or as a test run before committing to a 200 km trail — if your feet, kit and enthusiasm survive three Causeway days in Atlantic weather, they will survive the Kerry Way.

What does a week on these trails cost?

Budget €60–95 or £55–85 per person per day, and the arithmetic is similar everywhere: a B&B with breakfast (€50–90 / £40–80), a packed lunch from a village shop (€8–12), and an evening pub meal with a pint (€18–28). That puts the 6-day trails — Wicklow, Great Glen, Hadrian's Wall — at roughly €400–550 all-in before transport, and the 9-day Kerry Way at €550–850. Three line items move the total meaningfully. Baggage transfer adds €10–17 per stage but converts any of these routes into daypack walking, which for many people is the difference between finishing and not. Single-occupancy supplements of 20–50% sting solo walkers on the Irish trails, where twin-room B&Bs dominate. And rest days are cheap insurance: one planned night doing nothing in Kenmare or Fort William costs one bed and saves many holidays. The trails themselves are free — no permits, quotas or entry fees exist on any of the seven as of 2026, which keeps these among the best-value walking weeks anywhere.

Which trail should you choose for 2026?

Choose by appetite, not by fitness alone. For a first multi-day walk, Hadrian's Wall Path or the Great Glen Way are the safest bets: short stages, flat profiles, transport everywhere. For the full remote-Ireland experience, commit to the Kerry Way and accept the rain. For mountains on a city break timeframe, the Wicklow Way wins.

Whatever you pick, pack for inn-to-inn walking, not expedition camping. A 35–50 litre pack is plenty when your sleeping bag stays at home: the Osprey Atmos AG 50 carries a week of wet-weather kit in comfort, the Deuter Aircontact Core 50+10 adds expansion room for those buying-souvenirs-in-every-village walkers, and the roughly 800 g Hyperlite Mountain Gear 2400 Windrider suits anyone counting grams. Booking pressure is real in 2026 — Sport Ireland's national trails office reports record international interest in Irish waymarked ways, so reserve July and August beds three months out. For the full planning workflow, start with our complete multi-day hike planning guide.

How do you reach each trailhead without a car?

Every trail on this list works car-free, which matters on linear routes where your vehicle would finish 130 km from where you parked it. The access rundown: the Kerry Way starts and ends in Killarney, 3.5 hours from Dublin by direct train or bus, and the loop shape means zero repositioning. The Wicklow Way's Marlay Park trailhead is a 45-minute Dublin city bus ride; the finish at Clonegal needs a 4 km taxi hop to Bunclody for coaches back. The West Highland Way is the gold standard — trains to Milngavie from Glasgow every 30 minutes, and the West Highland Line back from Fort William is itself one of Europe's great rail journeys. Hadrian's Wall Path runs between Newcastle and Carlisle, both on main rail lines, with the seasonal AD122 bus connecting mid-route villages. The Great Glen Way links Fort William and Inverness, both with stations. Even the remote-feeling Pennine Way bookends onto trains at Edale and buses from Kirk Yetholm via Kelso. The practical rule: fly into Dublin for the Irish pair, Glasgow or Edinburgh for the Scottish pair, Newcastle for the Wall — and book the homeward leg with slack, because a missed connection after nine days of walking is a misery the timetable owes you protection from.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the longest waymarked trail in Ireland?

The Kerry Way is Ireland's longest waymarked trail at roughly 214 km. It loops around the Iveragh Peninsula from Killarney through Glenbeigh, Waterville and Kenmare, and most walkers complete it in 8–9 days with nightly stops in villages.

Which UK long-distance walk is best for beginners?

Hadrian's Wall Path is the best UK long-distance walk for beginners. It is 135 km long with only about 2,200 m of total ascent, no stage needs to exceed 25 km, and the AD122 bus parallels the central section so you can shorten any day.

Do you need to camp on UK and Irish long-distance trails?

No. All seven major trails — including the Kerry Way, Wicklow Way, West Highland Way and Great Glen Way — can be walked inn-to-inn using B&Bs, hostels and pubs, typically €50–90 per night in Ireland and £40–80 in the UK. Baggage-transfer services carry your bag between stops for £10–15 per stage.

When is the best season for multi-day hiking in the UK and Ireland?

May, June and September are the best months. They combine 15–17 hours of daylight with lower rainfall than July and August in the west of Ireland and Scotland, and they avoid the midge peak (mid-June to August) on Scottish trails.

How fit do you need to be for a 200 km trail like the Kerry Way?

You need to walk 20–27 km a day, day after day, over rough and often wet ground with 400–700 m of daily ascent. If you can comfortably do two consecutive 20 km training walks on hilly terrain with a 7–9 kg pack, you are ready.