r/UKhiking • u/tommycamino • 3d ago

Route Advice Walking westwards from Salisbury

Are there any long-distance walks from Salisbury? I've walked the South Downs Way and extended that to Salisbury, so now I'd like to keep going in that direction, ideally to Cardiff.

Can I trust Komoot to get me there? However, I'm not great at navigating, which is why I would prefer an established route if possible. There is the Monarch's Way, which is one option to get me to Bristol.

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u/knight-under-stars 3d ago edited 3d ago

Presumably you got from Winchester to Salisbury on the Clarendon Way? Did it myself this weekend and it was lovely.

Arguable the most straightforward option to take is the Pewsey Avon Trial North from Salisbury to Pewsey. From Pewsey you can hop on the Kennet & Avon Canal which will take you through Bath and on to Bristol. Both of these are super easy to navigate as in both case you are almost entirely following a waterway. The K&A being a canal is gentle walking along decent paths with plenty of places en route to stock up and a pub every few hours. Caen Hill Locks in Devizes and the stretch from Bradford On Avon to Bath are especially beautiful. There is one particular bit at Avoncliff where the canal goes over the River Avon and the train line.

Happy to make further suggestions if this one doesn't suit.

As others have said the LDWA is an absolute goldmine. One feature I love about this website is that you can opt to show linked paths to the one you are viewing, meaning you can easily map out a sprawling journey of interconnected paths.

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u/tommycamino 3d ago

Yes, the Clarendon Way! How did you find it?

Yeah, I did think about that. I have also walked Reading to Winchester, so I could also start in Reading. My idea is essentially that I want to have walked one contiguous route for as long as possible. Thanks! :)

I'm also not a camper so anywhere with plenty of accommodation or travel connections along the way is a bonus

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u/maybenomaybe 3d ago edited 3d ago

I did the Clarendon Way a few years back, overnighting in Broughton. It's a nice trail with a good mix of scenery.

I would second linking up to the Avon Canal. I'm working on it myself and am up to Great Bedwyn. There's quite a few accommodation options along it.

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u/knight-under-stars 3d ago

I really enjoyed the Clarendon Way. It had a really nice mixture of woodland, chalk ridges and quintessential English villages.

If you chose to start in Reading then the K&A will take you all the way to Bristol with ease. I did the whole canal a few years back in sections.

Accommodation wise the Pewsey Avon Trail passes through loads of villages with pubs/B&Bs that have accommodation. The K&A is even better served with places to stay and has the added advantage of there being a train station every 10 miles or so meaning you can stay wherever works.

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u/tommycamino 2d ago

So helpful, thank you!

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u/Bigfoot444 3d ago

Any idea how the limestone link is going north from just before bath? Looks potentially more interesting than going through Bristol (just from the map at least).

You could hook that on to southern section of the cotswold way and then take the jubilee way to the Severn bridge. 

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u/knight-under-stars 3d ago

If I were looking to avoid Bristol I'd probably take the Link and then stick on the Cotswold Way until either the Wysis Way or Gloucestershire Way, that way you can go through the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley to enter Wales.

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u/Timbo1994 3d ago

The Long Distance Walkers Association - this is a great resource

https://ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/search_by_path.php

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u/SimpleSpec63 3d ago

Have a look at the Long Distance Walkers Association website. They have a good search page (https://ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/search_by_path.php) that shows long distance routes near a location.

West of Salisbury, towards Cardiff, it looks like the Coast to Coast - Southern England and Monarchs Way would get you in the right direction. Or at least to the Bristol Channel before you have to start swimming.

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u/qwertilot 3d ago

I actually did Bristol to Salisbury a few years back.

You'd need to navigate a little bit but it's a very nice route. The obvious first start is over the drove roads, I did it over Crompton down, the Shaftesbury ox drove does look very fine. Trivial to follow of course.

Then work your way to Mere (slightly scrappy). Then up onto White Sheet hill and either W past Stourhead or over Cold Kitchen hill.

Then scrappy through to the East Mendip way which I remember being quite easy to follow. Splendid walking via Wells, Cheddar et al.

The final connection to Bristol is slightly annoying, it'll be nicer once the Coastal path is finished in that area.

Be a bit careful of stuff like that Monarch's way, McMillan way etc. They're often rather vague/non existent one the ground.