About

Hello everyone, if you don’t know me, my name is Zoe. I started my first blog (not this one) about adventure travel at the beginning of 2019. So why start a new blog?

Well, I was writing quite a lot about hikes and country walks in England, and it’s something I get asked all the time. Where can I go hiking in England? Where can I go hiking near London? Is it even a thing?

So, I decided to start this blog dedicated to all things England hikes and walks. My plan is to get lots of areas of England covered so you can pick where you want to walk or hike based on:

1) Location

Whether it’s a day trip from London (I realise not everyone reading this will be based in London, but I’m from London and we think everything revolves around us….not everyone gets my humour so I feel the need to point out that was a joke), or a weekend trip on the other side of the country.

2) Difficulty

I will cover a range of difficulty levels, from easy to very very challenging. I let you know in each guide what it‘s like, so you know what you are getting yourself into.

3) Trail name

I’m working on a few long distance walking trails, not necessarily in one go, but in stages. Although, I have my eye one some that I want to walk straight through.

I will be breaking them down so that if you want to tackle them without taking time off work, then I can help you there. Or if you are planning to walk one straight out, then each of my posts can (hopefully) guide you through the different sections.

Tips

Along the way, I have learnt a few things when it comes to hiking. So I have included a section with guides on what gear to wear, hiking in different weather conditions, a few bits about camping, and other similar things.

Read More: Tips, Gear, and Resources

Every walk and hike I write about is something I have personally done, and the photos are ones I took on the walk. Every post has an interactive map which you can follow for some extra guidance.

I will display the trail route on Google maps, with a link to the more detailed AllTrails map in most cases. This is the app I use when I track my walks. You can also download a GPX track from there.

If you want to follow my route on AllTrails, you will need to download the app/sign up for an account. It’s free* to use, and I highly recommend it. I have tried a bunch of hiking apps, and this is my favourite.

*There is a paid subscription version, however, you don’t need it. I don’t have it.

Who am I?

I realise I have not actually told you much about me, which I think is what this page is supposed to be about. So, here we go….

I’m a 30 something physiotherapist from London. I’ve always been kind of adventurous, but it wasn’t until I hit 30 that I started walking and hiking my way around England.

London snob

I have always loved a good hike, and whenever on holiday it is something I would look to do. For some reason I never saw England in that way. Living in London, the rest of the country didn’t really exist to me (I did actually live in the countryside for a few years as a teenager, but I always forget that). In my spare time, why would I leave London, unless I was going abroad?

Yes, I was that person.

Traveling the world

Then, in 2014, I took a career break and went backpacking in SE Asia and the South Pacific for 6 months…..When I returned home, I got super depressed.

After nearly a year of feeling miserable I went on anti depressants, then a few months later I went on holiday back to SE Asia. My first stop was Hong Kong, and when there, I did a hike just outside the city.

I LOVED it.

It reminded me of what makes me happy. Being outdoors and travelling. This hike was so easy to get to, just outside of the city. I wondered if London was the same.

Exploring England

So when I got back home I took action. I started travelling again, but importantly, I started exploring hikes near London.

Hikes and country walks near London then turned into weekends all over the country. I was living and working in London, but escaping to the countryside on most weekends. And I loved it. I had the best of both worlds.

Then the C word happened. During this time I met a boy. He told me he was going to build a camper van and travel the world, I told him to wait for me…..

I started saving, then at the end of 2021 I quit my job. I loved my job, but the balance had shifted. I loved hiking and being in nature more. I took on a part time work from home role, which allowed me to move out of the city to Devon. Where I spent my free time hiking along the South West Coast Path.

I later took on a role which landed me in Yorkshire, where I spent 6 months hiking 3 times a week.

Van Life

Once the campervan was ready, we went for it. I do still work, just a little differently from before. I guess you could say my life is very flexible now. Work when I need some money, then go off travelling in the campervan with the boy, doing as much hiking as I want.

I don’t earn the money I used to earn, but my life is so much richer.

Getting injured

In 2018 I had bilateral hip surgery (long story, NOT CAUSED BY HIKING), and had to take a year out from hiking. But it all worked out in the end, and I’m almost as good as new. If you want to know more about that story, I have written a few blog posts about it here.

One last thing

I am obsessed with nuts. I always have a stash with me in my bag. If I leave the house and realise I don’t have nuts on me, I panic a little and go and find some immediately.

Anyway,

Happy hiking 🙂