I do think they're right that the footpaths and rights of way are underappreciated here. Whilst I would appreciate a proper right to roam, it would be more about being able to legally wild camp. In terms of actually getting to places there aren't that many interesting places that aren't already accessible.<p>There's barely a field around my house that isn't crossed by a footpath.<p>There are a loads of fantastic long walks to take on. Personally I'd recommend the south west coastal path. In particular the wilder Exmoor section, although there's barely a dull moment over the whole 1000km. There is definitely something incredibly mindful and calming about just spending time walking.
This made me chuckle:<p>"And of course the many high-school students doing Duke of Edinburgh’s Award hikes, often with looks of total dejection and sadness, and certainly with much stink, but always with an impressive commitment."<p>Been there, done that, got the blisters. Totally worth it looking back, got me into walkin, but not sure I understood it at the time.
The Slowways[0] project is a great resource on UK's walking routes<p>[0] <a href="https://beta.slowways.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://beta.slowways.org/</a>
I tremendously enjoy Craig Mod's writing. I like to save up a few dozen of his newsletters and then spend a couple of hours reading them back-to-back, especially his huge walks in Japan. I find it very transportive, like I'm there with him despite having never been. I'm from the UK though, so this is also very cool!
In Larry Niven's 'Ringworld' the explorers are always eating 'hand meals': for the longest time I resisted the obvious interpretation and imagined some unfathomable futuristic repast, but let's be honest - they're sandwiches aren't they.
> I got more daring with my sandwich orders.<p>I think author slept at some cottage every night. Taking sandwiches on through hike without resuply does not seem very practical..<p>I did wild camping in Scotland long time ago, but I would not recommend it today. Locals are not so welcoming now.