Our 10 best spring walks for wildflowers and views

Put a spring in your step with some of the best places to walk in the UK this season.

The temperature is starting to rise and, amidst the showers, the sun is coming out – it’s spring and the perfect time to get outside and go for a walk. 

We’ve teamed up with the UK’s national mapping agency Ordnance Survey to compile 10 of the best spring walks, to enjoy spring flowers, meadows, woodlands and stunning views.  

If you are new to walking, spring is a great time to take your first steps in walking and form a healthy new habit. So what are you waiting for? Lace up your shoes and make the most of the wonderful British countryside this spring.

A woman in a yellow jacket walking her dog past trees in blossomCredit: Shutterstock / Ground Picture
Spring walks make the most of the blossom and wild flowers

1. Keswick & Brundholme Wood, Lake District, Cumbria

Distance: 6 miles (10km) 

Length: three hours 

The Lake District is beautiful at any time of year, but especially in spring, when you can see lambs and wild daffodils. We’ve chosen a relaxing walk along the River Greta. The famous Lakeland poet William Wordsworth even wrote a sonnet about the river in 1823.

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Lambs in front of a lakeCredit: Ordnance Survey
Spring walks are a great time to see lambs in the Lake District

Follow the fast-flowing river through woodland, with views to the spectacular mountains beyond – you may get to see herons and red squirrels.  You’ll walk through Fitz Park, the optional Brundholme Wood section and along the easy-access Railway Trail. 

View the route

2. Golden Cap, Dorset

Distance: 6.5 miles (10.5km) 

Length: three-and-a-half hours 

A perfect spot for a spring walk, as you can often see the green-winged orchid at this time of year. Golden Cap is the highest point along the English Channel coast, so pick a clear day and enjoy the spectacular views in all directions. 

Flowers on a coastal clifftopCredit: Ordnance Survey
Golden Cap enjoys stunning views and spring flowers

This classic walk from Seatown skirts Langdon Hill and St Gabriel’s Wood before rising to Stonebarrow Hill and returning along the South West Coast Path.  

It is an energetic walk, but the views and scenery repay your effort. Don’t forget to leave time to enjoy Seatown’s beach. 

View the route

3. Parkhill Enclosure, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire

Distance: 3 miles (4km) 

Length: one hour 

This walk is at its best in spring. It really is the very best of English woodland, so enjoy the delicate white flowers of wood anenomes and keep your eyes peeled for ‘humbugs’ – baby wild boar. You’ll also smell the wild garlic that grows on the forest floor and the forest floor is carpeted with bluebells from mid April until May. 

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Close up of wood anemone flowers in a forestCredit: Shutterstock / Mariola Anna S
Look out for wood anemones on the forest floor as you walk

The walk starts in the village of Parkend and then loops around Parkhill, which is one of the oldest enclosures in the Forest of Dean. 

VIew the route

4. Aysgarth Falls, North Yorkshire

Distance: 4 miles (6km) 

Length: one-and-three-quarter hours 

The three-stepped waterfalls at Aysgarth have been a tourist attraction for more than 200 years and the surrounding woodland is a nature reserve. In the spring it is full of wood anemones and primroses making it a great time to visit. 

Waterfalls on a riverCredit: Ordnance Survey
Aysgarth waterfalls have rightly been a tourist attraction for more than 200 years

The Lower and Middle Falls are visited on the outbound leg of this walk and there is an optional detour at the end to visit the Upper Falls, where a small charge is made to see them. 

If you are taking children, take care by the river sections and avoid after heavy rain or if the river is in flood. 

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5. Penmon, Anglesey

Distance: 5.5 miles (9km) 

Length: two-and-a-half hours. 

This walk has a bit of everything. The woodland is full of wild garlic at this time of year, wild flowers are blooming in the rough pastures and when you reach the coast you’ll enjoy views of Puffin Island. 

A view from the coast over the sea to a yachtCredit: Ordnance Survey
Black Point lighthouse on the Penmon walk

The walk also takes in a holy well and a dovecote that once housed 1,000 birds, and you can take a diversion to the ruins of Castell Aberlleiniog. 

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6. Nettlebed, Oxfordshire

Distance: 4 miles (11km) 

Length: two hours 

A classic walk that features two commons, a nature reserve and the Chiltern landscape of beech woodlands, chalk grassland and rich wildlife. 

Beech woods in the sunshineCredit: Shutterstock / Dugdax
Beech woodlands are beautiful in the sunshine

This is a walk packed full of interest with plenty of wildlife and historical oddities. A large bottleshaped 17th century kiln towers over a corner of the village, and once produced bricks from clay dug up on Nettlebed Common. 

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7. Stanton Moor, Peak District, Derbyshire

Distance: 3 miles (5km) 

Length: one-and-a-half hours 

This is a grand little walk over open moor and woodland. It takes in the area’s most spectacular rock features, a tower and a stone circle said to be the petrified remains of nine maidens turned to stone for dancing on the Sabbath. A tenth outlying stone is said to be the fiddler who accompanied them. 

A standing stone on Stanton MoorCredit: Ordnance Survey
The ancient Cork Stone on the Stanton Moor walk

It’s an easy walk and worth it for the views and the historical features – this landscape was one a hunting ground, workplace and cemetery, boasting old field patterns and numerous burial cairns. 

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8. Mickfield Meadow, Suffolk

Distance: 2.5 miles (4km) 

Length: one hour 

Another short walk which is best enjoyed in spring. It takes in footpaths, bridleways and permissive routes through stunning tree tunnels to a Suffolk Wildlife Trust site, blossom-filled hedgerows and open countryside.  

A wildflower meadow in spring with cowslips and snake's head fritillariesCredit: Suffolk Wildlife Trust
You’ll see wildflowers such as cowslips and fritillaries at Mickfield Meadow on this springtime walk

Mickfield Meadow itself is a flowerrich hay meadow, which has never been fertilised. It’s full of wildflowers, including ragged robin, meadowsweet and snake’s head fritillaries.  

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9. Inchcailloch Island, Loch Lomond

Distance: 2 miles (3km) 

Length: one hour 

Inchcailloch is a tranquil island within Loch Lomond. It’s full of wildlife, and in late spring the woodlands are full of bluebells. 

A view of a small island harbourCredit: Shutterstock / Francesco Benino
Inchcailloch Island is full of wildlife and spring flowers

This short circular walk takes you around the whole island and up to the viewpoint (81m) where you can enjoy spectacular views across the loch. You’ll also pass a 13th century church dedicated to St Kentigerna and an ancient burial ground.  

There are regular waterbuses from Balmaha, Balloch and Luss, or you can take a short ride on the Inchailloch ferry from Balmaha to the North Pier on the island. 

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10. Cave Hill, Belfast

Distance: 4 miles (7km) 

Length: two-and-a-half miles

Looming over northern Belfast, the craggy, 368 metre-high Cave Hill is arguably one of the city’s most recognisable sights. This walk takes in the hill and the surrounding parkland. 

Cave Hill, a rocky hill, at BelfastCredit: Shutterstock / Norrie3699
Choose a clear day for a walk on Cave Hill to make the most of the views

Spring is a great time to enjoy a walk on the lower slopes of the hill when the woods are full of bluebells and cow parsley. You’ll enjoy views across the rolling countryside towards Divis and the Black Mountain and at the end of your walk pay a visit to Belfast Castle with its formal garden and café. 

View the route
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Phillipa Cherryson

Written by Phillipa Cherryson she/her

Updated:

Phillipa Cherryson is a senior digital editor for Saga Exceptional. Phillipa has been a journalist for 30 years, writing for local and national newspapers, UK magazines and reporting onscreen for ITV. In her spare time she loves the outdoors and is a trainee mountain leader and Ordnance Survey Champion.

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