‘At the top it’s a different world, crisp and pure’: readers’ favourite winter walks
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From golden Cornish sands to a Highland trail with beavers, our tipsters choose atmospheric walks to blow away the cobwebs. Starting with a forest climb, the ascent of Tom Gill’s tumbling waterfalls sets the scene for this breathtaking, two-hour walk to Tarn Hows in the Lake District. At the top, you plateau to a different world, crisp and pure. Ahead, the undulating path meanders around jutting peninsulas and chilly bays, past boulder-dotted banks, bare twisted larch and islands bristling with soaring, verdant conifers. Face the waters and the tarn’s cold, polished surface, the colour of the winter sky, paints the landscape in reverse, reflecting, if you’re lucky, the snow-dusted peaks of Wainwright’s fells that shoulder the view.
![[Cresting the hill … on the Ridgeway in the Chilterns.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f1292c71c5667e256b4fffe4d017b8d9807d6593/0_0_5366_3219/master/5366.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Kevin O’Hara. The Ridgeway, running along the edge of the Chiltern escarpment, is a great walk any time of year, but in winter I would recommend the section near Whiteleaf Cross (which inspired the artist Paul Nash). It’s high enough to see five counties on a clear day. Then follow the footsteps of the poet Rupert Brooke through the beech woodlands to the Pink and Lily pub at Parslows Hillock, which serves hot food and real ales. Brooke was a regular and the snug has been left as if it was waiting for his return from the first world war where he died in 1915.
![[Pontcysyllte Aqueduct; Llangollen Canal; Wales; UK]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ee8d91a3eded46e1b00e42e79d0c1478beb88ff9/0_0_5120_3072/master/5120.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Chris Allen. For a gentle winter stroll through a world heritage site, Llangollen Canal is perfect. Begin by crossing the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. The Dee, 39 metres (127 feet) below, supplies this “river that runs in the sky”. Follow the towpath towards Llangollen, overtaking slow-moving narrowboats with ease. At Llangollen there’s a canalside halt, where the shires that pull the horsedrawn boats peer wistfully from their stable. Persevere past the Marina; look for Ivy Wood House. The owners Harley and Louie have cut their canalside garden hedge to house a cabin selling homemade cakes and drinks, including Baileys hot chocolate, to enjoy in the pale Welsh winter sun.
![[Sunrise in Edale from the Nab.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f2175ca7e2dcb461b5ae955ad2ef48e892d42872/0_538_5135_3081/master/5135.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
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