[Kitchen Cottage]

I walked the WHW last year with my two spaniels and my friend.  I'd love to do something similar again, and I've been working on my fitness so feel very incentivised.

I'd like to do the WHW again, but my friend doesn't want to and indeed the last leg to fort William is a let down and a pointless trudge.

Can you recommend a walk of similar length and difficulty for a fattie (getting thinner!), a 67 year old fittie and two mental spaniels.... a little worried about cliffs as I have a fear the spaniels would run off them!

xxx

[ellied]

Try https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/long-distance-routes.shtml for some ideas, some of the long distance paths can be joined together to make a longer journey or you can pick a home base and walk others in stages. 

I'm doing the Fife Coastal Path with a friend on the basis of one stage per month as that's how often we meet up.  But I'm also aiming at the Great Glen Way at some point, which has the benefit to you of starting where you finished last time around. 

You could also start the EHW from the end of the WHW, make it a whole HW, then add the Dava or Speyside routes to take you right to the coast the next time!

[DavidandCollette]

We did the C 2 C a few years ago, excellent walk. The only coastal bit is the last few miles to Bay

[Louise Gaunt]

The south west coast path is very long but can be done in stages. We often walk sections of it in South Devon. There are lots of places to stop and several luggage transfer companies in the area. Another option is the Two Moors way which goes across Dartmoor and Exmoor, but it can be a bit exposed and rugged, but there is no risk of spaniels falling into the sea!

[pharnorth]

We did the first bit of the C2C last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. So are continuing from Kirkby Stephen this year. Day 1 St Bees to Ennerdale has about 3 miles along the cliff but you would need dogs on leads for much of the walk anyway.

[Kitchen Cottage]

There is a bit of the coast to coast (spikey edge?) which looks terrifying.

I am NOT good with heights and very clumsy and bits of that look like tightrope walking. 

How many "bad bits" are there?

[DavidandCollette]

You are thinking of either Striding edge or Sharp edge on Blencathra.neither are on the walk. We did it with full OS maps (not those silly strip things) and Wainrights guide. We went wrong once, by 50 metres

[pharnorth]

We took the OS map but the silly strip things were OK nearly all of the time.  We went wrong once by 50 metres too!  There are plenty of people doing it May to October so while you can have some solitude you run into the same people over and over and can help each other if needed.

The Lake District stretch is demanding walking for the first 3 or 4 days but very well worth it. The cliff edge at St Bees is well protected and you could cut across inland earlier if you don't like this bit. Or do the middle section Kirkby Stephens onwards first and do the Lake District when you have the confidence

[Anke]

St Cuthbert's Way from Melrose (Scottish Borders) to Lindisfarne is lovely, with B&B possible at every stage and no cliffs involved! Some walking on minor roads. WE have done bits and pieces of it, but it can easily be done in under a week. Not quite sure re accommodation with dogs though...

http://www.stcuthbertsway.info/

[Ghdp]

Wainwrights coast to coast is awesome. Recommended - and we used the strip maps, an OS map and a sat nav just because we like you were nervous about getting lost on the ridges. We didnt - and we met some amazing people. We did it with a company called contours and they arranged the accommodation and bag transport so it was just a case of putting one foot infront of the other each day.
We did some training before setting off ( 10 mile walks etc) and it was fine.

[Backinwellies]

Cotswolds Way

[Daisys Mum]

The Southern Uplands way!

[Lesley Silvester]

I did the Ridgeway some years ago. NOT recommended in a heatwave. We had to keep dropping off the hills to get water as the farms were so short that they weren't giving any away. Lovely walking though and not a cliff in sight.

[Kitchen Cottage]

Looks as though it's just me and the dogs.... I'm going to do a couple of walking holidays I've decided and also the Essex Way at weekends xxx

[carla78]

The Dales Way is a fantastic walking holiday, takes about 6 days if done at a leisurely pace.

I just booked different farmhouse accommodation along the route. It was great.