363km/230 miles

Recreational Route: London/Southern England/East Midlands/Northwest England



A route linking southern and northern England, connecting the Ridgeway in the Chilterns with the Trans Pennine Trail on the edge of the Pennines via historic estates, farmland and the Peak District National Park. Some parts of the Way follow already existing paths, and the route is easily linked into the London path network. Officially it begins at Pulpit Hill near Little Kimble, but the guidebook listed below also describes a 5km/3-mile link from the station at Princes Risborough.



The route was opened in 1994 as a collaboration between numerous local authorities and user groups. For most of its length It is a multi-user route also open to cyclists and horse riders, apart from a section in Derbyshire which is only open to walkers. There are numerous sections where the recommended route for walkers is different from the route for other users, and the information on the this page mainly covers the walkers'' route. Information on the bridleway route is available from the British Horse Society.



Walkers from the London area can approach the Midshires Way via the South Bucks Way which follows the valley of the river Misbourne for 37km/23 miles between the Ridgeway at Coombe Hill and the Grand Union Canal and London LOOP at Denham Lock. Coombe Hill is on the Ridgeway 5km/3 miles east of Little Kimble, providing an easy link to the Midshires Way.

The bridleway route has a different starting point on the Ridgeway at Bledlow. This section, which of course is also open to walkers, is also know as Swan''s Way, a 65-mile/104km bridleway route from Goring along the Ridgeway to Bledlow and then on to Salcey Forest where it meets the Ridgeway walkers'' route.



The walkers'' route from Pulpit Hill across the Vale of Aylesbury incorporates the North Bucks Way, a route originally devised by local Ramblers. The North Bucks Way leaves the Midshires Way at Whaddon to continue for a short distance tothe river Great Ouse at Wolverton, Milton Keyne, 56km/35 miles from Pulpit Hill.



The Brampton Valley Way is an attractive linear country park along a disused railway line between Northampton and Market Harborough (22.5km/14 miles), providing an off-road multi-user route that is also part of National Cycle Network Route 6. The Midshires Way follows it for most of its route.



The High Peak Trail is a multi-user trail along a disused railway line from Cromford to Dowlow, across the White Peak area of the Peak District National Park (30km/18 miles). The Midshires Way uses all but the short eastern section of the Trail. The Tissington Trail is another old railway route running 21km/13 miles from Ashbourne via Tissington and Hartington, joining the High Peak Trail/Midshires Way at Parsley Hay.



The Goyt Way is a 16km/10 mile route following the river Goyt from Whaley Bridge to Etherow Country Park, now entirely part of the Midshires Way. A section also forms part of European Path E2.



The Etherow-Goyt Valley Way runs for 25km/15.5 mile along the Etherow and Goyt rivers, connecting Vernon Park, Stockport with the Longdendale and the Longendale Trail in the Peak District National Park, via Etherow and Werneth Low Country Parks. The Midshires Way uses it between Etherow Country Park and Vernon Park.