If one of your resolutions for the new year is to walk more, then book a flight to England, head for the closest coast and start walking. All the travel advice you need is found here - England's Coast. For more background see this:
"Britain is an island nation. And soon it will be possible to walk all the way round that island, because the King Charles III England Coast Path, as it is formally known, will open. (Wales already has a coastal path, and Scottish rules enshrine the freedom to roam, including along the coast.) The English path has been long awaited: the campaign for it began in 2004. It is also long. Its 2,700 miles will make it the longest continuous coastal path in the world. Neil Constable, national adviser at Natural England, which has created the path, hopes that by the end of 2025 it will be possible to arrive at the coast of England, and “turn right or left and follow the national trail as far as you want to go”...."
"YOU WILL walk past Pevensey, where William the Conqueror landed, and Margate, where the Spanish Armada did not. You will walk past Plymouth, from where the Mayflower famously set sail, and Southampton, from where the Titanic infamously did. You will walk past places made famous in poetry and song: past Lyme Regis, where Mary Anning sold seashells on the seashore, past Scarborough Fair, and past the blue birds over the white cliffs of Dover. You will walk along a “footpath through British history”, says David Abulafia, a professor of history at Cambridge University, and its “relationship with the sea”.
("You Will Be Able to Walk Around the Coast of England in 2025: You May Want to Bring Your Wellies," Catherine Nixey, The Economist, Nov. 20, 2024.
If you are only interested in reading about walking, I will place here, some related posts found in MM. I wrote about this British path back in 2020, The Coastal Path. If you want to walk across Canada, see: The Great Trail which was orginally called "The Trans Canada Trail" and is about 24,000 kilometres. You can get on it in St. Thomas. For a shorter walk see, Walking Around Prince Edward Island. It you like to sing while you walk, listen to the songs found in Trail Tunes For Old-Timers. You will hear: Frankie Lane sing, "Along the Navajo Trail", and "The Happy Wanderer," among others.
And if you are really interested in reading about trails and byways, have a look at:
American Trails Book Series, or this which will help with your exploration of England: Highways and Byways of England.
The Bonus:
On Jan. 1, CNN listed some of the best places to visit in 2025 and this was one of the suggestions:
England’s footpaths
"All manner of footpaths, bridleways and byways crisscross the English countryside, many of which have been trodden by humans since ancient times. Access to them is enshrined in law passed just over 75 years ago. That means no matter who owns the land, there’s usually a signposted trail, and some of the most idyllic scenery in the world remains open to all.
England might not have the epic mountain trails found in some parts of the world, but just yards from almost every doorstep in the land, there’s a hedgerow path wending off into a green tunnel of overhanging trees or onto a romantically wuthering moorland.
Popular long-distance routes such as the Pennine Way (60 years old in 2025), Coast-to-Coast or South Downs Way get attention, but quieter corners of the country have their own waymarked trails. Indeed, anyone armed with an Ordnance Survey map can create their own.
Only visiting London? Check out the Capital Ring Walk — a sectioned trail that loops around the city’s suburbs and hidden wildernesses. Or head up the London Underground’s Metropolitan Line and sample the Chess Valley Walk from Chesham to Rickmansworth: 10 miles (16 kilometers) of mostly rural bliss with a Tube station at either end." — Barry Neild
