At the end of last year, hiking map app AllTrails revealed that Britain’s most popular hike of 2025 was the walk to summit of Yr Wyddfa (AKA Mount Snowdon) in North Wales. Apparently, around 600,000 people take on the mountain every year and if you’ve climbed it yourself, you’ll probably be familiar with the long queue that often forms at the very top. But there are plenty of hikes across the UK that offer just as brilliant views and don’t get anywhere near the same crowds.
Now, AllTrails has revealed which underrated ‘trail-rich’ regions across the world are worthy of a visit in 2025. And it has given a shoutout to one of the UK’s least visited national parks: Northumberland.
A spokesperson for the app said: ‘In the UK alone, AllTrails has nearly 35,000 trails to explore, but Northumberland stood out for its dramatic skies, Roman history and some of the best Dark Sky stargazing in Europe. All the while being one of the lowest visited National Parks in the UK, meaning fewer crowds than some highly visited areas.’
AllTrails highlighted four routes worth trekking in the county. The number one most popular trail in Northumberland National Park is the 8.2km Simonside and Dove Crag Loop. It’s a moderate hike that crosses moorlands, passes through woodlands and clambers 390m to the peak of Dove Crag.
For a shorter stroll, All Trails recommends the Crag Lough and Hadrians Wall Circular. That stretches 5.6km, takes less than 90 minutes to complete and offers the ‘most majestic’ views of Hadrian’s Wall – the Roman structure built to deter invasion from the Caledonians, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It also takes walkers by the site of the now-befallen Sycamore Gap, a beloved 150-year old tree featured in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves that was illegally felled back in 2023.
On another popular circular trail, you can see the ruins of the medieval Harbottle Castle, which dates back to around 1157. There’s also the Housesteads to Sycamore Gap route, where you start from the Housesteads Roman Fort (also known as Vercovicium) – the most complete surviving Roman fort in all of Britain. That walk is 8km and tends to take around three hours.
Prefer a coastal walk? Well, there’s the 100km Northumberland Coast Path that runs from Cresswell to Berwick-upon-Tweed. The jewel in the Northumberland coastline’s crown is probably Bamburgh. Its beach has bright, pristine sand as far as the eye can see and is overlooked by the magnificent Bamburgh Castle, thought to be more than 1,400-years-old.
And in case you need another reason to visit Northumberland, National Geographic Traveller named it one of the best places in the world to visit in 2026, particularly for any keen stargazers. The county’s International Dark Sky Park is Europe’s largest area of protected night sky and Kielder Observatory in Kielder Forest is one of the UK’s most prestigious.
Explore more of the most breaktaking hikes in the UK.
ICYMI: Two spectacular new walking trails are launching on the Welsh coast this year.
Plus: A new stargazing observatory has opened in one of Britain’s most beautiful natural landscapes.
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