One of my favorite things about living in England is our proximity to National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Beauty (AONBs) with their myriad of opportunities for hiking, biking, and exploring. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some city life, fancy clothes, and foodie nights on the town, but those things tend to drain me of energy, while hiking and fresh air rejuvenate every particle of my soul. It’s been years since I’ve been able to jump in the car and within minutes leave behind chaos and turn the corner into magnificently deserted hills, farms, and wide open spaces.
The UK boasts 15 National Parks and 46 AONBs. We’ve visited a handful, but I’d like to get serious and visit as many as possible. Sometimes it’s difficult to resist going back to the same tried and true places knowing how fabulous they are, but we have yet to be disappointed by any of these wilderness wonderlands. 2 weeks ago we visited Cannock Chase AONB for the second time and last Saturday we drove to Snowdonia National Park in Wales. Snowdonia is absolutely stunning and reminded me a lot of Colorado (one of my favorite states). Cannock Chase is only an hour from our house, and a nice place for a quintessential English Sunday walk. Not sure we should really label it hiking.
Snowdonia, Wales – Fisherman’s Loop Hike out of Beddgelert
Those wild mountain goats or whatever they are had no problem continuing their descent and approaching us. We booked it out of there since those horns are at least twice the size of Penny. Super cool though! We ended the hike with a pint outside at a local pub, full of other hikers and exhausted dogs.
Cannock Chase AONB – Hike out of Rugeley
We didn’t bring our camera to Cannock so we only have a few blurry photos on our phones. Beautiful pine forests, a few small ponds, and easy to follow trails.
To Brum & Beyond 
I’ve always enjoyed hiking I can’t wait to discover some lovely trails in england. We trekked up a large hill in the peak district and though it took some coaxing and piggy backing from my man was it ever worth it when we got to the top. I wanted to stay there forever.
Lovely photos 🙂 though I find photos just can’t do these places justice it’s such an experience to see it first hand.
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Alanna, I totally agree! Pictures fall very short of capturing the immense beauty and grandness of these places. I love the Peak District, too! Great walks there. Have you ventured up to the Yorkshire Dales yet? We’re hoping to make that trip soon.
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I haven’t been to Yorkshire yet but it’s right near the top of my list of places to go. My family emmigrated from yorkshire to canada in the 1800s so I feel a connection to it even though I’ve not yet been there.
From what I’ve seen in photos it looks spectacular :).
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