Why the Lesser-Known Hills Are Worth the Effort

Most of us start with the same handful of summits: the popular peaks with the big car parks, the well-trodden ridges, the summits where you queue for a photograph. They are wonderful, and they deserve their fame. But there is a whole other kind of hill day out there, and it often turns out to be the one you remember longest.

Lesser-known hills offer something the busy honeypots rarely do: quiet. Not just fewer people, but a different quality of quiet — the sound of curlew and skylark, wind moving through heather, boots on wet peat, and your own breathing. Views from these hills are frequently better than you expect, because you're looking at the famous ranges from the outside rather than standing in the middle of them.

The trade-off is that you have to do a bit more homework. Quieter hills tend to have fainter paths, fewer signs and smaller, more sensitive places to park. A little preparation protects both the landscape and the people who live in it.

Check Access Before You Commit

In England and Wales, your right to walk is built from two things: the public rights of way network — footpaths, bridleways and byways — and, in many upland areas, open access land under the Countryside and Rights of Way legislation. Open access land is usually shown as a shaded wash on Ordnance Survey Explorer maps, but it is not a free-for-all. There are closures, restrictions and areas where access is genuinely not permitted.

In Scotland, the picture is broader: statutory access rights cover most land, provided you behave responsibly. In Northern Ireland, access is more limited and route research matters even more.

Practical checks before any visit:

• Confirm the route follows a public right of way or mapped access land for its whole length.
• Look for seasonal or temporary restrictions on access land, and for stalking or shooting notices on estates.
• Check whether your route crosses a military training area — some uplands are closed on certain days.
• Note any diversions caused by forestry work, which can quietly remove a path for months.

Parking Without Causing a Fuss

This is where well-meaning visitors most often upset residents, and where a few minutes of research pays off enormously. Village streets, farm entrances and narrow verges are not car parks, however convenient they look.

Start by asking what infrastructure actually exists. Many quiet areas have a small community-run car park, a village hall that welcomes hillwalkers for a modest donation, or a formally marked layby. If you can't find anything suitable, consider whether a different starting point makes better sense — sometimes a longer approach along a right of way is the whole point.

• Never park in a passing place on a single-track road; they exist so vehicles can pass each other.
• Keep field gates, driveways, farm tracks and entrances to private property completely clear.
• Avoid grass verges in wet months — they churn up quickly and can hide soft ground or drainage ditches.
• Arrive early; a quiet spot that fits two cars becomes a problem at eleven o'clock.
• Have a plan B and be willing to drive on rather than squeeze in somewhere unsuitable.

If in doubt, ask. A polite question at a village shop or a knock at the farm, well before you set off, is very rarely unwelcome.

Route-Finding on Faint Paths

On well-known hills you can often switch off and follow the boot prints. On quieter ground, you need to be more deliberate. Paths shown on the map may be intermittent on the ground, overgrown, or bypassed by a newer line that locals know and the map doesn't.

Expect the ground itself to be the main challenge: tussocky grass, heather, deep peat hags, boggy col crossings and steep heathery flanks with no discernible trod. Allow more time than the distance suggests, and build in a margin for a slow, wet descent. A bearing taken from the summit, rather than a hopeful scan for a path, is often the quickest way down. Carry the map and compass as your primary tools and treat the phone as a backup, because signal in these valleys is patchy at best.

Hill Manners That Keep Access Open

Access in Britain is a privilege maintained by good behaviour. Every gate left open, every dog off the lead among sheep and every blocked entrance makes the next walker's visit harder.

• Leave gates as you find them, and always close those that are shut.
• Keep dogs on a short lead around livestock, and on a lead on open access land between March and July to protect ground-nesting birds.
• Give grazing animals plenty of room, especially cows with calves — take a wide detour rather than walking through the herd.
• Follow any stalking or shooting signage, and be prepared to change your route without complaint.
• Take everything home with you, including fruit peel and any litter you find.

Choose Your Quiet Hill the Right Way

Look at the map for hills with few named paths, no obvious car park and a scattering of small settlements rather than a honeypot village. The foothills of the larger ranges, the long heathery ridges between well-known valleys, and the outliers that everyone drives past on the way somewhere else are all excellent candidates.

Then match the day to your experience. Start with a modest hill and a short route, build up your navigation in poor visibility, and get comfortable with wet ground and pathless terrain. Take a spare layer, plenty of water, and food you actually want to eat.

Walk quietly, park thoughtfully, and leave nothing behind but a thank-you to the people who live and work there. Do that, and the quiet hills will keep giving you the best days of your walking year.