The following long-distance footpaths can be found in the United Kingdom:
England and Wales: National Trails
National Trails are distinguished by being maintained by the National Trails organisation.As of January 2015, there are sixteen such trails, one of which is not yet complete.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign state in the European Union. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, it includes the island of "Great Britain" (a term also applied loosely to refer to the whole country), the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands.Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to its east, the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south-southwest. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 93,800 square miles (243,000 km2), the UK is the 80th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also is the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 64.5 million inhabitants.
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. Its capital city is London, an important global city and financial centre with an urban population of 10,310,000, the fourth-largest in Europe and second-largest in the European Union. The current monarch—since 6 February 1952—is Queen Elizabeth II. The UK consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The latter three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast, respectively. The nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the United Kingdom, being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation.
Long-distance trails (or long-distance tracks, paths, footpaths or greenways) are the longer recreational trails mainly through rural areas, used for non-motorized recreational travelling (walking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing).
Any route named as a "trail" (or "way", in the UK) will probably be marked, or identified on a map, but it will usually only be described as "long-distance" if it takes the average user more than one day to travel from end to end. Typically, a "long-distance" trail, way or path will be at least 50 km (31 mi) long, but some in Britain are several hundred miles long, and many in the US are much longer.
In some countries, official "trails" will have the surface specially prepared to make the going easier.
In the UK long-distance paths are simply existing rights of way (over private land) "joined together" (perhaps with specially negotiated linking sections) to make a named route. Generally the surface is not especially prepared (which can come as a surprise to walkers from abroad, who find their distance-covering estimates need to be rethought to take rough ground into account) except in special places such as converted rail tracks, or some "busy" hilly areas where stone slabs are laid to prevent erosion.