My husband and I are intending to spend a few weeks in the south of England in early October 2012. We will be using public transport and backpacking. We are very keen to find a walk of 3-4 days duration where we walk from town to town, staying in a hotel/hostel/B&B at each town. Can anyone suggest some possible routes where the start and end points are accessible by public transport, where we can find accommodation that is around 10 - 20kms apart (a leisurely day's walk) and where most of the walking is on foot tracks. We have the book 'The Big Walks of the South' by David Bathurst but it lacks info about how the walks link with public transport and without local knowledge it would take us a long time to research to find an appropriate walk for us. I'm hoping I might be able to short-circuit the research if anyone has any suggestions.

Hi,
I'm sure other members of this site will be able to offer you some great advice. In the meanwhile here is a link that may be of interest to you:

 http://www.southwestcoastpath.com/

Welcome to the P.O.E. website and I hope you enjoy your trip to England.

The Ridgeway a bit north of me is another popular walk that takes in Bucks, Berkshire into Wiltshire.

  http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/Ridgeway/

The Thames Path is another possibility, not that I would suggest walking the entire 184 miles of it ! There are many interesting and varied sections of the Thames Path, from the parts in the cities to the unspoilt rural sections. It fits your requirement of being in easy sections, and there are many interesting towns and cities to visit en route, all accessible by train or bus. All the best for your trip.

 http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/ThamesPath/

Greetings Active Folk, another route you may like to consider is the South Downs Way, this is about 100 miles from Winchester to Eastbourne with many facets including views out over the English Channel as you make your way. I think some of the route has now been made into the South Downs National Park.

  Whatever route you choose, enjoy your trip.

    http ;//www.nationaltrail.co.uk/Southdowns/

LTBA - the best is yet to come!

Book your hotels/accommodation here through POE and get deals cheaper than going direct. It also helps to keep the site running.

See http://www.picturesofengland.com/accommodation/ for starters and if you don't find what you want there, go back to the green shaded area top left of the page where there are more options for B&B, Cottages etc.....and thank you!