When you think of hiking, you think of vast expanses of land and barely any people. What you don’t picture is bustling streets and a busy metropolis. Despite that, there are cities which offer great options for lovers of the outdoors, and one Scottish town has been named the very best in the UK.
The nation’s capital of Edinburgh is the best hiking city in the UK according to research from SportsShoes.com. Their study ranked cities on three key criteria – the number of hikes, quality of hikes, and number of reviews of each hike – giving each criteria a number, and then creating an overall average out of 100, which was the ‘hikeability score’.
Rio De Janeiro came out on top with a perfect 100, likely due to it being next to Tijuca National Park, an actual urban rainforest. Although we can’t beat that, Edinburgh was the only British city to crack the top 20.
Edinburgh received an overall score of 89. It has just shy of 150 options for hikes, with an average rating of 4.5 out of five. And no, getting from Waverley station to the Royal Mile doesn’t count even though it absolutely feels like a workout.
This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows Edinburgh. The city is set against Arthur’s Seat, a gorgeous hill which, once summited, offers brilliant views of the cobbled streets and impressive castle. As SportsShoes describes of all the cities which made it into their ranking, it is a perfect marriage of ‘enjoying fascinating museums and sampling authentic cuisine’ and ‘fresh air, big views, and getting out into nature’.
As well as its proximity to nature, Edinburgh definitely ticks the good food and good culture boxes. In fact, you can have a look at where we recommend eating, and visiting, on your next trip to the city here.
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