If you want a hilltop view without giving up half a day, pick Little Solsbury Hill. If you're pushing a buggy, using a wheelchair, or it's raining, pick the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath or the Two Tunnels Greenway. If you want the full classic Bath walking experience that everyone means when they say "the walk," that's the Bath Skyline. Each of Bath's four well-known walks solves a different problem, and picking the wrong one for your day is the easiest way to end up muddy, late, or disappointed by the view.
This isn't a rundown of what each walk involves; our other guides already cover that in detail. This is the decision layer: which one actually fits the day you've got.
The four walks compared
| Walk | Distance | Difficulty | Family/buggy friendly | Time needed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath Skyline | 6 miles circular (5.9km short version) | Moderate: real climbs, can be muddy | No, hills and uneven ground throughout | 3.5-4 hours (1.5 hours for the short loop) | The full classic Bath walk and the widest range of views |
| Kennet & Avon Canal towpath | 2.5 miles to Bathampton, 5-5.5 miles one way to Dundas Aqueduct | Easy, flat throughout | Yes, buggy and wheelchair friendly | 45 min-1 hour to Bathampton | Families, an easy stroll, a pub at the end |
| Two Tunnels Greenway | 4 miles one way to Midford (12.3-mile circuit option) | Easy, flat throughout | Yes | Roughly 1.5-2 hours one way at an easy pace | Rain, cycling, the only fully weatherproof option |
| Little Solsbury Hill | 3.3 miles circular | Moderate to hard: short but steep climbs | No, steep sections and mud in winter | Under 2 hours | A quick hilltop view without a half-day commitment |
How to actually choose
You've got 90 minutes and want a proper view. Little Solsbury Hill. It's the shortest route to an open, elevated view over Bath and the Avon valley, on an Iron Age hillfort the National Trust has managed since 1930. The trade-off is two genuinely steep climbs packed into a short distance, so it suits a fit adult far better than a family group.
You're pushing a buggy, using a wheelchair, or just want zero hills. The Kennet & Avon Canal towpath from central Bath to Bathampton is flat the entire way, with no stiles, and the surface is well maintained. It also ends at a pub, the George Inn in Bathampton, which the other three don't offer directly on-route.
It's raining and you still want to get outside. The Two Tunnels Greenway is the only one of the four built to work regardless of weather. Both tunnels, including the 1,672-metre Combe Down Tunnel, the longest cycling and walking tunnel in Britain, are surfaced and lit, so a wet day doesn't touch most of the route the way it would on the Skyline or Little Solsbury Hill.
You want the full half-day Bath walking experience. The Bath Skyline is the one to commit to: six miles through Bathwick Fields, Smallcombe Vale, Rainbow Wood and Claverton Down, with the widest variety of scenery and the most well-known views back over the Abbey and the Georgian rooftops. Wear proper shoes, since there's real ascent and descent and the paths cross farmland where livestock graze.
You want to walk and cycle in the same trip, or bring a bike. The Two Tunnels Greenway sits on National Cycle Network route 244, and its flat, railway-grade gradient makes it usable on foot or by bike without much difference in effort either way.
You're short on time but want more than a stroll. The shortened 5.9km version of the Skyline covers much of its best scenery in about 1.5 hours, which puts it roughly on a par with Little Solsbury Hill for time but with less climbing per mile.
Getting to each one without a car
None of these four need a car. The Kennet & Avon towpath starts right in the centre near Pulteney Bridge and Sydney Gardens. The Two Tunnels Greenway starts about ten minutes' walk from the centre at Linear Park. The Bath Skyline can be joined from several points around Bathwick and Claverton Down, a 20-30 minute walk or a short bus ride from the centre. Little Solsbury Hill is the only one that needs a proper trip out first, starting in Batheaston, about 2.5 miles east of the centre, reachable by local bus.
Combining walks if you have the legs for it
The Kennet & Avon towpath and the Two Tunnels Greenway both start close enough to central Bath that a fit walker could realistically link a stretch of one with a visit to the other in a single long day, since both are flat and neither will exhaust you the way the Skyline's climbs will. Trying to combine the Skyline with Little Solsbury Hill in one day is possible but ambitious, since both involve genuine ascent; treat each as its own outing unless you're training for something.
Full guides to each walk
- The Bath Skyline Walk: route, distance and how to get there
- The Kennet and Avon Canal towpath walk from Bath
- The Two Tunnels Greenway
- Little Solsbury Hill walk from Bath
FAQs
Which Bath walk is best for a buggy or wheelchair? The Kennet & Avon Canal towpath toward Bathampton. It's flat, has no stiles, and the surface is well maintained the entire way.
Which walk works if it's raining? The Two Tunnels Greenway. Its path and both tunnels are fully surfaced and lit, so it's the only one of the four that isn't significantly affected by wet weather underfoot.
Which walk has the best view? The Bath Skyline and Little Solsbury Hill both give genuine views back over the city. The Skyline is longer with more varied scenery across a full loop; Little Solsbury Hill gets you a comparable hilltop view faster, via a steeper, shorter climb.
Do I need a car for any of these? No. All four are reachable on foot or by local bus from central Bath, though Little Solsbury Hill and the Bath Skyline both need a short trip out to their start points first.
Which is the shortest walk? Little Solsbury Hill's loop, at 3.3 miles, is the shortest of the four full routes, though the shortened 5.9km version of the Skyline covers similar ground in a similar time.
Can I cycle any of these instead of walking? The Two Tunnels Greenway is built for both, sitting on National Cycle Network route 244. The Kennet & Avon towpath is also cycled by some, though towpath etiquette asks cyclists to give way to walkers. The Skyline and Little Solsbury Hill are walking routes only.