6 Alternatives to Crowd-Magnet Mountain Walks

This sweeping, photogenic ridge connects the famous Mam Tor with Lose Hill via the wavelike crest of Back Tor. Its accessible nature, spectacular views and proximity to the honeypot villages of Hope Valley make it one of the most popular walks in Britain.

These spectacular mini-mountains are in the lesser-known south of the Peak District National Park, in the limestone landscape known as the ‘White Peak’. They might not be big, but they are surprisingly steep in parts – watch your step! 

A Snowdonia classic, with the Grade 1 scrambling starting more or less as soon as you leave the A5 and not stopping until the 917 metre-high top of this wonderful, bristling mountain. The challenge of jumping from the rock pinnacles of ‘Adam and Eve’ often has queues and a crowd of onlookers.

This is a harder scramble to get to, being hidden away on the north side of Carnedd Dafydd, but the payoff is (probably) having this excellent, angular Grade 1 scramble to yourself. 

The most direct way to England’s highest mountain (and the route typically taken by Three Peaks Challengers), this route sees six-figure foot traffic annually – with predictable results in terms of erosion. 

Described as the ‘connoiseur’s route’ up Scafell Pike, this longer but more rewarding way to reach England’s highest point takes in the atmospheric Styhead Tarn and a winding route under the foreboding crags of the Scafell massif. 

Huge crowds take on The National Three Peaks Challenge (climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in 24 hours, connected by bleary-eyed driving) every year. For many people, this is their first and only taste of hill walking, and participants raise a lot of money for charity. But overcrowding, disturbance, litter, erosion and sanitation can all be unpleasant offshoots.

Many of the unsavoury aspects of the National Three Peaks stem from the driving between the peaks. Why not cut this out and do an alternative Three Peaks in just one national park? The Lake District Three Peaks connects Scafell Pike, Skiddaw and Helvellyn. On foot it’s a Herculean task – but cycling between them is within the grasp of a mere (albeit very fit) mortal.

A rite of passage for Yorkshire folk, this famous 23-mile route (the ‘original’ Three Peaks) lassos together Pen y Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough – humble hills in themselves, but a formidable challenge taken together.

The hills above Wharfedale offer the most satisfying hill walking in the Yorkshire Dales outside the ‘Three Peaks’ area, and this 22-mile challenge connects Birks Fell, Buckden Pike and Great Whernside. 

The ‘easiest’ way to the highest point in Britain is predictably busy, with tens of thousands walking it every year.

The Carn Mor Dearg Arete is a longer, wilder, more exposed and, overall, harder way to reach the top of Ben Nevis, but it rewards with incredible views of the mountain’s famous North Face and a breathtaking scramble over a sweeping narrow ridge.