Stiles: the walks with the most, and the longest with none

Name: Stiles: the walks with the most, and the longest with none
Creator: Adventure On Foot
Published: 2026-11-04
License: https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/

4 November 2026

Poets' Path No 2 has 40 stiles in 8 miles, one every 350 yards or so: more to the mile than any other named walk of 5 miles or more. Whithorn Way goes 134.2 miles without one.

A stile is the hardest thing on a path for a dog, a pushchair, a wheelchair or a stiff knee. OpenStreetMap’s mappers record them: 11,123 stiles on the 2,907 named routes in The Directory whose paths are mapped well enough to count, 33,210 miles in all. 1,461 of those routes have none.

The most

After Poets' Path No 2, the most to the mile: Meltham Way (34 in 8.7 miles), Linacre and Cordwell Valleys Circular Walk (37 in 9.5 miles), Holme Valley Circular Walk (86 in 23 miles) and Limestone Way (165 in 46.6 miles).

The national trails

The most to the mile: Offa's Dyke Path, 138 in 177.3 miles. The most in all: South West Coast Path, 204 in 644.1 miles. Seven have none: Annandale Way, Cross Borders Drove Road, Dava Way, Formartine and Buchan Way, Forth & Clyde/Union Canal Towpath, Rob Roy Way and Three Lochs Way. Nine more have none recorded, but too little else is mapped along them to be sure: Great Glen Way, Great Trossachs Path, Kintyre Way, Loch Lomond & Cowal Way, Moray Coast Trail, Romans and Reivers Route, Speyside Way, The Ridgeway and West Island Way.

The longest with none

The longest national trail with none: Rob Roy Way, 79.8 miles. The longest long-distance route with none: Whithorn Way, 134.2 miles. The longest walk with none: Newry Canal Way, 19.5 miles. Each has no stiles recorded on any part, and enough gates or firm path recorded to suggest none were missed.

County by county

On the named routes through each county: the most stiles to the mile in Herefordshire, 15.2 for every 10 miles of route, then Derbyshire (14.4), Staffordshire (9.8) and East Sussex (9.4). City of Edinburgh, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, Falkirk, Inverclyde, Merseyside, Moray, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire have none recorded on their named routes.

The tables

The 20 named routes of 5 miles or more with the most stiles to the mile
Rank	Route	Miles	Stiles	Per 10 miles
1	Poets' Path No 2SW 1042	8.0	40	50.1
2	Meltham WayYH 1015	8.7	34	38.9
3	Linacre and Cordwell Valleys Circular WalkEM 1018	9.5	37	39.0
4	Holme Valley Circular WalkYH 135	23.0	86	37.4
5	Limestone WayEM 115	46.6	165	35.4
6	Amber Valley Routeway Walk 1EM 1051	5.1	18	35.4
7	Amber Valley Routeway Walk 14EM 1034	6.8	23	33.9
8	Eddisbury WayNW 1002	17.2	58	33.7
9	Colne Valley Circular WalkYH 1009	12.1	40	33.0
10	Capel WalkSE 1078	6.1	20	32.6
11	South Chesterfield WayEM 1014	9.7	30	31.1
12	Weaver WalkWM 1028	8.1	24	29.5
13	Penistone Boundary WalkYH 1005	15.4	45	29.1
14	Chesterfield Round WalkEM 117	32.7	94	28.7
15	Crewe and Nantwich Circular WalkNW 129	29.2	83	28.4
16	Rail Trail: Henley-in-Arden CircularWM 1071	5.1	14	27.6
17	Upper Tarell Valley Walk, East WalesWA 1020	5.6	15	26.7
18	North Chesterfield WayEM 1022	8.9	23	26.0
19	A Coventry Way Circular Walk 20WM 1048	6.6	17	25.6
20	Derby Nomad WayEM 114	47.3	121	25.6

National trails: the longest with no stiles
Route	Miles	Gates
Rob Roy WayUK 022	79.8	23
Forth & Clyde/Union Canal TowpathUK 021	63.1	6
Formartine and Buchan WayUK 046	54.1	7
Annandale WayUK 035	53.5	18
Cross Borders Drove RoadUK 027	51.8	33
Three Lochs WayUK 037	33.1	14
Dava WayUK 029	23.6	1

Long-distance routes: the longest with no stiles
Route	Miles	Gates
Whithorn WaySC 105	134.2	9
Trail of the 7 LochsSC 110	50.8	12
Three Shires WaySE 128	48.9	12
River Tay WaySC 112	47.5	19
Shipwrights WaySE 131	45.4	10
Mary Towneley LoopYH 121	44.8	40
Jubilee GreenwayLN 108	39.9	37
Rossendale WayNW 118	39.2	6
South Loch Ness TrailSC 114	38.9	18
Wirral Circular TrailNW 123	38.4	5

Walks: the longest with no stiles
Route	Miles	Gates
Newry Canal WayNI 1001	19.5	3
Colne Valley TrailEE 1001	18.8	5
Eglish Heritage TrailNI 1002	18.4	0
Camel TrailSW 1004	18.3	3
High Peak TrailEM 1001	17.8	18
Castleman TrailwaySE 1003	17.5	3
Papa Stour CircularSC 1002	16.9	11
South Glen Shiel RidgeSC 1003	16.8	3
Green Link WalkLN 1002	16.4	2
Thames Down LinkSE 1006	16.3	8

Every national trail, most stiles to the mile first
Route	Miles	Stiles	Per 10 miles	Gates
Offa's Dyke PathUK 004	177.3	138	7.8	180
Hadrian's Wall PathUK 026	85.7	60	7.0	70
Pennine WayUK 001	255.6	162	6.3	370
Coast to Coast PathUK 044	188.4	96	5.1	185
Berwickshire Coastal PathUK 045	29.8	11	3.7	31
South West Coast PathUK 007	644.1	204	3.2	969
Cotswold WayUK 033	102.6	30	2.9	243
North Downs WayUK 008	159.9	37	2.3	220
Borders Abbeys WayUK 032	67.2	8	1.2	50
St Cuthbert's WayUK 016	64.0	7	1.1	66
South Downs WayUK 005	101.6	9	0.9	146
Glyndŵr's WayUK 024	136.1	11	0.8	110
Wales Coast PathUK 038	871.4	67	0.8	1,122
Arran Coastal WayUK 025	64.6	4	0.6	8
Yorkshire Wolds WayUK 012	76.1	4	0.5	109
Clyde WalkwayUK 036	38.6	2	0.5	25
Southern Upland WayUK 013	216.7	11	0.5	85
Pembrokeshire Coast PathUK 003	177.7	9	0.5	163
Cleveland WayUK 002	105.0	3	0.3	111
Mull of Galloway TrailUK 040	37.4	1	0.3	6
River Ayr WayUK 030	40.3	1	0.2	25
West Highland WayUK 010	95.5	2	0.2	43
Fife Coastal PathUK 023	116.3	2	0.2	36
Cateran TrailUK 017	65.8	1	0.2	71
Thames PathUK 015	185.7	2	0.1	298
John Muir WayUK 041	133.1	1	0.1	52
Annandale WayUK 035	53.5	0	0.0	18
Cross Borders Drove RoadUK 027	51.8	0	0.0	33
Dava WayUK 029	23.6	0	0.0	1
Formartine and Buchan WayUK 046	54.1	0	0.0	7
Forth & Clyde/Union Canal TowpathUK 021	63.1	0	0.0	6
Great Glen WayUK 020	76.8	0	0.0	29
Great Trossachs PathUK 042	30.2	0	0.0	13
Kintyre WayUK 031	100.4	0	0.0	7
Loch Lomond & Cowal WayUK 019	56.3	0	0.0	11
Moray Coast TrailUK 047	45.7	0	0.0	2
Rob Roy WayUK 022	79.8	0	0.0	23
Romans and Reivers RouteUK 028	49.3	0	0.0	7
Speyside WayUK 011	89.5	0	0.0	21
The RidgewayUK 006	86.4	0	0.0	84
Three Lochs WayUK 037	33.1	0	0.0	14
West Island WayUK 018	29.3	0	0.0	2

Every county with 20 miles or more of named route, most stiles to the mile first
Rank	County	Miles of route	Stiles	Per 10 miles
1	Herefordshire6 of 20 walks stile-free	290	439	15.2
2	Derbyshire28 of 65 walks stile-free	727	1,044	14.4
3	Staffordshire18 of 40 walks stile-free	530	518	9.8
4	East Sussex16 of 25 walks stile-free	376	352	9.4
5	West Yorkshire8 of 30 walks stile-free	713	609	8.5
6	Cheshire22 of 41 walks stile-free	685	536	7.8
7	Gloucestershire13 of 42 walks stile-free	687	487	7.1
8	Worcestershire14 of 33 walks stile-free	341	243	7.1
9	South Yorkshire4 of 14 walks stile-free	228	154	6.8
10	Durham30 of 75 walks stile-free	565	317	5.6
11	Wrexham7 of 7 walks stile-free	82	46	5.6
12	Denbighshire1 of 9 walks stile-free	86	46	5.4
13	North Yorkshire12 of 58 walks stile-free	1,420	761	5.4
14	Shropshire22 of 45 walks stile-free	626	314	5.0
15	Warwickshire24 of 57 walks stile-free	587	296	5.0
16	Kent23 of 46 walks stile-free	933	457	4.9
17	Cumbria46 of 81 walks stile-free	732	332	4.5
18	West Sussex30 of 42 walks stile-free	584	254	4.3
19	Cornwall26 of 44 walks stile-free	535	227	4.2
20	Northumberland9 of 23 walks stile-free	347	142	4.1
21	Greater Manchester9 of 16 walks stile-free	486	183	3.8
22	Oxfordshire23 of 38 walks stile-free	529	188	3.6
23	Surrey71 of 114 walks stile-free	642	233	3.6
24	County Antrim15 of 27 walks stile-free	140	49	3.5
25	Hampshire23 of 48 walks stile-free	727	253	3.5
26	Lancashire2 of 14 walks stile-free	425	144	3.4
27	Somerset19 of 40 walks stile-free	681	233	3.4
28	Bristol1 of 3 walks stile-free	66	22	3.3
29	Buckinghamshire50 of 79 walks stile-free	816	232	2.8
30	Isle of Wight17 of 35 walks stile-free	268	72	2.7
31	Dorset23 of 45 walks stile-free	523	138	2.6
32	Monmouthshire4 of 11 walks stile-free	152	38	2.5
33	County Londonderry4 of 15 walks stile-free	89	21	2.3
34	Powys4 of 13 walks stile-free	570	133	2.3
35	West Midlands65 of 114 walks stile-free	385	89	2.3
36	Gwynedd18 of 40 walks stile-free	534	115	2.2
37	Midlothian3 of 4 walks stile-free	36	8	2.2
38	Northamptonshire4 of 9 walks stile-free	339	69	2.0
39	Carmarthenshire7 of 12 walks stile-free	236	44	1.9
40	Essex18 of 31 walks stile-free	526	99	1.9
41	Devon58 of 102 walks stile-free	1,039	185	1.8
42	Flintshire	49	9	1.8
43	County Down56 of 88 walks stile-free	438	76	1.7
44	Isle of Anglesey2 of 7 walks stile-free	266	44	1.7
45	Leicestershire1 of 4 walks stile-free	210	34	1.6
46	Cardiff	46	7	1.5
47	Shetland19 of 80 walks stile-free	244	37	1.5
48	Conwy3 of 16 walks stile-free	136	19	1.4
49	Rhondda Cynon Taf1 of 2 walks stile-free	21	3	1.4
50	Wiltshire3 of 8 walks stile-free	530	75	1.4
51	Caerphilly1 of 2 walks stile-free	31	4	1.3
52	Hertfordshire47 of 67 walks stile-free	707	92	1.3
53	Rutland	82	11	1.3
54	Newport1 of 3 walks stile-free	50	6	1.2
55	Berkshire22 of 26 walks stile-free	244	28	1.1
56	Greater London42 of 55 walks stile-free	719	82	1.1
57	Pembrokeshire12 of 20 walks stile-free	457	50	1.1
58	Scottish Borders6 of 14 walks stile-free	350	39	1.1
59	Bedfordshire17 of 23 walks stile-free	435	42	1.0
60	Nottinghamshire29 of 44 walks stile-free	351	34	1.0
61	Norfolk125 of 207 walks stile-free	1,376	123	0.9
62	Swansea3 of 4 walks stile-free	109	9	0.8
63	Suffolk51 of 88 walks stile-free	707	53	0.7
64	Ceredigion2 of 10 walks stile-free	191	12	0.6
65	East Riding of Yorkshire2 of 4 walks stile-free	268	16	0.6
66	Lincolnshire5 of 9 walks stile-free	271	16	0.6
67	Tyne & Wear9 of 16 walks stile-free	121	7	0.6
68	Vale of Glamorgan	31	2	0.6
69	County Fermanagh19 of 24 walks stile-free	88	4	0.5
70	Neath Port Talbot	22	1	0.5
71	Cambridgeshire40 of 44 walks stile-free	501	18	0.4
72	County Armagh13 of 20 walks stile-free	110	4	0.4
73	North Ayrshire1 of 5 walks stile-free	105	4	0.4
74	East Lothian	37	1	0.3
75	County Tyrone9 of 23 walks stile-free	109	2	0.2
76	East Dunbartonshire5 of 5 walks stile-free	57	1	0.2
77	Fife10 of 16 walks stile-free	194	4	0.2
78	Highland43 of 92 walks stile-free	702	11	0.2
79	North Lanarkshire8 of 10 walks stile-free	48	1	0.2
80	Perth and Kinross39 of 74 walks stile-free	457	7	0.2
81	South Ayrshire1 of 1 walks stile-free	63	1	0.2
82	South Lanarkshire3 of 3 walks stile-free	57	1	0.2
83	Western Isles4 of 6 walks stile-free	215	4	0.2
84	Aberdeenshire14 of 39 walks stile-free	231	3	0.1
85	Angus23 of 40 walks stile-free	149	1	0.1
86	Stirling11 of 23 walks stile-free	192	1	0.1
87	Argyll and Bute5 of 29 walks stile-free	425	2	0.0
88	City of Edinburgh3 of 4 walks stile-free	64	0	0.0
89	City of Glasgow5 of 5 walks stile-free	48	0	0.0
90	Dumfries and Galloway3 of 19 walks stile-free	279	1	0.0
91	East Ayrshire3 of 3 walks stile-free	38	0	0.0
92	Falkirk2 of 3 walks stile-free	68	0	0.0
93	Inverclyde1 of 2 walks stile-free	27	0	0.0
94	Merseyside3 of 8 walks stile-free	96	0	0.0
95	Moray1 of 1 walks stile-free	95	0	0.0
96	Renfrewshire2 of 4 walks stile-free	38	0	0.0
97	West Dunbartonshire1 of 2 walks stile-free	41	0	0.0

How we counted

A stile counts where OpenStreetMap records one on the route’s line (barrier=stile). Gates are gates and kissing gates. A route is counted only where every part of it is mapped well enough to read, and only routes whose line we have in full; lengths are of that line. Some stiles on the ground aren’t mapped yet, and some that are have since been replaced with gates, so treat “none” as a good sign rather than a promise.

A route has no stiles when none is recorded on any part of it and each part either has gates recorded or is at least nine-tenths firm path: a sign the barriers along it have been mapped. A county’s figure counts the named routes through it, by the county each section is in. Walks are the named routes shorter than the long-distance ones.

Use these figures

They’re free to use in print, online and on air. Please credit:

and link to this page where you can. The figures come from OpenStreetMap, under the Open Database Licence, so the “© OpenStreetMap contributors” is part of the credit.

The tables in full, as spreadsheets (CSV): routes and counties.

These are the figures as of 4 November 2026. We work them out again when the routes or the map change, and keep every edition, so a figure quoted from an earlier one can still be checked.