Regional walking route · England

Macmillan Way

402 km (250 miles), in England.

Data compiled by Ryan — sources and method

Route from OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Coastline, borders and national park boundaries from the Office for National Statistics (OGL v3.0). Summits from the Database of British & Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0).

Distance: 401.8 km
In miles: 249.7 mi
Day stages: 20 at ~20 km
Typical trip: 15–20 days
Countries: England
Listed summits within 2.5 km: 0
Managed by: Macmillan Way Association

How long it really is

We measure Macmillan Way at 401.8 km (249.7 miles), computed by walking the OpenStreetMap route geometry point by point . The route is tagged in OpenStreetMap as 290 mi; where that differs from our figure, the difference is usually alternative sections, spurs, or a published distance that rounds.

No ascent in this figure

This is horizontal distance only. Our trail dataset carries no elevation profile, so we will not quote a total climb or a confident walking time — on hill routes ascent can add hours a day. A flat-ground pace gives roughly 96 h 41 min of walking for the whole route, which is a floor, not an estimate. Add your own ascent figure in the walking-time calculator for something usable.

Access rights along the way

The route stays within England, so one access regime applies along its length.

England

Conditional Right to roam: Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.

Conditional Wild camping: Permission needed — except on the Dartmoor commons.

Full access rules for England

A waymarked route is a route you may walk — it does not follow that you may camp beside it, leave it, or take a dog on it. Long-distance paths cross farmland, estates and access land in turn, and byelaws and seasonal restrictions override the general position. This is general information, not legal advice. Check a specific spot with the access checker.

The route in day stages

Macmillan Way cut into 20 stages of roughly 20 km, measured along the line itself. These are equal-distance splits computed from the geometry, not an official itinerary — they will not always land on a village, a bunkhouse or a station, and the real day you walk should be set by where you can sleep.

This route is mapped in 7 separate pieces

OpenStreetMap does not hold Macmillan Way as one continuous line, so the stages below run through the pieces in order of length and the joins between them are not walking distance. Treat the stage boundaries as approximate, and check the official route for the sections between them.

Day stages of the Macmillan Way at roughly 20 km each
Stage	Distance	Cumulative	Starts near	Ends near	Flat-ground time
1	20.6 km	20.6 km	SP 6425 5989	SP 5223 5004	4 h 32 min
2	20.6 km	41.2 km	SP 5223 5004	SP 3614 4640	4 h 32 min
3	20.4 km	61.7 km	SP 3614 4640	SP 2925 3383	4 h 29 min
4	20.1 km	81.8 km	SP 2925 3383	SP 1712 2343	4 h 25 min
5	20.1 km	101.9 km	SP 1712 2343	SP 0516 1190	4 h 25 min
6	20.6 km	122.5 km	SP 0516 1190	SO 9617 0024	4 h 32 min
7	20.2 km	142.7 km	SO 9617 0024	ST 8410 8992	4 h 27 min
8	20 km	162.7 km	ST 8410 8992	ST 8408 7488	4 h 24 min
9	20.1 km	182.8 km	ST 8408 7488	ST 8041 5998	4 h 25 min
10	20.2 km	203 km	ST 8041 5998	ST 7362 4719	4 h 27 min
11	21.8 km	224.8 km	ST 7362 4719	ST 7032 3332	4 h 48 min
12	20 km	244.8 km	ST 7032 3332	ST 6311 2481	4 h 24 min
13	20 km	264.9 km	ST 6311 2481	ST 5952 1076	4 h 24 min
14	20 km	284.9 km	ST 5952 1076	SY 5969 9516	4 h 24 min
15	21.2 km	306.1 km	SY 5969 9516	TF 3602 3997	4 h 40 min
16	20.7 km	326.8 km	TF 3602 3997	TF 2469 2783	4 h 33 min
17	20.1 km	346.9 km	TF 2469 2783	TF 1122 1543	4 h 25 min
18	20.3 km	367.2 km	TF 1122 1543	TF 0002 0406	4 h 28 min
19	20.2 km	387.4 km	TF 0002 0406	SK 8612 0898	4 h 27 min
20	6 km	393.3 km	SK 8612 0898	SP 0973 1624	1 h 19 min

Positions are 8-figure (100 m) OS grid references for points on the line, computed from WGS84 coordinates. Flat-ground times are Naismith at 5 km/h with a 6 min/hour rest allowance and no ascent — add the climb in the walking-time calculator before you plan around them.

Conditions on the route

Weather at the route midpoint live

Loading forecast for the midpoint of the route…

Forecast for the midpoint of the Macmillan Way, at MET Norway's own ground level — we hold no elevation profile for this route, so nothing here is altitude-adjusted, and conditions vary considerably end to end on a route this long. Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).

Daylight at the midpoint today

Sunrise: —
Sunset: —
Daylight: —
Civil twilight ends: —

Computed astronomically for 51.523, -2.246. Set a turnaround with the daylight safety planner.

Plan this walk

Walking-time calculator — add ascent, terrain, pack weight and fitness to get a usable time.
Pack-weight calculator — multi-day routes live or die on base weight.
Kit-list generator — season and terrain aware.
Access checker — what a specific grid reference on the route allows.
Best month to walk — historical rainfall, temperature and wind by area.
Safety notes — conditions change fast; build in margin.

Other long-distance paths nearby

Sources for this route

Distance, stages, country crossings, park crossings and summit proximity: computed by OpenFell from that geometry.
Boundaries: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3.0). Summits: Database of British & Irish Hills v18.3 (CC BY 4.0).
Official route website: www.macmillanway.org
Background reading: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

OpenStreetMap data is licensed under the Open Database Licence. Our derived trail measurements are published under the same terms — see data sources.