Offa's Dyke Path
292 km (181 miles), crossing Wales and England, through 1 national park. The line passes 2 listed summits.
- Distance
- 291.9 km
- In miles
- 181.4 mi
- Day stages
- 15 at ~20 km
- Typical trip
- 11–15 days
- Countries
- Wales, England
- National parks
- 1
- Highest ground nearby
- Black Mountain 703.6 m
- Listed summits within 2.5 km
- 2
- Managed by
- National Trails
A National Trail of England and Wales — one of the long-distance routes designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, waymarked with the acorn symbol and maintained to a national standard.
How long it really is
We measure Offa's Dyke Path at 291.9 km (181.4 miles), computed by walking the OpenStreetMap route geometry point by point . The route is tagged in OpenStreetMap as 285 km; where that differs from our figure, the difference is usually alternative sections, spurs, or a published distance that rounds.
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 70 h 05 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
This route crosses 2 legal jurisdictions, and the rules change at the border — what is lawful on one section may not be on the next.
Wales — about 67% of the route
Conditional Right to roam: Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.
Permission needed Wild camping: Permission needed everywhere.
England — about 33% of the route
Conditional Right to roam: Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.
Conditional Wild camping: Permission needed — except on the Dartmoor commons.
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.
National parks on the route
The line passes through one national park, each with its own byelaws and camping position.
Summits on and beside the route
Listed hills from our hill dataset whose summit lies within 2.5 km of the line — 2 of them within 350 m, so effectively on the route itself. Distances are measured from the nearest point of the path, not from a trailhead.
| Summit | Height | From path | Lists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moel Famau | 554.9 m | on route | Historic County TopCurrent County/UA Top |
| Black Mountain | 703.6 m | on route | HewittNuttall |
The route in day stages
Offa's Dyke Path cut into 15 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.
OpenStreetMap does not hold Offa's Dyke Path 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.
| Stage | Distance | Cumulative | Starts near | Ends near | Flat-ground time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20.5 km | 20.5 km | ST 5522 9283 | SO 5373 0784 | 4 h 31 min |
| 2 | 20.1 km | 40.6 km | SO 5373 0784 | SO 4092 1366 | 4 h 25 min |
| 3 | 20.2 km | 60.8 km | SO 4092 1366 | SO 3063 2650 | 4 h 27 min |
| 4 | 20.3 km | 81.1 km | SO 3063 2650 | SO 2315 4341 | 4 h 28 min |
| 5 | 20.1 km | 101.2 km | SO 2315 4341 | SO 2746 5682 | 4 h 25 min |
| 6 | 20.1 km | 121.4 km | SO 2746 5682 | SO 2816 6971 | 4 h 25 min |
| 7 | 20.4 km | 141.8 km | SO 2816 6971 | SO 2626 8708 | 4 h 29 min |
| 8 | 20.2 km | 162 km | SO 2626 8708 | SJ 2566 0522 | 4 h 27 min |
| 9 | 20.3 km | 182.2 km | SJ 2566 0522 | SJ 2530 2005 | 4 h 28 min |
| 10 | 20 km | 202.2 km | SJ 2530 2005 | SJ 2521 3485 | 4 h 24 min |
| 11 | 20.2 km | 222.4 km | SJ 2521 3485 | SJ 2229 4681 | 4 h 27 min |
| 12 | 20.2 km | 242.6 km | SJ 2229 4681 | SJ 1665 5958 | 4 h 27 min |
| 13 | 20 km | 262.6 km | SJ 1665 5958 | SJ 0928 7374 | 4 h 24 min |
| 14 | 20 km | 282.6 km | SJ 0928 7374 | SO 5348 0419 | 4 h 24 min |
| 15 | 1.1 km | 283.7 km | SO 5348 0419 | SO 5395 0510 | 15 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 Offa's Dyke Path, 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 52.445, -3.095. 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
- Route geometry, name, waymark and operator: OpenStreetMap relation 9649 — © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
- 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.nationaltrail.co.uk
- 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.