Planning your walk
How many days?
You should plan your daily walk according to your own strengths and abilities.
The full walk is 337km (210 miles) in length, which can be split into 14 days of
24km (15 miles) walking. Most people would find this comfortable.
You may want to add rest days to this. Note that towns and villages do not always
occur at 15-mile intervals, and to find accommodation, you may have to plan some
longer or shorter days.
One typical itinerary could be the following, broken into stages approximately
15 miles long. No day is more than 20 miles long.
- Source to Llanidloes (short day)
- Llanidloes to Newtown
- Newtown to Welshpool
- Welshpool to Shrewsbury (long day)
- Shrewsbury to Ironbridge
- Ironbridge to Bridgnorth (short day)
- Bridgnorth to Bewdley
- Bewdley to Worcester
- Worcester to Tewkesbury
- Tewkesbury to Gloucester
- Gloucester to Frampton-on-Severn
(long day, but four miles around Frampton can be transferred to
the next day)
- Frampton-on-Severn to Oldbury-on-Severn
- Oldbury-on-Severn to Avonmouth
- River Avon from Avonmouth to Bristol (short day)
The last day can be omitted if it suits your transport requirements.
When to do your walk
Many people, perhaps because of family or work commitments and obligations,
may have little freedom over when they choose to tackle a long walk.
But when planning your walk, remember that accommodation is more likely to
be fully booked during the main tourist months of July and August. This is
especially important in rural areas where accommodation is limited.
Like any river, the Severn can flood in winter, and the unsurfaced riverside
paths can also be affected by rain. If the river level causes you concern or
you would like more detailed information, please telephone the Environment
Agency's Floodline on 0845 988 1188.
In any event, it is always wise to plan your route carefully and to
book accommodation well ahead.
Waymarking
The Severn Way is waymarked throughout its length. However, work to standardise
this is on-going and waymarks are susceptible to floods and vandalism.