Wales End to End is a 300 mile (480 km) journey from the far Northeastern corner of Wales to the opposite end of the country in the Southwest. For me, it was a form of pilgrimage, retracing my steps over the high mountains of wales, first trodden as a teenager, and sampling some of the very best of Wales' coastal scenery. It also visits several of the chapels and churches, not only along the North Wales Pilgrim's Way but elsewhere, culminating in the heralded pilgrims' destination of St. Davids Cathedral - a very fitting end to the journey. The route starts at Chester, following canals to the River Dee which is tracked to the sea along the Wales Coastal Path. This is departed at Holywell which marks the start of the North Wales Pilgrims' Way. This gives a flavour of the borderlands and rural Wales with its rolling hills and ancient woodland, as well as the Celtic heritage of this land.
At the iconic Llangelynin Church, set high up in the Carneddau, the Pilgrims Way is left for the high mountains of Snowdonia, making a high-level traverse of the Carneddau, Tryfan and the Glyders, Crib Goch and Snowdon, Moelwyn Mawr and the rough bounds of the Rhinogs, before continuing over Cadair Idris and Tarren y Gesail to reach Machynlleth. Here, the Coastal Path is rejoined, following this all the way to the journey's end at St. David's
The concept of an ‘end to end’ walk is simple – start at one end of a mountain range, river or island and finish at the other. In April 2024 I embarked on an end-to-end walk from the Land's End to Berwick, and in April 2025 I completed a high-level journey from Cape Wrath to Berwick, thereby traversing Scotland from its Northwestern extremity to its most Southeastern point. This journey completed the set of UK end-to-end walks, going from the most Northeastern part of Wales near Chester, to the far Southwest near St. David's.
There is no guidebook for the route, although it is based on the Welsh Coastal Path, North Wales Pilgrim's Way and the Cambrian Way, all of which are described elsewhere. This web site is intended as a resource for future completions. Please let me know if you plan to walk the route and to provide any feedback by contacting me.