There are few better ways to get around a city than by foot. Walking about doesn’t just allow you to take in a place’s sights, sounds and smells at whatever pace you wish – it’s also good for your health and, crucially, means you avoid the stress of public transport. Ideal.
Some UK cities are more walkable than others – but which are the most walkable? A new study for tourists by language learning site Preply dived into UK cities, analysing the distance and time it takes to get between their five biggest attractions.
Named the UK’s most walkable city was Oxford. Preply reckons there are just 1.1 miles between the city’s five biggest tourist attractions, and that you could get between them in just 22 minutes. Preply cites most of Oxford’s biggest attractions as being in or around the university, so it makes sense that the city tops the study.
Second was Brighton, which Preply says has its five top attractions within 1.6 miles of walking, while third was York, which has 2.4 miles between its biggest tourist hotspots. London, interestingly, didn’t do badly despite its size: the capital came fifth overall.
Down the other end of the table, Preply says that Bath is the country’s least walkable city. And that’s certainly an odd choice – Bath city centre is really quite compact. The Somerset city places so low because West of England Falconry (what Preply says is the city’s biggest attraction) is outside the city centre. If you give that a miss, Bath is very walkable indeed.
Here are the rest of the most walkable cities in Preply’s study.
The UK’s five most walkable cities
You can read Preply’s full study for yourself here.
Time Out Oxford
We at Time Out are all over the UK – including Oxford. Once you’ve decided to head off on a jaunt around the university city, check out our lists of the best things to do, restaurants to eat at and most fascinating museums.
Did you see that 10 UK steakhouses are officially the best in the world?
Plus: National Express is launching loads of new faster coach services across the UK.
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