‘Peaceful’ little UK city named best for relaxing walks with beautiful gardens

As the temperatures are set to get warmer, now is the time to get out into the great outdoors and make the most of the weather.

If you’re like us and love going out for a walk, whether it’s while you’re listening to music, a podcast or an audiobook, time can fly when it comes to doing the exercise.

Not only can you burn calories when walking but it is also great for boosting your mood, improving circulation, lowering blood pressure and bringing your heart rate up.

New research has found which UK city is the best when it comes to a relaxing walk. This is according to Injury Claims, who looked at more than 200,000 reviews of parks across 74 major UK cities and towns.

They found Hereford as top thanks to a significant number of Tripadvisor reviews that mentioned the words “relaxing”, “peaceful”, “calm” and “tranquil”. Overall the city scored an impressive 28.88%.

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Let’s take a look at the city more closely and why it was ranked number one?

What is there to do in Hereford?

Hereford is a cathedral city in the county of Herefordshire. The place lies on the River Wye, and is just 16 miles east of the border with Wales.

It has a population of more than 53,000 and is the largest settlement in Hertfordshire.

The most popular area in the city is Weir Garden thanks to its wooded areas and well-kept gardens. It is part of the National Trust and has a 4.5 rating on Google.

Some of the reviews include: “Beautiful gardens in any weather, the area down by the river is stunning, also from the top of the hill, the view of the river is great for any photographer.”

Another said: “A quiet walk round the gardens for a moment of reflection. Lovely views from the top of the gardens, looking down to the river Wye. Quite a few families with their children and people with their dogs, which was lovely to see.”

A third added: “Had a lovely walk here last weekend, really beautiful views of the river and the gardens. I also really loved the walled garden here too, lots of plants and vegetables being grown that you can look at as well as a greenhouse you can go in.”

Another place you could go and visit is the Castle Green. It is a public park so thankfully it’s free to go and explore and is also the former grounds of Hereford Castle.

The park itself has a 4.4 Google rating with one person writing: “Lovely spot on a sunny day. Gardens well tended. Stroll along the River Wye, or walk over the bridge into the bigger King George V Playing fields. Huge space, great for picnics, games, relaxing.”

Another said: “A lovely place to chill out in the sun! Very beautiful.”

Finally, a third added: “Lovely area to relax with a picnic etc. Grassed area where you can sit or play games. Path that goes around the outside so good for jogging.

“Ideally situated as close to town and also other places like swimming pool and Bishops Meadow.”

How to get to Hereford?

If you’re looking to travel from the capital it will take just under four hours to drive there. Of course, all depending on traffic it is 135 miles in total.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking to travel from cities such as Birmingham it is only 58 miles, Cardiff 56 miles and Manchester 138 miles.

If you’re looking to get public transport there are direct links to the city. There are daily trains to Hereford, Ledbury and Colwall from Birmingham New Street Station as well as a regular service between Manchester and Cardiff.

Let’s not forget there are direct trains from London Paddington to Hereford which will take you around three hours.

Here are the top 10 places to go for a walk, according to Injury Claims.

Hereford

Bristol

Lincoln

Milton Keynes

Oxford

Gloucester

Swansea

Carlisle

Warrington

Newcastle upon Tyne