Part of the joy of summer is the gorgeous flowers we see popping up left, right and centre, and particularly lovely are the wildflowers that are native to our beautiful countryside. Now, three Peak District trails have been named among the best wildflower walks in the UK, according to new data, as Brits look for new floral footpaths to explore this summer.
Trails across the UK experience their busiest period of the year from March to October when the days are longer, and with Google searches for wildflower walks up by 300% over the past year alone, finding the right floral trails with less chance of a crowd can be tricky.
To help wildflower enthusiasts find the best floral routes, the research by Flying Flowers has uncovered some of the top-rated, but less-visited wildflower trails across the UK for 2025, by analysing data from AllTrails and TripAdvisor.
Wildflower walks in the Peak District
Three picturesque trails in the Peak District have been named in the top twenty overall, including Padley Gorge, Win Hill and Bamford Ridge Circular, and Curbar Edge and Froggat Wood Circular, taking third, eleventh, and fourteenth place respectively.
Padley Gorge in the Peak District makes number three, with an array of wildflowers, waterfalls and wildlife that’s been highly rated by trailgoers. A heather-covered moorland fills the air with its scent in summer, and ancient woodland provides wildflowers such as bluebells, greater stitchwort, and wood sorrel.
With under 150 reviews across AllTrails and TripAdvisor, Padley Gorge may offer a quieter experience than other popular Peak District trails such as Mam Tor, which has over 2,000 reviews on AllTrails alone.
Win Hill & Bamford Ridge Circular, and Curbar Edge & Froggat Wood Circular complete the Peak District wildflower walks trio, with all three of these spots being reachable within around 1.5 hours of Manchester.
Top rated wildflower walks in the UK
Topping the list in the UK is Pentire Headland Walk in Cornwall, with an average AllTrails rating of 4.9 stars. This trail offers the chance to see fields exploding with red poppies and yellow corn marigolds along the way, as well as blue squill, thrift, and many other wildflower species.
Over a quarter of the best wildflower trails were revealed as being in the Lake District, at six overall, making it the undeniable wildflower walking hotspot in the UK. Just a dash up the M6 from Manchester, the area is also England’s largest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage site, renowned for its scenery and botanical diversity.
One of these Lake District spots was the Rydal to Buckstones Jump, which was the least-reviewed top rated wildflower walk in the UK. The short yet diverse walk passes through woodland trails and beside Rydal Beck, where trail-goers can expect waterfalls with banks lined by bluebells and cow parsley. Wild garlic can also make an appearance in the woodland area – its leaves are completely edible, and can be used in recipes like pesto if you feel like doing some foraging.
The top 10 wildflower walks in the UK
- Pentire Headland Walk, Cornwall
- Rydal to Buckstones Jump, Lake District
- Padley Gorge, Peak District
- Seaton to Beer Head, Devon
- Howgill, Trollers Gill, and Appletreewick Circular, Yorkshire Dales
- Bleaberry Fell via Walla Crag, Lake District
- South West Coast Path: Exmouth to Sidmouth, Devon
- Revelstoke Park and Noss Mayo Circular, Devon
- Salcombe and Bolt Head Extended Route, South Devon
- Lanthwaite Wood and Crummock Water Circular, Lake District
Sandra Varley, Head of Flying Flowers, said: “In the busier summer months, you probably won’t have a trail entirely to yourself, but choosing lesser-reviewed, highly-rated routes gives you a better chance of enjoying wildflower walks with fewer crowds.
“Wildflower enthusiasts will have the best experience visiting floral trails between April and August, as this tends to be the peak time for botanicals to bloom, improving chances of seeing a wide array of wildflowers.
“If you’re planning to explore some of the UK’s beautiful wildflower trails, iPhones have a great built in feature for identifying plants, all you have to do is take a picture and scroll up on the image to its details, and you’ll get an instant wildflower ID.”