Why the best walks are the ones nobody talks about

There's a particular kind of quiet you only find on a footpath that isn't in anyone's guidebook. No car park full of open boots, no chatter drifting up the lane, no queue for a stile. Just the sound of your own boots on wet grass and a skylark somewhere overhead.

Finding those paths isn't difficult, but it does take a small shift in how you plan a walk. Instead of heading for the well-known viewpoint or the beauty spot with the tea room, you start looking at the map the way a farmer or a postman would — as a working landscape full of small, overlooked routes. Here's how to do it.

Read the map with local eyes

A detailed 1:25,000 walking map is your best friend here. The green dashed lines are public footpaths; orange dashes are bridleways; and blue dashes with crosses are byways. Once you can read those, the quiet routes start to reveal themselves.

Look for paths that don't connect two honeypot villages. A footpath that runs between two hamlets, or loops through farmland to nowhere in particular, will almost always be empty. Contour lines matter too: if a path hugs a valley floor rather than climbing to a famous viewpoint, you'll likely have it to yourself.

It's also worth checking your county council's online rights of way map, or the parish footpath officer's notes. These often show temporary closures, diverted paths and stiles that have been replaced with gates — the sort of detail that turns an awkward walk into a lovely one.

Start early, start midweek

The single biggest factor in how peaceful a walk feels is timing. Set off before 8am and you'll usually have the first hour to yourself, even on a route that gets busy by lunchtime. The light is softer, the birdsong is louder, and you'll likely meet nothing more intimidating than a dog walker with a flask.

• Midweek is quieter than weekends, and Wednesday is often quieter than Friday.
• Avoid bank holidays and the first sunny Saturday after a wet week.
• Late afternoon, after 4pm in winter or 6pm in summer, can be wonderfully empty too.
• Check sunrise times and allow yourself to walk in the blue hour — it's worth being a little cold.

If you can only walk at weekends, go early and pick a route that starts from a lane rather than a village car park. It makes a surprising difference.

Park with care, walk with respect

Lane-side parking is one of the quiet walker's best tools, but it comes with responsibility. Look for a wide verge or a lay-by where your car won't block a gate, a field entrance or a passing place. Never park on a verge that's obviously soft or newly planted, and leave enough room for a tractor or a delivery van to get through.

Arrive quietly, close your doors gently, and don't linger in the lane. A few moments of care keeps these routes open to walkers and keeps local residents onside. If a path crosses private land, stick to the waymarked line, close gates behind you, and keep dogs under close control near livestock.

Walking slowly on purpose

Slow living isn't about covering less ground for its own sake. It's about letting the walk set the pace rather than the other way round. On a quiet footpath, that's easy: there's no one to overtake, no view to tick off, no schedule to keep.

Try walking without headphones for the first half hour. Notice the change in the ground underfoot — tarmac to gravel to mud to chalk. Stop at a stile and just stand there. If you carry a flask, drink it sitting down rather than walking. These small habits turn a walk into something closer to a practice.

It also helps to leave the route slightly unfinished. Turning back early, or taking the path that leads to a dead end and a view, is often more rewarding than completing a circuit.

Keep the quiet places quiet

Finding these paths is a pleasure, but part of the pleasure is knowing when not to share them. Resist the urge to post the exact location of a particularly lovely route. Share the method, not the grid reference.

Take your litter home, including fruit peel and tea bags. Stick to the path when ground is boggy. And if you meet a farmer, a gamekeeper or a fellow walker, a nod and a "morning" goes a long way.

The countryside is full of quiet corners. With a decent map, an early alarm and a little care about where you leave the car, you can find them again and again — and walk them at your own slow pace.