One Of The Most Dangerous Hiking Trails In The World Is In The UK

Thrill-seeking backpackers often venture to faraway places to sink their teeth into steep, tall and dangerous paths - like Mount Everest in the Himalayas, or Italy’s Mount Etna.

But - believe it or not - one of the most dangerous hiking trails in the world is actually on our doorstep, right here in the UK.

Striding Edge is a sharp mountain edge in the Lake District which connects to the summit of Helvellyn, the third highest peak in the National Park. And we mean it when we say it's steep. Check out the video, if you dare:

If you managed to survive watching the vid without suffering from an anxiety attack, you’re one of the lucky few - many viewers were thrown into a panic just from seeing the hikers teeter over the oh-so-high edge.

One person wrote: “Yikes!”, while another added: “Nope...just nope.”

Meanwhile, other ‘scramblers’ - people who choose to scramble up or over rough or steep ground for fun - seemed excited at the prospect of this high-intensity walk.

“Can’t wait to get up there next month,” one hiker wrote, while another added: “YES, PLEASE!”

Alamy.

Elsewhere in the area, other hikers recognised the people in the video and commented: “I was on the top watching you come over the ridge that evening. Camped just over the other side.”

The trail doesn't come without a serious risk to life, though. In 2021, a man tragically fell to his death while he and his wife were climbing the edge. In 2015, pleas for safety measures in the area were made after five people lost their lives on Helvellyn.

The mountain edge in Cumbria does allow for walkers who aren't so daring to follow paths on either side of the ridge.

However, if you're feeling courageous, the ridge itself allows for amazing views all the way to Scotland - some 170 miles away - on a day that’s free of clouds.

Alamy.

If you are going to brave Striding Edge, you must be ready to scramble and be a pretty confident climber for the final ascent. You must also be equipped with proper navigation skills (no, not Google Maps) in case of cloud and fog.

In the winter, the cold weather makes the ridge particularly dangerous, so be prepared to battle with ice and snow - or to swallow your pride if you do need to go back to safety.

And if you’re really into walking, you might take up the chance to complete the longest known walkable distance on earth - though be warned, no one has yet completed it.

Alamy.

The route stretches from Cape Town in South Africa all the way to the port town of Magadan in the far east of Russia.

This is a path nobody else on Earth has ever completed, and is potentially the longest walkable distance in the world, rivalled only by the amount of toting back and forth your parents claimed to have done taking you to school when you were young.

You can read more on that trail here.