Summer’s travel turmoil was marked by a litany of cancelled flights, disruptive train strikes, and severe traffic congestion making headlines.
Unsurprisingly, the chaos has spurred a growing number of British holidaymakers to seek out destinations that are easily navigable on foot, avoiding the unpredictability of public transport.
Intriguing new findings from Preply’s research team have pinpointed the UK’s most walkable city, a boon for Brits planning staycations and eager for easy access to top sights.
The researchers calculated the walking distances and step counts between each city’s premier five attractions to determine which could be most comfortably traversed by foot.
So, which city emerged as the UK’s champion of pedestrian-friendliness?
Oxford topped the rankings and was named the UK’s most walkable city and it takes just 2,310 steps to explore the top attractions.
Famed for its university, Oxford was nicknamed the “City of Dreaming Spires” due to its medieval architecture.
A Tripadvisor spokesperson said: “In the city of dreaming spires, academia takes centre stage. Gaze out at Oxford’s world-famous colleges from the top of St Mary’s Church Tower before heading into the city’s pedestrian-friendly streets.”
The city’s top attraction is the Bodleian Library, one of Europe’s oldest libraries with over 13 million printed items.
A tourist ‘Janet M’ wrote on Tripadvisor: “Really interesting tour and I learned a lot about the history of the building from our guide Anne, who was very knowledgeable. The library is magnificent and well worth seeing.”
Other top city attractions include the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology and the University Museum of Natural History.
As the majority of Oxford’s top attractions are centred around the University, it’s easy to walk between the sights.
However, the UK isn’t particularly pedestrian friendly when compared to other European destinations. Seville was the continent’s most walkable city.
The UK failed to make the top 20 ranking, losing out to Venice, Porto, Florence and Athens among others.
Brighton and York took second and third spot for walkability while Bath was named the UK’s least walkable city.