Before you set off
Difficulty grades explained
Every bench carries one of four grades, using the shorthand walkers and skiers already know: green for the gentlest, then blue, then dark, with a double peak for a full expedition. Difficulty never affects a Bench Score — a 100 metre stroll can still hold the best view in the world — it is here so you can pick a walk that suits the day and the people with you.
Easy stroll
- How long
- Up to about 30 minutes each way
- Underfoot
- Firm, mostly level paths, pavements or well-made trails. No scrambling, no exposure.
- Who it suits
- Anyone in trainers. Often fine with a pushchair or wheelchair — check the bench page for the wheels note.
- What to bring
- Whatever you left the house in.
Moderate walk
- How long
- Roughly 30 minutes to 1.5 hours each way
- Underfoot
- Real footpaths with some climbing, mud, roots, gates or a few steps. Nothing you need your hands for.
- Who it suits
- Most people with everyday fitness. Older children usually manage it happily.
- What to bring
- Decent shoes, a waterproof, water.
Hard hike
- How long
- Around 1.5 to 4 hours each way
- Underfoot
- Sustained climbing, rough or rocky ground, unmarked sections, streams to cross. May feel steep or airy in places.
- Who it suits
- Confident, reasonably fit walkers who can read a map when the path fades.
- What to bring
- Walking boots, layers, food and water, map and compass or a charged GPS.
Expedition
- How long
- A full day, or more
- Underfoot
- Serious mountain ground: scrambling, exposure, loose rock, snow or ice in season, long distances between escape points.
- Who it suits
- Experienced hill walkers who choose their weather window and are happy to turn back.
- What to bring
- Full mountain kit, navigation you can trust, a plan someone else knows about.
Choosing a grade when you submit
- Grade the hardest part of the walk, not the average.
- Grade it for a stranger in ordinary weather, not for you on a perfect day — locals almost always under-grade their own hill.
- If the last stretch leaves the path, that alone can push a walk to hard. Say so in your notes.
- Wheels, steps, stiles, livestock and locked gates belong in the accessibility Trail intel and the notes, wherever the grade lands.