Planning guides
How to plan a 3-hour walk with a pub lunch
14 October 2026 · 3 min read · Your Next Walk
Three hours is the sweet spot for a country walk. It’s long enough to feel like a proper day out, short enough that nobody’s limping by the end, and it leaves room for the bit everyone secretly looks forward to: a pub lunch.
Getting it right takes a bit more planning than picking a dot on the map, though. Arrive too late and the kitchen has closed. Pick a route that’s too long and the last hour becomes a slog. Here’s how to plan it properly.
1. Work backwards from the pub kitchen
This is the step most people skip. Many country pubs stop serving lunch at 2pm or 2:30pm, and some don’t serve food on Mondays or Tuesdays at all.
Check the kitchen hours first, then plan backwards. If lunch finishes at 2:30pm and the pub is at the end of your walk, you need to set off by 11am at the latest, and that leaves no slack. Aim to arrive at least 45 minutes before the kitchen closes.
On a Sunday, book a table. A popular pub on a sunny weekend can be full by 12:30.
2. Pick the right distance for your group
“Three hours” means very different distances depending on who’s walking and where. As a rough guide:
- Gentle, flat paths: around 9–12 km (5.5–7.5 miles)
- Mixed countryside with some hills: around 7–10 km (4.5–6 miles)
- Steep or rugged terrain: around 5–8 km (3–5 miles)
Hills slow everyone down more than they expect. Walkers often use Naismith’s rule: allow an hour for every 5 km, plus an extra hour for every 600 m of climbing. Then add time for stops, photos, stiles and children.
Plan for the slowest person in the group, not the fastest.
3. Decide where the pub goes
Where the pub sits on the route changes the whole day.
- At the end: the classic choice. You earn it, you can relax, and muddy boots matter less. It’s also the hardest to time.
- In the middle: good for longer walks or groups with children, since it breaks the walk into two easy halves. The downside is that the second half after a big lunch can feel heavy.
- At the start: rare, but useful if you’re arriving by car and the pub car park doubles as your start point (always ask first, and buy something).
4. Check the pub before you go
A quick call or a look at the website saves disappointment. Check:
- Food serving times on the day you’re going
- Whether dogs are welcome inside or only in the garden
- Their policy on muddy boots, since some ask you to remove them or provide covers
- Whether you need to book
- Whether it’s actually open, because seasonal closures catch people out
5. Get the route details right
- Circular routes are easiest if you’re driving, because you finish back at the car.
- Stiles can be a problem for older dogs, buggies or stiff knees. Check before you commit.
- Mud is a fact of British walking from October to April. Field paths that are fine in summer can be ankle-deep in winter.
- Stick to public rights of way. In England and Wales, that means footpaths, bridleways and open access land. Scotland has broader access rights, but you still need to act responsibly.
6. Sort out getting there
Driving gives you flexibility but means someone stays off the beer. A walk that starts and finishes at a train station solves that, and it opens up more interesting routes, since you don’t need to return to where you started.
What to pack
Even on a short walk: waterproof jacket, water, a snack in case lunch runs late, a charged phone, and a paper map or downloaded route for areas with poor signal. In winter, add a torch, since it’s dark by 4:30pm.
Or let us plan it for you
Your Next Walk does all of this in one go. Tell it you’ve got three hours, your ability, the terrain you like and that you want a pub lunch, and it builds four personalised routes on public paths, each with a pub on the way, step-by-step directions and OS mapping.