With the prospect of much of the country's open spaces remaining off limits until well into the summer, frustrated walkers are now looking longingly across to foot-and-mouth-free Europe. Here are five top walking destinations that can be easily reached for a four-day weekend break.
Northern France
The walking is easy through the open, rolling countryside and farmland around the north French coast. Walking specialist Inntravel's "A Stroll to Market" is a three-day, 17-mile ramble along country footpaths and tracks. All walkers are given detailed maps together with background notes to the area. Picnic lunches are also provided, so a small daysack is a good idea and, to make it even easier, your luggage is ferried ahead to your evening's destination.
On the first day, you walk seven miles, starting from the village of Inxent, through quiet valleys before finishing at a farmhouse hotel. The next day, the 10-mile ramble winds through more Picardy hamlets before finishing in the market town of Montreuil. Finally, a taxi takes you back to pick up your car at the starting point of Inxent.
Best time to go: Right now, as spring has arrived and the hedgerows and woodlands are bursting into life.
Price: Between £215 and £224, depending upon departure. Includes three nights' half-board, two picnic lunches, two luggage transfers and return ferry from Dover to Calais.
Contact: Inntravel, tel: 01653 629010.
Bavarian/ Austrian Alps
The introduction of Ryanair's Stansted-Salzburg service has brought some of Europe's most dramatic scenery within the long-weekend walker's sights - and pocket.
Endless walking opportunities of every grade can be found within half-an-hour's drive of Salzburg. One of the highlights is a three-day hike through the Berchtesgaden National Park in neighbouring Germany. The 25-mile walk from Königsee to Wimbachtal, which straddles the German-Austrian border, offers scenery of towering mountains and crystal-clear lakes. The trail also involves staying in what the locals refer to as huts, but which are cosy guest houses set deep within the mountains.
It contains some long, steep climbs, so you do need to be in good shape.
Best time to go: Currently good, easy walking is possible in the valley bottoms and in the Salzkammergut, Austria's own Lake District. By early June, when most of the snow has melted, walkers can head up to the high mountain tracks.
Further information: A detailed guide to the Königsee walk is contained within the Cicerone Guide to Walking in the Bavarian Alps, though you will need a map as well. Cicerone also publishes a guide to walking in the Salzkammergut.
Accommodation: If you want to do the Königsee walk, you should check the availability of the huts before you leave the UK (numbers are listed in the guide). One night costs around £7 with evening dinner around £5. For information regarding staying in either Salzburg or Berchtesgaden, which is just 12 miles away and close to the trail head, contact the German Tourist Board (tel: 0900 1600100) or the Austrian Tourist Board (tel: 020-7629 0461).
Getting there: Ryanair (0541 569569) flies from Stansted to Salzburg twice a day from £103 including taxes.
Alpes Maritimes
At the heart of the Alpes Maritimes in south-eastern France lies the Mercantour National Park with its dramatic peaks, alpine meadows and extensive trails, which are relatively deserted compared with those in the more famous Alps to the north.
And while these tracks can challenge the most experienced walker, a network of trails linking the medieval Perched Villages that cling to the wild hillsides around the southern approaches to the park offer gentler gradients. These paths take walkers through olive groves and forests of chestnut and pine.
Breil sur Roya is typical of the Perched Villages and is a good base for exploring the area as a number of long-distance trails pass through it.
A great way to do sections of these trails is to take the train which passes through Breil higher up the valley and walk back down sections no longer than 10 miles in any one go.
Best time to go: Spring.
Further information: A walking guide to the Perched Villages is available in English from the regional tourist office in France (tel: 00 33 4 93 04 92 05). Sunflower Books publishes detailed walks in the region in its South of France guidebook, and the Lonely Planet guide to walking in France contains details of routes in the Mercantour National Park. Other useful websites include www.beyond.fr and www.provenceweb.fr.
Accommodation: The Hotel Roya in Breil sur Roya (tel: 00 33 4 93 04 48 10) offers double rooms from £27 a night. For other hotel options, contact the French Tourist Office (tel: 0906 824 4123).
Getting there: easyJet flies to Nice from Liverpool and Luton, prices from £123 and £103 respectively, including taxes. Breil sur Roya lies on the Nice to Cunéo railway line. Details from SNCF.
The Pyrenees
Long a favourite of British walkers, the Pyrenees offers some of the best hiking in Europe. For the long-weekend walker, the Pyrenees are an option by virtue of the Ryanair service to Biarritz. If you don't want to drive once you arrive, you can base yourself in the seaside resort of St Jean de Luz, just down the road from the airport, or in one of the many medieval villages nestling in the foothills, such as Ainhoa, which is 12 miles from the airport. From both, it's possible to walk small sections of one of the many long-distance trails that traverse the entire Pyrennean chain; in Ainhoa, for example, the trails pass right through the village.
However, if you don't mind driving from Biarritz, a two-hour journey takes you to Bedous to the south-east. This small town is a perfect base for exploring some of the most dramatic parts of the Pyrenees. For example, the tough 14-mile hike up to the Pic de Labigouer is a classic ridge walk that takes you high into the heart of the Pyrenees with stunning views down the valley and across into Spain.
Best time to go: The lower foothills are an ideal option now, the higher ridges being snow-free by late May.
Further information: A detailed description of the walk up to the Pic de Labigouer is contained in the Lonely Planet guide to Walking in France. Sunflower Books also publish details of easy walks in the western Pyrenees.
Accommodation: St Jean de Luz has a variety of accommodation; visit www.123voyage.com or www.tourisme.fr for details. In Ainhoa, the 400-year-old Hotel Oppoca (tel: 00 33 5 59 29 90 72) has rooms from £25 to £32pp per night. In Bedous, Le Mandragot (tel: 00 33 5 59 34 59 33) has basic rooms for £5 a night. Plus staying in one of the many Pyrennean mountain refuges is also a cheap option; for details, contact the local tourist office on 00 33 5 59 34 71 48. For other accommodation, contact the French Tourist Office in London (0906 824 4123).
Getting there: Ryanair flies to Biarritz from Stansted from £130 including taxes.
Norway
Quite why Norway has failed to register on the average walker's radar is one of life's great outdoor mysteries. After all, it has breathtaking fjords, endless mountains and wilderness together with a terrific network of walking huts.
For the weekend walker, the best way to tackle Norway is to aim for Bergen as there are outstanding hikes from within the city itself and the spectacular fjords are just a short distance away.
Take the funicular railway from virtually the middle of town up the 1,000ft Mount Floyen and walk on the well-marked trails through the woods before heading back down with views overlooking the city and sea.
Another option is to take the train for a stunning two-hour journey through the mountains to Myrdral. From here, walk down an old railway line for about 12 miles to Flam at the head of a fjord. The walk should take about five hours and being flat or downhill it's easy going and the views are terrific.
From Flam, you can either return by rail to Bergen or you can take a boat trip on the fjord to Gudvangen from where you get the bus to Voss and then the train to Bergen. This trip makes for a long day but is a great introduction to the fjord region.
Those looking for more challenging trails should head for Voss, a good base to explore the mountains and fjords north of Bergen. Walks can be strung together using the reliable local public transport links.
Best time to go: From late May onwards, most of the trails will be accessible and strewn with flowers, plus it will be light late into the evening.
Information: DNT is Norway's walking association and the DNT office in Bergen (tel: 00 47 55 32 22 30) will give details of the walks described above and background to walking in the region.
Accommodation: The Rica Travel Hotel in Bergen (tel: 00 47 55 31 54 00) has weekend offers on double rooms from £32. For budget trav ellers, the YMCA Family and Youth Hostel (tel: 00 47 55 60 60 50) offers clean and basic rooms for £10 a night, breakfast included. In Voss, the Norlandia Jarl Hotel (tel: 00 47 56 51 19 33) has double rooms from £38. For more hotel options, contact the Norwegian Tourist Board (tel: 020-7839 6255) and the Bergen tourist website.
Getting there: Braathens (0191-214 0991) flies to Bergen from Gatwick and Newcastle from £118 and £173 respectively, including taxes.
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