Walks Archive

This pretty walk in the Upper Cam Valley offers plenty of opportunities to forage for a wealth of autumnal fruits in the abundant hedgerow en route. Starting in the pretty village of Shepreth, the route crosses the River Rhee – a tributary of the Cam – and continues through Barrington, with its fine example of the village green. It then climbs onto the Mare Way

Haystacks may not be the highest Lakeland peak, but its sheer diversity and ability to reveal new charms on subsequent walks made it the favourite of Alfred Wainwright. This year marks 80 years since Wainwright first set out to explore the Lakes, that eventually led to his best-selling collection of Pictorial Guides. The circular walk from Wasdale is a more taxing, remote walk and, as such, offers a more challenging alternative…

Turn east off the A1 in County Durham and you stumble upon one of England’s forgotten corners. This is a stark postindustrial landscape, yet infinitely varied and drably beautiful. Coal was once king here, but no more. The Durham coalfields under the North Sea have closed but they left a legacy: for 150 years, coal waste was simply dumped on the beaches, smothering the sand to a depth of 30ft in places…

The island of Lewis is the northernmost, largest and lowest lying of the Outer Hebrides. It is characterised by peat moorland and freshwater lochs, where starlings and black-headed gulls skim over the still waters. Gaelic is widely spoken and, along with strict Sunday observance, makes Lewis a real, living, island. There are few second homes and tourism, as a source of income, is behind tweed weaving, crofting and fish farming…

In the words of Shakespeare: ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’. Well, you could be mistaken for thinking all of London is a movie set when you consider how many films have been shot here…

Although lying only 19km/12 miles from Glasgow, the Campsie Fells are a world away from the noise, traffic and busy streets of Scotland’s largest city. Beginning at Glengoyne Distillery (what a place to celebrate the finish of this fine circular walk!), a steep climb leads onto the volcanic plug of Dumgoyne, with its compact summit providing breathtaking views south across Glasgow as far afield as Tinto Hill…

Among the peaceful south Warwickshire countryside, in the fields below the Edge Hill escarpment, the first major battle of the Civil War took place on 23 October 1642. With approximately 12,000 men per side (estimates vary), the Royalists deployed on the Edge Hill ridge, while the Parliamentarians occupied the ground below to the south east of Kineton…

Situated amidst gently rolling downland behind the great Chesil Beach, Abbotsbury is one of the most picturesque and historically interesting villages in Dorset. Its 970-year-old Swannery is unique: the only place in the world where you are able to walk through the heart of a colony of nesting mute swans. Both the Swannery and Children’s Farm are excellent for children, making this a very family-friendly place for a visit and walk…

St Illtyd gave the picturesque coastal town of Llantwit Major international importance in the 5th century when he established his church and teaching monastery in the valley of Ogney Brook, near the present-day church of St Illtyd’s. This heritage tour visits this and all the town’s other major historical sites along the Blue Plaque Trail, and includes a stretch of pleasant nearby countryside with grazing cattle…

This beautiful walk follows the River Wye, then rises on the hills near Llowes, with panoramic views of the Wye Valley. It continues through farmland and emerges in the historic village of Clyro – made famous by the Reverend Francis Kilvert, whose published diaries described rural late-Victorian life as curate of the parish of Clyro from 1865 to 1872 – before finishing back at Hay Bridge…