Search Results : derbyshire

Jul 072013
 

A brisk wind was hurrying from the north over Derbyshire, pushing grey clouds down the long valley of the River Wye.
First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window
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Looking back from the heights of Rowsleymoor Woods across the valley with its intense greens of pasture and hedges, the farther peaks topped with bushy spinneys under a sky of gunmetal grey and Chartres blue, I thought a palette of two or three colours could catch the whole scene.

A pair of mountain-bikers passed me, panting hard. I followed them across a common of peaty soil and pine trees cushioned with big tuffets of moss, and came out of the trees onto the wide green sheep walk of Calton Pastures. This open grassy upland looks more like the undulating, unfenced pastures of Eastern Europe than anything you’d expect to see in the compartmented farmlands of England. Alone in one corner stood an ornate gingerbread cottage with white bargeboard and elaborate window shutters – the Russian Cottage, built as a full-size copy of a model farmhouse given to the 6th Duke of Devonshire in 1855 by his good friend Czar Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias.

The Cavendish family, Dukes of Devonshire, are the power in the land hereabouts. Emerging from New Piece Wood I was overwhelmed by what must be the most striking of all views of their great mansion of Chatsworth House. The building rises beyond the River Derwent’s meadows, an enormous cube of windows and walls among formal gardens, its Emperor Fountain blasting a mare’s-tail jet of water a hundred feet into the air, the pepperpot domes of the 16th-century Hunting Tower rising among the trees beyond. Chatsworth owes a lot of its effect to the sombre wildness of the Peak District moors that back it to the east. A jewel of orderly civilisation in a wilderness setting was the effect that the 1st Duke of Devonshire was aiming for when he built the place in 1687-1707, and even today you can see exactly what he was after.

The 6th Duke was lucky to have the brilliant designer Joseph Paxton as his right-hand man in the mid-19th century when he rebuilt Edensor village just over the hill from the house (having cleared away the existing settlement because it was spoiling his view). I went to pay my respects at Paxton’s tomb behind St Peter’s Church; he lies a little down the hill from the Dukes that commissioned him to design their gardens and glasshouses and estate buildings. Then I went slowly back to Rowsley by way of the flat, wide and lovely meadows along the Derwent.

In 1849 Joseph Paxton designed a beautiful little station for a railway line that was to run up the Derwent valley past Chatsworth. The 6th Duke objected, the line was never built, and now Paxton’s station stands marooned among the retail outlets of Peak Village Shopping Centre in Rowsley – as fine a picture of Dignity and Impudence as you could hope to find.

Start: Walker’s Zone car park, Peak Village Shopping Centre, Rowsley, Derbyshire, DE4 2JE (OS ref SK 258660)

Getting there: Rowsley is on A6 Bakewell-Matlock road
Bus: ‘The Sixes’ (trentbarton.co.uk), Bakewell-Matlock; ‘Transpeak’ (highpeakbuses.com), Matlock-Buxton

Walk (9 miles, moderate, OS Explorer OL24): From Grouse & Claret Inn, right on A6 across bridge. Right up Church Lane (256658), which becomes stony lane. In 1¼ miles, at metal barrier, lane forks (244670). Take upward path to right of right-hand fork (BA, ‘Chatsworth’), following BAs through woods and across Calton Pastures for 1¼ miles to descend to wall at Calton Plantations (243286). Through gate; sharp right along wall (BA). In 200m bear left beside gate (244685). Cross pasture near Russian Cottage, following BA (‘Edensor, Chatsworth’). Through shank of New Piece Wood to gate (247689) and view of Chatsworth House. Half right to waymark post; ahead (YA) past Maud’s Plantation and aim for Edensor church spire.

From Edensor cross B6012 (251700); bear right on stony path to Palladian bridge (257702). Don’t cross, but turn right through meadows on Derwent Valley Heritage Way (DVHW). In nearly 1 mile, at mill ruin, right up bank to cross B6012 (258688); left past car park on path marked ‘Garden Centre, Calton Lees’, then minor road to Calton Lees. Left at junction (257682; ‘Rowsley’ fingerpost). By Calton Lees Cottage, left through gate (257680; ‘Rowsley’); follow wall, then DVHW arrows. At end of 2nd big meadow, right over stile (260667, DVHW); on to lane to Rowsley.

Lunch: Edensor Tea Cottage (01246-582315)

Accommodation: Devonshire Arms, Beeley, DE4 2NR (01629-733259; devonshirebeeley.co.uk)

Chatsworth House: chatsworth.org
www.ramblers.org.uk www.satmap.com www.LogMyTrip.co.uk

 Posted by at 15:39
Apr 282012
 

Excited youngsters were scooting around the old railway station at Miller’s Dale, learning to ride their bikes on a Sunday afternoon in the safe surroundings of the Monsal Trail while their mothers went quietly frantic. ‘Tom! Tom! Just wait there, please!’ ‘But Mum, I can do it, look…!’
First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window
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The Peak Park have done a wonderful conversion job on the old railway line through the canyon-like dales between Buxton and Bakewell. It’s hard to credit that passenger and goods trains once rattled under the sheer limestone cliffs and hanging woods where cyclists, walkers and riders now disport themselves. Once we had dropped down the bank into adjoining Monk’s Dale, the leisure crowds melted away and we had the snaking dale and its slippery stone path to ourselves.

Monk’s Dale is just one of dozens of narrow clefts in the limestone countryside of Derbyshire’s White Peak. You’d never know the dale was there at all until you were on its brink. Down in the depths a long damp wood of ash and oak carried us north, until we turned aside to climb the walled lane of the Pennine Bridleway between weather-twisted thorn trees, up to the roof of Wormhill Hill. Up here the whole feel of the country changed dramatically, from a prospect hemmed in by towering cliffs to huge views over rain-swept countryside squared by stone walls and dotted with sheep.

Over the crest beyond Old Hall Farm, a monstrous limestone quarry was soon hidden by screening trees. Fat white rams cropped the pastures with their characteristic, impatient jerks of the head. At Mosley Farm a trio of young sheepdogs came out in a rush to sniff us over. Then it was down the zigzag path into Chee Dale, another stunning view suddenly revealed at the brink of the gorge – sheer pale grey cliffs thick with jackdaws, dreadnought prows of limestone jutting into the dale where handsome arched viaducts carried the old railway line across the River Wye.

Narrowly avoiding death by hurtling cyclist (where’s your bloody bell, boy?) we turned along the Monsal Trail, through lamp-lit tunnels and over bridges where daredevils were abseiling into the depths, until the old station at Miller’s Dale appeared once more around the bend.

Start & finish: Millers Dale car park, near Tideswell, Derbys SK17 8SN (OS ref SK 138733)

Getting there: Bus: Service 68 (Buxton-Castleton) to Miller’s Dale car park; 65, 66, 193 to Millers Dale on B6049, just below.
Road: A6 (Buxton-Matlock); B6049 to Miller’s Dale. Turn up side road (‘Wormhill’) to car park (moderate charge).

WALK (7 and a half miles, moderate, OS Explorer OL24):
Left up road for 100 m; right over stile (140734; fingerpost). Through gate; left into Monk’s Dale. Valley floor path for 1 and a half miles to road (131753). Left; in 50 m, left up steep path; follow ‘Pennine Bridleway’/PBW. At top of rise, right at T-junction (129747) along walled lane to road (122745). Right for 50 m; left (PBW) into Old Hall farmyard. Left (‘bridleway’) through gate. Pass old barn on right; through left-hand of 2 gates; on with wall on right. Keep ahead through hunting gates for two thirds of a mile to road (110746). Follow PBW for 1 and a quarter miles to Mosley Farm (115730). Through farmyard (‘footpath’ signs); just beyond, left through gate (PBW); descend into Chee Dale; left, and follow Monsal Trail to Miller’s Dale car park.

NB: Slippery path in Monk’s Dale!

Lunch: Picnic; or Red Lion, Littleton (01298-871458; www.theredlionlitton.co.uk)

Accommodation: George Hotel, Tideswell (01298-871382; www.tght.co.uk);
Ravenstor Youth Hostel, Miller’s Dale (0845-371-9655; www.yha.org.uk/hostel/ravenstor)

Readers’ Walks: Come and enjoy a country walk with our experts!
Holy Island, Northumberland 13 May; Scottish Borders 10 June; Northern Ireland 8 July. Info: http://www.mytimesplus.co.uk/travel/uk/1867/times-walks.
www.satmap.com www.LogMyTrip.co.uk

 Posted by at 01:16
May 152010
 

First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window
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A milky sky, a cold wind, and the chaffinches going crazy in the trees around Castleton. Maybe it was the promise of a long-delayed spring implicit in the tender leaf buds sprouting at the tip of every twig, or perhaps they were just getting their mating chops together. Whatever about the birds, the nip of the wind and the scud of the sky had Jane and me stepping out sharply enough as the church clock chimed half past eleven.

Castleton lies cradled in a natural amphitheatre of hills whose rocks are seamed with rich deposits of lead. The mineral was mined from a series of caverns along the line of the hills – Peak, Speedwell, Treak Cliff and Blue John itself, its name derived from the beautiful pale purple bluejohn stone so popular with jewellery makers and ornamental carvers. This early in the year there were few visitors in the show caves and bluejohn shops. Most folk moving in the hills around Castleton today were walkers like ourselves, only too delighted to be stretching the winter slackness away.

Below the rocky gorge of Winnats we looked back across fellsides striped with dark stone walls and dotted with small stone barns, to see the black ruin of Peveril Castle perched like a raven on its crag above the huddled houses of Castleton. In the chill dark mouth of Peak Cavern below the stronghold once squatted a whole tribe of rope-spinners, their lungs and joints sacrificed to the dampness they needed to tease the fibres together. Lead miners lived and died in even worse case. What desperate conditions our ancestors put up with, just because they had to.

A bunch of schoolchildren were munching sandwiches at tables outside Treak Cliff Cavern. ‘We’ve done our big walk already!’ they squeaked proudly. Tired? ‘Naah! We’re going to play football when we get back to the hostel!’

We crossed the bumpy old mine-spoil ground with its velvety nap below the striated cliff of Mam Tor, and went crabwise up the long slope to Hollins Cross on the ridge, where ant-like figures were striding. Up there the wind blew at double strength, smacking and shoving us along the flagged pathway towards the big dark cliff of Back Tor. Here with a Kit Kat apiece we snuggled down in the lee of a handy peat hag for a few minutes, and took in the view north up the long valley of the River Noe. Edale village was a scatter of toy houses far below, and the old purgatorial start of the Pennine Way up Grindsbrook Clough cut a deep dark scar into the fellside.

A step more along the ridge to the summit point of Lose Hill, and we were looking down on the whole glorious length of the Castleton valley – our forward view for the homeward path.

Start & finish: Castleton Visitor Information Centre, Castleton S33 8WN (OS ref: SK149830)

Getting there:

Rail: (www.thetrainline.com; www.railcard.co.uk) to Hope (2 miles); buses (www.derbysbus.info/times) from Bakewell, Matlock, Sheffield.

Road: From A57 at Ladybower Reservoir – A6013, A6187.

Walk: (5½ miles, moderate grade, OS Explorer OL1):
Cross road; up lane by 3 Roofs Café. At road, right (148828); uphill (‘Speedwell Cavern’), then field path to cross road at Speedwell Cavern (140827). Left-hand path (yellow arrows) above Treak Cliff Cavern (136831) to Blue John Cavern (132832). Right to road; right to car park; across waste ground under Mam Tor Cliff to Mam Farm (133840); up hillside to Hollins Cross (136845); ridge to Back Tor and Lose Hill (153854). Paved path down to cross stile (155851); bear right for 100 yards to cross another stile; left along fence, then downhill through trees (157848). In 30 yards, just before fingerpost, right downhill to bypass Losehill Farm. Lane downhill to Spring House Farm. Just past house, right along lane (156840, ‘Castleton’ fingerpost) past Losehill Hall. Where drive swings left, keep ahead through wicket gate (152838). Ahead across fields, then along lane to road (148835). Ahead into Castleton.

NB – Detailed directions, online maps, more walks: www.christophersomerville.co.uk.

Lunch: Picnic on Back Tor

More Info: Castleton Visitor Information Centre (01629-816572; www.peakdistrict.gov.uk); www.peak-experience.org.uk; www.ramblers.org.uk.

Peak District walking festivals 2010: www.visitpeakdistrict.com/walkingfestivals

 Posted by at 00:00
Feb 142009
 

First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window
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The first primrose was out, tentative and only half unfurled, under a stone wall in the shelter of Halldale’s steep west-facing flank. I knelt in the remains of a snowdrift to catch a sniff of that delicate lemony hint of spring, but the little flower’s scent glands were still deep-frozen. Still, the brave little flare of colour in the still grey morning brought a smile as I slithered on down the vee of Halldale towards its parent cleft of Dovedale 300 feet below.

Of all the snaking, deep-cut river gorges in the pale limestone country of the White Peak, Dovedale is the classic. Downstream of where I was walking today is a famous tourist honeypot, where rainwater and weathering have shaped enormous rock pinnacles that rear above the River Dove. Romantics of the Victorian era named them extravagantly – the Twelve Apostles, Tissington Spires, Jacob’s Ladder, Lover’s Leap. In summer, walkers queue hereabouts to pass under the overhangs along the path. But few visitors take the time to venture upriver of Halldale in winter.

Under the mighty grey needle of Ilam Rock I crossed the Dove. The flash of a bird’s white breast drew my eyes to a stone standing clear of the water, where a dipper was bobbing mechanically down and up every few seconds. I lingered on the footbridge, watching the plump little bird and breathing the cold, fresh river air. Then it was on up the river bank below craggy limestone outcrops, to reach the huddle of houses and cross the narrow packhorse bridge at Milldale. Two centuries ago lead was smelted and ochre extracted from iron ore in this shadowy hollow in the hills. The Dove ran orange, mills clattered, chimneys smoked. Standing on the bridge and surveying the peaceful, silent settlement today, that all seems impossible.

Above Milldale the Dove twists and turns down the lonely cleft of Wolfscotedale. This was a favourite fishing spot in the mid 17th century, before industry fouled the river, for the spendthrift gambler Charles Cotton of nearby Beresford Hall and his unlikely chum, the gentle old London ironmonger Izaak Walton. ‘The finest river that ever I saw,’ Walton wrote of the Dove in his immortal fisherman’s handbook The Compleat Angler, ‘and the fullest of fish.’ This morning the trout were invisible in the turbid water, stained dark with floodwater from the uplands beyond the rim of the dale.

Under Wolfscote Hill the path crossed a footbridge, climbing from the river up through aptly-named Narrowdale and on over the fields. A stone-walled lane led me to the road, and the road led me to fire, food and Forshaws bitter in the George Inn at Alstonefield.

 

Start & finish: George Inn, Alstonefield, Staffs DE6 2FX (OS ref SK 131556)

Getting there: Alstonefield is signposted off A515 Ashbourne-Buxton road, 5 miles north of Ashbourne

Walk (8½ miles, moderate grade, OS Explorer OL24): From George Inn, follow field path and lane to Stanshope (128542). Left along lane for 100 yards; right on path (‘Dovedale, Halldale’ signs) down Halldale to Dovedale (141534). Right for ¼ mile to cross footbridge at Ilam Rock (142531); left up Dovedale to Milldale (139547). Follow road for ½ mile to Shining Tor; cross bridge (146551); up Wolfscotedale for 2¾ miles. Cross footbridge (131584); climb path through Narrowdale to reach a lane (129568); right to road (125565); left to Alstonefield.

Lunch: George Inn, Alstonefield (tel 01335-310205; www.thegeorgeatalstonefield.com)

More info: Ashbourne TIC (01335-343666); www.visitpeakdistrict.com

 Posted by at 00:00
Jul 082023
 


First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window
gravel pit lake on the River Trent near Anchor Church meadows along River Trent near Ingleby 4 meadows along River Trent near Ingleby 3 meadows along River Trent near Ingleby 2 meadows along River Trent near Ingleby 1 reedy pond near Seven Spouts Farm Anchor Church track beyond Anchor Church

Peerless, unbroken blue sky and a brisk northeast wind over the Trent Valley. A black bull in a field at Ingleby roared without hope of recompense at the cows lined up along the hedge across the road.

The fields along the flood shelf above the river shimmered with well-grown grasses, among which a holly blue butterfly went skittering. Gold of buttercups and fox-red of wild rocket enhanced the sunlit green of the meadows. A narrow path high over the Trent led down to the shore of a backwater and an extraordinary nest of caves known as the Anchor Church.

The river burrowed out these hollows in its pebbly cliffs, then changed course to leave them high and dry. Floored and roofed with solid sandstone, supported by natural pillars of rock, they made a safe retreat for Eardwulf, deposed King of Northumbria, when he sought refuge here early in the 9th century AD as an anchorite or hermit.

The path ran through buttercup fields and on to Foremarke Hall with its Palladian frontage and pepperpot domes. The house is a school these days. We passed through the grounds, a dusty track leading us on among the pink rhododendron blooms of Heath Wood. Here invading Vikings buried dozens of their comrades slain in battle – the only known Viking cremation site in Britain.

At Seven Spouts Farm beyond, water trickled and fish rose in a reedy pond, making concentric rings on the surface as they gobbled the afternoon hatch of midges. Woodland tracks beyond snaked among the pines, oaks and hazels of Robin Wood.

In the early 19th century Sir Francis Burdett of Foremarke Hall was a Member of Parliament and a noted champion of votes for every man, at a time when such a stance was thought close to treason. It earned him a fine of £40,000, obliging him to fell the fine old oaks of Robin Wood and sell them off for timber. He’d be pleased to see his wood as we saw it this evening, once again a living network of tall trees and flowery undergrowth where a greater whitethroat enchanted us with its mellifluous dribbles of song.

How hard is it? 6 miles; easy; field and woodland paths.

Start: John Thompson Inn, Ingleby, Derby DE73 7HW (OS ref SK 354269)

Getting there: Ingleby is signed from A514 (Derby-Swadlincote)

Walk (OS Explorer 245): Right along road (take care!). In ½ mile round left bend; right (347270, ‘Anchor Church’). In 100m right (stile; yellow arrow/YA; ‘Trent Valley Way’/TVW). Narrow path (take care!) above river passes Anchor Church caves (339272); ahead to cross road (331269; ‘Repton Prep’). On down drive; in 350m left (331266, yellow topped post/YTP, ‘Repton Prep’). Opposite Foremarke Hall, ahead (333266, ‘Kitchen Yard’); follow drive, then track through Heath Wood to cross road (346257). At Seven Spouts Farm, left (348255, YTP, blue arrow/BA); in 300m, right (350257, YTP) across top of pond. In 150m through gate; ahead. In ⅓ mile through gate (351254, BA); left, keeping fence on left; in 250m left (354253, gate, BA); cross field and on into Robin Wood (356253). In ¼ mile at T-junction, right (360252); in 100m, before striped barrier, left (361251) on path at edge of wood. In ⅓ mile at post with YA, right (364254) across footbridge; turn left along outside of woods for ⅔ mile to lane (364263). Left past house and on; in ½ mile, right along road (356264); in 200m, left (356265, TVW) to road (352268); right to inn.

Lunch/Accommodation: John Thompson Inn (01332-862469, johnthompsoninn.com)

Info: visitsouthderbyshire.co.uk

 Posted by at 03:45
Dec 172022
 


First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window
Looking south from Stanage Edge to the White Peak 1 green lane from Fulwood Road Redmires Reservoirs 1 Redmires Reservoirs 2 looking east down the Long Causey approaching Stanage Edge Looking south from Stanage Edge to the White Peak 2 layered gritstone outcrop overlooking Redmires Reservoirs Sheffield Water Board boundary stone at Redmires Reservoirs gritstone boulder with cross-bedding at east end of Stanage Edge cranberries beside the Long Causey Looking south from Stanage Edge to the White Peak 3

After a day of torrential rain, a cold blowy morning had broken over the Dark Peak. Grey clouds rolled east like cannon smoke, and there was a muted light over the moors of the South Yorkshire/Derbyshire border. Neatly built walls of chapel-black gritstone lined the green lane we followed uphill between sheep pastures.

A gate led onto the open moor at Rud Hill, the winding path a glinting trickle of water among bracken and rocks as the moors disgorged yesterday’s rain. There was something bracing and exhilarating about tramping this watery path with the blustery wind in our faces and the three slit-grey eyes of the Redmires Reservoirs coldly winking below.

Down beside the reservoirs it was astonishing to note how far their water levels had fallen during the past summer of drought. These water stores were built up here in the 1830s and 40s after an outbreak of cholera in nearby Sheffield had claimed more than 400 lives. Drinking-water unpolluted by sewage was desperately needed in a city that had doubled in size since 1800 but still relied on medieval drainage.

We stopped to watch a flock of fifty mistle thrushes descend to strip a rowan of its orange berries, then turned along the stony upland track of the Long Causey. Roman soldiers laid it out, packmen and their horses crossed the moors along its cobbled roadway. Today it was runners and walkers who passed the trackside verges where the bright scarlet fruit of cranberry added a dash of colour to the sombre grey of the stone and the foxy brown of the moors.

Stanage Pole stood tall among its rocks, a waymark for travellers since medieval times. Here we crossed from South Yorkshire into Derbyshire. The Long Causey dipped to Stanage Edge and a tremendous southward view across an undulating green valley to where the landscape rose towards the limestone uplands of the White Peak.

The homeward way led along Stanage Edge, a gritstone cliff filled with landscape dramas in its own right. The finely layered rocks had been weathered into faces, towers, animal shapes, stacks of pancakes. Helmeted climbers’ heads popped up over the edge, children jumped yelling off the rocks, and the wind blew everyone inside out. What a wonderful natural playground, halfway between the earth and the clouds.

How hard is it? 7½ miles; easy gradients, but watch your step; stumbly rocks, boggy patches, rough moorland paths.

Start: Fulwood Lane car park, near Norfolk Arms Hotel, SN10 4QN (OS ref SK 285840)

Getting there: Bus 258 (Sheffield)
Road – Fulwood Lane is beside Norfolk Arms, Ringinglow Road, S11 7TS

Walk (OS Explorer OL1): Right along Fulwood Lane. In ⅔ mile at right bend, ahead (277845, ladder stile) on green lane (permissive path). In 400m, through gate onto moor (273845); boggy but clearly trodden path with occasional waymark posts. In 1 mile descend from White Stones (261845 approx) to stile (258849). Left across bridge; left up stony Long Causey (257851). In ¾ mile pass Stanage Pole (247844); in 500m, left along Stanage Edge (241843 – watch your step!) for 1¼ miles to trig pillar (251830). Bear a little left; in 200m drop down through rocks on right (253830); left on path to Upper Burbage Bridge (259830). Left along road (path on left verge). In 1¼ miles opposite forestry plantation on right, left (279834, gate) on moor path. In 400m, just past white ‘gate’, fork right (278838, waymark post) to wall stile (280840). Diagonally across field; stile; across field, keeping right of wall, to Fulwood Lane (285842). Right to car park.

Lunch/Accommodation: Norfolk Arms, Ringinglow Road (0114-230-2197, norfolkarms.com)

Info: peakdistrict.gov.uk

 Posted by at 01:22
May 062020
 

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1. St Ives and Zennor, Cornwall
11 miles; OS Explorer 102

The outward leg from St Ives is one of the finest stretches of the South West Coast Path, a beautiful westward run of heath-covered headlands, granite cliffs and rocky coves where seals bob and fulmars wheel. Wild thyme lends a bitter-sweet fragrance to the grassy banks. Opposite the village of Zennor the coast path swings out onto Gurnard’s Head, a wild dragon-headed promontory with sheer cliffs that fall to sea-sculpted caves where the waves crash and boom. At Zennor, St Senara’s Church is home to the mermaid of Zennor, stiff and stark after 600 years as a carved bench end.

The homeward path follows the old Corpse Road footpath through the fields. This former route for bodies to be borne to Christian burial passes through a farming landscape that remembers its Bronze Age origins in the tiny size of the fields and the immense sturdiness and thickness of their walls. Each field is linked to its neighbour by a Cornish stile, a row of four or five well-spaced bars of granite set over a pit. It forms a grid barrier that baffles cattle and sheep – but not the sagacious local pigs, apparently.

Start/finish: Porthmeor Beach, St. Ives, TR26 1TG, (OS ref SW 516408)
Directions: SW Coast Path to Zennor; return by field path via Tremedda, Tregerthen and Wicca to Boscubben (473395); then Trevessa (481396), Trevega Wartha, Trevalgan (489402) and Trowan (494403) to Venton Vision (506407) and St Ives.

2. Corton Denham and Cadbury Castle, Somerset
7½ miles; OS Explorer 129

Not just a stroll through the green lanes and hills of south Somerset, this is a walk in the ghostly presence of King Arthur. The Macmillan Way lies just west of Corton Denham, and takes a northward course with an enormous view over a wooded vale leading to Glastonbury Tor, the summit tower a tiny pimple at the apex. The long line of the Mendip Hills closes the vista, with the green wedge of Brent Knoll 25 miles away in the west.

A clockwise loop around the mellow stone houses of Sutton Montis, and you follow the old greenway of Folly Lane across the medieval ridge-and-furrow to South Cadbury, tucked in the lee of Cadbury Castle’s great ramparted hill fort. A stony cart track climbs through the Iron Age ramparts to the wide, sloping summit of the hill. Did King Arthur, the ‘once-and-future King’, ever feast here with his warriors and his treacherous queen? An excavation in 1966-70 brought to light the foundations of a great aisled feasting hall, built in the early Dark Ages at the crown of Cadbury Castle. And spectral riders still sally forth from the fort at midnight, local stories say, their horses shod with silver that flashes in the starlight.

Start/finish: Corton Denham, Somerset DT9 4LR (OS ref ST 635225)
Directions: From Middle Ridge Lane (opposite church) footpath west to Corton Ridge (626224). North (Monarch’s Way) for 1 mile to road at Kember’s Hill (629241). Footpath through Sutton Montis to meet Leland Trail/LT (620252). LT to South Cadbury; right (632256), then right again, up to Cadbury Castle. Return to road; right; 100m past Crang’s Lane, path (633249, yellow arrow/YA) south to Whitcombe Farm and road (631237). Path below Corton Hill (‘Corton Denham’) back to Corton Denham.

3. Kingley Vale, near East Ashling, West Sussex
3 miles; OS Explorer OL8

Every summer I look forward to a lazy walk in warm sunshine, up the track from West Stoke car park and round the waymarked circuit of Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve. It takes all afternoon to stroll these three miles, because Kingley Vale’s preserved chalk grassland is made for lingering and looking. It’s composed more of flowering plants than of grasses, a tight-packed sward rich in thyme and marjoram, with scabious, harebells, pink centaury, bird’s foot trefoil and dozens more species attracting clouds of blues, coppers, argus, browns and other butterflies.

By contrast, the sombre yew grove that colonises the steep east-facing slope on the west edge of the reserve seems barren of all life except that of its ancient occupants. This great grove, protected on its chalk slope, is a rare survival. The yew crowns are a green so dark it is almost black, but once in among them you find that their limbs are pale, brittle and twisted, like dried muscles. How old are these sombre, knotted trees? At least 500 years, but some of them are old enough to have seen druidical worship. Some could already have been standing many centuries at Kingley Vale when the upstart Romans came invading.

Start/finish: West Stoke car park (OS ref SU 825088), near East Ashling on B2178 near Chichester.
Directions: Through kissing gate; follow track north to kissing gate into NNR. Bear left on footpath just inside fence; follow uphill for 1/3 mile to yew grove on right (819105). Continue along waymarked path to make clockwise circuit of reserve.

4. Alfriston, Jevington and the South Downs, East Sussex
8½ miles; OS Explorer 123

Some walks just grab you so hard that you know you’ll be back to enjoy them again and again. I can never get enough of this beautiful circuit of East Sussex villages in the shadow of the South Downs.

Alfriston’s houses and inns are rich in carved timbers. On a sunny day the village lies in bright brick reds, acid greens and indigos. A flinty track runs east to pass below the Long Man of Wilmington, an ancient giant two hundred feet tall, his outline cut out of a chalk downland slope. A rutted woodland path leads on to Folkington, where pioneer celebrity chef Elizabeth David lies in the churchyard under a gravestone carved with aubergines, peppers and cloves of garlic. Then you head south on a snaking track to Jevington with its thousand-year-old church tower built like a fortress against Viking marauders. A Saxon Christ adorns the wall, victorious over a puny, wriggling serpent.

Crossing the downs on the homeward stretch, one marvels at how a corner of countryside with such a vigorous and bloody history – Viking and French raids, coastguard battles with the smuggling gangs, Second World War bombs and doodlebugs – has settled to a tranquillity as smooth as the applewood smoke rising from Alfriston’s chimneys into the blue Sussex sky.

Start/finish: Alfriston, East Sussex BN26 5UQ (OS ref TQ 521033)
Directions: Downland track east via Long Man of Wilmington (542034); Wealdway path via The Holt (551040) and Folkington church (559038) to St Andrew’s Church, Jevington (562015). South Downs Way west to Holt Brow (553019); Lullington Heath NNR via Winchester’s Pond (540020) to Litlington (523021). Left past Litlington church; just before Plough & Harrow PH, right (523017 – ‘Vanguard Way’) to Cuckmere River; right to Alfriston.

5. Latimer, Chenies and the Chess Valley, Bucks/Herts border
7 miles; OS Explorer 172

Of all the gorgeous walks within easy reach of London, this one never palls in any season. From Chalfont & Latimer tube station (Metropolitan line), Bedford Avenue and Chenies Avenue lead north into West Wood, where the Chess Valley Walk trail descends to cross the River Chess in its beautiful green valley under the neat estate village of Latimer. From here it’s a clockwise circuit, following the Chess Valley Walk above the shallow, winding river. ‘Mr William Liberty of Chorleywood, nonconformist brickmaker’ (died 1777), having refused a church burial, lies by the field path with his wife Alice in a brick-built tomb. Further on, you can buy a peppery, crunchy bunch of watercress from Tyler’s farm, before reaching Church End where astonishing 14th-century paintings adorn the village church.

Back across the River Chess, the Chiltern Way leads across lush wet pastures, then through woods of hornbeam and cherry to Chenies village. History lies thick on the great Tudor mansion of Chenies; and in the adjacent church generations of Russells, Dukes and Duchesses of Bedford, lie entombed. From here you follow a ridge path back to Chalfont, with glorious views across the Chess Valley.

Start/finish: Chalfont & Latimer tube station, Bucks, HP7 9PR (OS ref SU 997975)
Directions: Bedford Avenue; Chenies Avenue (996976); at Beechwood Avenue (996981), ahead into West Wood. Follow Chess Valley Walk downhill to leave wood and cross road (999985), then river (000986). Right to cross road (004987; ‘Chess Valley Walk’/CVW, fish waymark). Follow CVW for 1¾ miles to road (031990); on Sarratt Church (039984). Chiltern Way west to road (021980) and Chenies (016983); west via Walk Wood and West Wood to return to station.

6. Dunwich and Dingle Marshes, Suffolk
6¾ miles; OS Explorer 231

A perfect encapsulation of the moody magnetism of the Suffolk Coast. Dunwich was a great trading port whose churches, hospitals, squares and houses were utterly consumed by the sea. A path leads up to the solitary curly-topped headstone of Jacob Forster, still clinging to the cliff edge, the last relic of the church of All Saints that toppled to the beach in 1922.

The Suffolk Coast & Heaths Path runs north through copses of old oak and pine trees. Grazing marshes, dotted with black cattle, stretch away towards the long straight bar of the sea wall. Soon you are in among the great reedbeds of Westwood Marshes where tiny bearded tits bounce and flit through the reeds, trailing their long tails low behind them and emitting pinging noises like overstretched wire fences. There’s no view whatsoever of the nearby sea, just a haunting feeling of country walked by many, but known by very few.

Once across the Dunwich River, you top the shingle bank. Here is an instant switch of view and perspective, out over a slate grey sea and round the curve of the bay, as you follow the pebbly beach back to Dunwich under its sloping cliff.

Start/finish: Dunwich car park, Suffolk, IP17 3EN (OS ref TM 478706)
Directions: Ship Inn – St James’s Church and Leper Hospital (475706) – Bridge Farm (474707; ‘Suffolk Coast Path’/SCP). Little Dingle (475717) – Dingle Stone House (476724) to Great Dingle Farm (483730). Follow SCP arrows through Westwood Marshes to footbridge (495742, SCP) to shingle bank; right to Dunwich.

7. Lakenheath Fen, Norfolk/Suffolk border
7¾ miles; OS Explorer 228

All the famed dampness and richness of unspoilt Fenland are perfectly caught in this walk around Lakenheath Fen nature reserve. The path from Hockwold-cum-Wilton is by way of Church Lane, Moor Drove and the sluices and banks of the Little Ouse River, heading west into the reserve via its excellent Visitor Centre.

It’s hard to credit that this green and fertile fen landscape was intensively farmed carrot fields not so long ago. Dug out, planted with fen vegetation and provided with plenty of water, it has burst into life. Various waymarked trails lead through the reserve, with the Main Circular Trail as the spine. Otters thrive here, bitterns boom in spring among the reedbeds, kingfishers and water voles scud about. Cranes are nesting for the first time in centuries. Marsh harriers hunt the reedbeds and ditches on long dark wings, sailing the air with effortless mastery. Along the trail, detours lead to hides with privilege viewpoints over meres where great crested grebes perform their elaborate courtship rituals.

At Joist Fen the walk bears right to follow the bank of the Little Ouse back to Hockwold. A bunch of lucky cattle graze here, up to their chins in the lushest grass in East Anglia.

Start/finish: Hockwold-cum-Wilton, Norfolk IP26 4NB (OS ref TL 735880)
Directions: Church Lane; Moor Drove East (734876); cross sluice (731870); right along riverbank to B1112 (724868). Left; in 300m, right to Lakenheath Fen Nature Reserve Visitor Centre (718863). Follow Main Circular Trail/MCT (white arrows/WA) clockwise as far as Little Ouse river bank (698861). Right (Hereward Way) for 2 miles back to B1112 (724866). Left (take care!); retrace steps to Hockwold.

8. Purton and the Ships Graveyard, Gloucestershire
6½ miles; OS Explorer OL14

The River Severn comes down through west Gloucestershire in great wide loops, slowly broadening into its estuary. Boats that ply the river are few and far between these days, and the skeletons of some old Severn craft are one of the features of this fascinating walk.

From Brookend near Sharpness, field paths run north across the swell of the land to the tiny village of Purton on the edge of a big bend in the Severn. Through the village runs the long silver streak of the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, dug across country at the turn of the 19th century to bypass some of the most difficult and dangerous bends of the river.

Dozens of old coal and cargo boats were brought here to Purton at the end of their working lives and rammed into the soft mud of the Severn’s east bank, to stiffen it and protect the adjacent canal against the fierce sweep of the tides. It’s a poignant walk back to Sharpness among the ribs and sternposts, tillers and rudders of these former river queens. And Sharpness itself is a fascinating rarity, a working river port where cranes clank as they unload cement and fertiliser from rusty old sea-going boats.

Start/finish: Brookend, Sharpness GL13 9SF (OS ref SO 684021)
Directions: Footpath north across fields for 1½ miles to Purton (682042). Cross canal; past Berkeley Arms PH (691045). Riverside path joins canal towpath (687044). Detour right along riverbank through Ships Graveyard, then canal towpath into Sharpness. Cross canal (670030); ‘Severn Way’ up steps; ahead past Dockers’ Club (671029) to road. Left across left-hand of 2 swing bridges (673029). Ahead to road (677026); right (‘Sharpness’). Left beside Village Hall (674021 – fingerpost); paths via Buckett’s Hill Farm to Brookend.

9. White Horse and Wayland’s Smithy, Oxfordshire
6 miles; OS Explorer 170

If you want to savour the deep history and mythology of these islands, you can’t do better than tramp the ancient Ridgeway across the chalk downs of Oxfordshire. Start from Woolstone, tucked in below the hills, and follow the field paths southwest via Knighton and Compton Beauchamp. From here you glimpse the White Horse that was cut out of the chalk turf high above some 3,000 years ago, still beautiful and enigmatic in her disjointed, futuristic form.

From Odstone Farm a sunken track leads uphill to reach the Ridgeway, already ancient when the White Horse was made, a rutted upland thoroughfare curving with the crest of the downs. Turning east along the Ridgeway you soon come to a remarkable monument, the great Neolithic long barrow of Wayland’s Smithy, its huge portal stones and grassy mound surrounded by a ring of tall old beeches. Wayland was a blacksmith in Norse mythology, and local tales say he’ll shoe your horse if you leave it overnight along with a silver coin. You don’t have to be a New Age devotee to sense the power and presence of the far past here.

A long mile along the Ridgeway brings you to the White Horse herself, and a descent down a steep breast of downland called The Manger to reach Woolstone.

Start/finish: Woolstone, Faringdon, Oxfordshire SN7 7QL (OS ref SU 293878)
Directions: cross Hardwell Lane – Compton House – just before Odstone Farm, left up Odstone Hill – left along Ridgeway. Wayland’s Smithy – detour to Uffington Castle and White Horse – continue on Ridgeway for ½ mile – left (308864) – Britchcombe Farm – cross B4507. On for ½ mile – left (308880) – path to Woolstone.

10. The Stiperstones, Shropshire
5 miles; OS Explorer 216
The Stiperstones stand stark and jagged. These quartzite outcrops rise from a heathery ridge at the northern end of the Long Mynd, Shropshire’s great whaleback of a hill. They are the focus of some of the most bizarre folk tales and superstitions in these islands.

The Shropshire Way leads up and past the Stones, heading north across heather moorland where cranberries make scarlet splashes of colour. This upland heath is carefully preserved for its wildlife value, with cowberry and crowberry among the great swathes of purple heather. You pass Cranberry Rock and Manstone Rock to reach the largest outcrop, the Devil’s Chair. When mist envelops the Stones, the Devil is in his Chair, waiting for Old England to sink beneath the earth. Impossible to tell how all these Gothic notions gained ground, but they lend the Stiperstones a very peculiar aura.

Views from the ridge are superb over the Shropshire hills and woods, east to the long green bar of Wenlock Edge, west as far as the borderlands of Wales. From Shepherd Rock a steep grassy path leaves the hill, descending steeply Past old lead-mine workings to Stiperstones village far below. From here a lower track leads back below the Stones, hard-edged and ominous along the eastern skyline.

Start/finish: Bog Centre car park, Stiperstones (OS ref SO 355979)
Directions: Shropshire Way from road (362976) past Cranberry Rock (365981), Manstone Rock (367986), Devil’s Chair (368991). From cairn just before Shepherd’s Rock (374000), steep descent to Stiperstones village (363004) and Stiperstones Inn. Return to Bog Centre via 361002, 359999, 361996 and lane parallel to the Stiperstones.

11. Kinder Edge, Derbyshire
9 miles; OS Explorer OL1

A hugely popular walk, and deservedly so. This is the ultimate memorial hike, commemorating the crowd of left-wing, working class youngsters from the industrial sprawls of Manchester and Sheffield who in 1932 initiated an incursion known as the Mass Trespass onto the privately owned moorland of Kinder. Some were imprisoned, others vilified. Without the impetus of their bold action, we wouldn’t have the right to roam over wild upland country that we enjoy today.

From Bowden Bridge near Hayfield you head north above Kinder Reservoir, looking across the valley to the long upstanding line of crags that form Kinder Edge. A steep climb beside the beck in rocky William Clough leads to the peat bogs of Ashop Head, where gamekeepers with sticks tried and failed to stem the mass trespass of 1932.

From here it’s a long and exhilarating stride south along the Pennine Way at the very edge of the gritstone escarpment, with magnificent views to Manchester and the distant hills of Wales. Across the watersplash of Kinder Downfall, and on to where the homeward path turns west off the Pennine Way at ancient Edale Cross and starts its descent down the long, long lane to Bowden Bridge.

Start/finish: Bowden Bridge car park, Hayfield, Derbyshire, SK22 2LH approx (OS ref SK 049870)

Directions: Continue up road. At Booth Sheepwash cross river (051876); in 100m, take path (yellow arrow). In 250m, left to reservoir gates; up cobbled bridleway on left. In 300m, left (054882, metal ‘bridleway’ sign) up to gate. Right (‘Snake Inn’) for 1½ miles (White Brow, William’s Clough) up to Ashop Head (065900). Right on Pennine Way along Kinder Edge for 3½ miles. Beyond Edale Rocks where PW turns left for Edale, right (081861) through gate; lane for 2¾ miles down to Kinder Road and car park.

12. Muker and Keld, Swaledale, N. Yorkshire
6½ miles; OS Explorer OL30

A classic walk in the Yorkshire Dales from the picture-book village of Muker. An old road, stone-surfaced and stone-walled, leads up the sloping fellsides. It heads northwest through sheep pastures to skirt the big open rise of Kisdon Hill before dropping gently down to Skeb Skeugh ford and the huddle of grey stone houses at Keld. I remember, many years ago, stumbling into Keld after a miserable day of rain and mist on the Pennine Way, and the bliss of a cup of tea and a pair of dry socks there.

From Keld the homeward path crosses the River Swale at the hissing waterfall of East Gill Force. A little further on and you pass tumbledown Crackpot Hall, undermined by subsidence in the lead mines of Swinner Gill. This is a sombre spot, resonant with history, a maze of spoil heaps, arched stone mine levels, and the precarious hillside trods or tracks of the miners.

It’s a remarkable contrast, walking south from these dolorous ruins above the fast-rushing Swale, down into the delightful green lushness of Swaledale and the stone-walled sheep pastures around Muker.

Start/finish: Muker, Richmond, N Yorks DL11 6QG (OS ref SO 910979)
Directions: Up lane by Muker Literary Institute. Forward; up right side of Grange Farm (‘footpath Keld’). Follow lane; then ‘Bridleway Keld’ (909982) up walled lane for ½ mile. Cross Pennine Way/PW and on (903986; ‘Keld 2 miles’) along bridleway to ford and B6270 (892006). Right into Keld. Right down lane (893012; ‘footpath Muker’). In 300 yards, left downhill (‘PW’) across River Swale, up to waterfall. Right (896011; ‘bridleway’) for ½ mile. 150m past stone barn, left (904009) to Crackpot Hall; path into Swinner Gill, to fingerpost (911012) opposite mine buildings. Sharp right (‘Muker’) to ford beck (911008); follow track down Swaledale for 1 mile. Cross Swale (910986); meadow path to Muker.

13. Cronkley Fell, Upper Teesdale, Durham Dales
7 miles; OS Explorer OL31

For its wonderful flowers and birds, this is my favourite springtime walk of all. You set off from Forest-in-Teesdale to cross the River Tees near Cronkley Farm. The peat-brown Tees comes charging down its rocky bed, roaring loudly and rumbling the stones as it races by. The valley meadows are full of nesting birds – lapwing, redshank and curlew – each with its own haunting cry, the very voice of spring in this wild place. Snipe go rocketing about the sky, divebombing with a drumming rattle of outspread tail feathers.

From Cronkley Farm the Pennine Way climbs southward to meet the old lead-miners’ road called the Green Trod. Turning west along this grassy broad track, you are soon in flowery heaven up on the nape of Cronkley Fell. Tiny white flowers of lead-resistant spring sandwort flourish in abandoned mine workings. Higher up you find the real jewels of this rugged, enchanting valley – tiny, delicate Teesdale violets, miniature bird’s-eye primroses as shocking pink as a starlet’s fingernails, and royal blue trumpets of spring gentians.
A picnic pause to contemplate the forward view over the basalt crags of Falcon Clints, and you descend through pungent-smelling juniper bushes to turn for home along the brawling Tees once more.

Start/finish: Forest-in-Teesdale car park, near Langdon Beck, Co. Durham DL12 0HA (OS ref NY 867298)
Directions: Right along B6277; in 100m, left down farm track via Wat Garth, to cross River Tees by Cronkley Bridge (862294). Follow Pennine Way (PW) past Cronkley Farm, up rocky slope of High Crag and on along paved track. In 500m, left across stile (861283). PW bears left, but continue ahead uphill by fence. Through kissing gate (861281); in 100m, right along wide grassy trackway. Follow it for 2 miles west across Cronkley Fell (occasional cairns). Descend at Man Gate to River Tees (830283); right along river for 2½ miles. At High House barn (857294), half-left across pasture to Cronkley Bridge; return to car park.

14. Mellbreak, Mosedale and Crummock Water, Lake District
6 miles; OS Explorer OL4

This delectable circuit offers all the delights of Lakeland in one go – a steep (but not too steep) fell, a little-visited side dale, and a gorgeous lakeside stroll back to one of the best pubs in Cumbria.

From the Kirkstile Inn a country road runs south. A little way past Kirkgate Farm a path heads off, straight up the northern face of Mellbreak. The fell looks tremendously steep; but in fact the path is clear once you’re on it, and with a bit of zigzagging and a modicum of hard breathing you’re on the top of this rugged mini-mountain almost before you know it. The view is one of the finest in the Lake District – north across the Solway Firth to the distant hills of Galloway, east to the pink screes of Grasmoor across Crummock Water, south to the magnificent humpy spine of Red Pike, High Stile and High Crag.

Gaze your fill; then drop down west into green and silent Mosedale, boggy and orchid-spattered. ‘Dreary,’ opined Alfred Wainwright. For once, the Master was wrong. Head south along Mosedale, round the end of Mellbreak, and finish with a glorious stroll north up the side of Crummock Water with a feast of fells all round.

Start/finish: Kirkstile Inn, Loweswater, Cumbria CA13 0RU (OS ref NY 141209)
Directions: From Kirkstile Inn, south on lane past Kirkgate Farm for ½ mile. At gate (139202), up through trees, then to foot of scree (141199). Bear left; zigzag steeply up to Mellbreak’s northern summit (143195). Forward for 500m to dip and fork in path (145190); bear right, steeply down to path in Mosedale (141186). Left (south) for ¾ mile to gate in fence (146175); down to track by Black Beck (146174); left (east) to Crummock Water. Left (north) to north end of lake. Bear left (149197) to wall (148199); follow to Highpark Farm (145202). On to cross Park Bridge (145205); fork left to Kirkstile Inn.

15. Holy Island, Northumberland
10 miles, OS Explorer 340
NB Causeway and Pilgrim Path are impassable 2½ hours either side of high tide. Tide times posted by causeway; also at lindisfarne.org.uk

Pilgrims have been crossing the sands for a thousand years to reach Lindisfarne or Holy Island,  monastic retreat of the 7th century hermit bishop St Cuthbert. The pilgrim path to Lindisfarne, marked out by tall poles, diverges from the causeway road to cross the murky sands. It’s a squelching walk, windy and redolent of salt mud and seaweed, passing a long-legged refuge tower for unwary travellers caught by the incoming tide. Often you can hear the eerie singing of seals on the distant sands.

Once ashore on Holy Island, the little village with its great red sandstone monastic ruins is fascinating to explore. Down off the southwest corner lies tiny, tidal Hobthrush Island, with the sparse remains of an ancient chapel marking the site of the cell where Cuthbert sought even greater privacy.

A circular walk round Holy Island by way of Lindisfarne Castle on its dolerite crag and the nearby garden laid out by Gertrude Jekyll, and then back along the pilgrim path to the mainland, savouring the solitude of this vast expanse of tidal sand under enormous skies.

Start/finish: Holy Island causeway car park, Northumberland (OS ref NU079427)
Directions: Follow sands route (post markers) to Holy Island. Right to village and monastery. Walk anti-clockwise round island: harbour, castle, Gertrude Jekyll’s Garden (136419), The Lough, path west beside dunes. At gate by NNR notice (129433), left down track to village, or ahead for ½ mile, then left (122433) to causeway and sands route.

16. Worm’s Head, Gower Peninsula, South Wales
4 miles there-and-back; OS Explorer 164
NB Causeway is accessible for 2½ hours either side of low tide. Tide times at tides.willyweather.co.uk. Please don’t venture as far as Outer Head between 1 March and 31 August – nesting birds!

Norsemen named Gower’s double-humped promontory ‘wurm’, meaning dragon or serpent, and Worm’s Head does resemble a massive green monster heading out to sea. This is a wildly exhilarating scramble, spiced by the knowledge that you have to get your tide timings right. If you don’t, you’re in good company – Dylan Thomas once got himself marooned here.

From the National Trust car park at the western tip of the Gower peninsula you follow the cliffs out to the rough and rugged causeway crossing. There are blennies and crabs in the rock pools, and canted blades of barnacle-encrusted rock to cross before you can scramble up onto Inner Head, the middle section of the promontory. A path leads among pink flowerheads of thrift to the square wave-cut arch of the Devil’s Bridge, across which you make your way (but not in nesting season) onto the furthest hummock, Outer Head. Here kittiwakes, fulmars, guillemots, razorbills and puffins fill air and sea with their cries, flights and incredible guano stink.

Start/finish: Rhossili car park, Gower (OS ref SS 415880)
Directions: Walk ahead past National Trust information centre, following track and descending to cross causeway. Follow path round south side of Inner Head, across Devil’s Bridge (389877), round south side of Low Neck, out to Outer Head.

17. Llyn Bochnant and Cwm Idwal, Snowdonia, North Wales
6½ miles; OS Explorer OL17

Cwm Idwal is justifiably one of the most popular spots in Snowdonia – a readily accessible, highly dramatic bowl of crags cradling the dark lake of Llyn Idwal. Just above in a hidden valley lies another lake, Llyn Bochlwyd, far less frequented, from which you descend into Cwm Idwal by a steep and beautiful path.

The trail starts from Cwm Idwal car park (on A5 between Capel Curig and Bethesda) up a stone-pitched track. After 400m you leave the crowds behind, forking left onto a path that climbs the steep chute of Nant Bochlwyd beside a tumbling stream. Up at the top under the grim crags of Glyder Fach lies Llyn Bochlwyd, in a silent hollow of bilberry and grass. A spot to sit and savour before skeltering down the precipitous path to Llyn Idwal far below. Look out hereabouts for the white bib and harsh rattling chirrup of the ring ouzel, a mountain blackbird rarely seen.

A path circles Llyn Idwal, running high up under the crags of Glyder Fawr. Among the big boulders here grows starry saxifrage, delicate and white, and the miniature green blooms of alpine lady’s mantle, a lovely carpet of mountain flowers.

Start/finish: Cwm Idwal car park, Nant Ffrancon, LL57 3LZ (OS ref SH 649603)
Directions: Up stone-pitched path at left side of Warden Centre. In 350m path bends right (652601); ahead here on stony track across bog; steeply up right side of Nant Bochlwyd to Llyn Bochlwyd (655594). Right (west) on path for 400m to saddle (652594); then steeply down to Llyn Idwal (647596). Left along lake. At south end take higher path (646593) slanting up to boulder field; take care fording torrent at 642589! At big 20-ft boulder (640589), go right down side of boulder; left across rocky grass to homeward path (640590), steep in places.

18. Creag Meagaidh NNR, Inverness-shire, Scotland
8½ miles; OS Explorer 401

A classic there-and-back walk among the Scottish mountains, rising up a flowery glen to a hidden corrie. If you’re longing for the day you can take a picnic out among the hills again, squirrel this splendid walk away in your wish list.

Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve car park lies on the A86 between Spean Bridge and Kinloch Laggan. A trail marked with otter symbols leads past buildings and up steps to a sign for ‘Coire Adair’, the start of the walk up the bow-shaped glen. At first the path runs among woods of young birch, alder and oak. The boggy hillsides are dotted with heath spotted orchids, the hair-like stems and bright blue flowers of insectivorous butterwort, and purple blooms of wood cranesbill.

Once beyond the trees, mountains hem you round, the Allt Coire Adair burn tumbles down its snaky bed, and the path rises gently across open moorland tufted with bog cotton. At the top of the glen you surmount the hummock of a glacial moraine, and a prospect opens down onto the little glassy lakelet of Lochan a’Choire under a curving wall of black cliffs, lonely, wild and utterly silent.

Start/finish: Creag Meagaidh NNR car park, PH20 1BX (OS ref NN 483873)
Directions: From car park follow red trail (otter symbol). In 500m pass to right of toilets/buildings (479876). Follow path on the level, then up steps; fork right at top (474879; ‘Coire Ardair’) on clear stony path for 3 miles to Lochan a’ Choire (439883). Return same way.

19. Hermaness, Isle of Unst, Shetland
5 miles; OS Explorer 470

One of the most dramatic springtime walks I know, and certainly one of the remotest, Hermaness is a place apart. This blunt headland forms the northernmost tip of the Isle of Unst, itself the most northerly island in Britain. You set out literally from the end of the road, climbing a well-marked path that circles round the headland. The first inhabitants you meet will be the bonxies or great skuas, big clumsy gull-like birds that defend their nests and fluffy chicks by screaming and flying at you – though a stick upheld will deflect them.

It’s a rugged welcome to Hermaness, but this is a rugged place of bog, tiny lochs and tremendously craggy cliffs. The dramatic showpiece suddenly appears as you breast the rise and look down over a line of enormous sea stacks, great canted blades of rock jutting out of the sea. Their sheer dark slopes are whitened by the tens of thousands of gulls, fulmars, kittiwakes and guillemots that circle restlessly far below. Rumblings, Vesta Skerry, Tipta Skerry, Muckle Flugga with its stumpy lighthouse, and the little round button of Out Stack – these are the full stops that top off the mighty travelogue of Britain.

Start/finish: The Ness parking place, Burrafirth, Isle of Unst (OS ref HP612147)
Directions: From Ness parking place at end of road, follow marked circular path (green-topped posts) round Hermaness. Allow 2-3 hours. Remote, windy, boggy and slippery underfoot: dress warm and dry; walking boots. Take great care on cliff edges. Bring binoculars and stick. Information leaflets in metal box at start of path. NB: Great Skua (‘bonxie’) dive-bombs during chick-rearing season, generally late May until July, coming close but rarely striking. To deter, hold stick above head. Please avoid Sothers Brecks nesting area, May-July.

20. Slieve Gullion, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland
5 miles there-and-back; OSNI Discoverer 29; walkni.com

Slieve Gullion rises over South Armagh, a kingly mountain, a great volcanic plug that dominates the landscape for miles around. This is a mountain of myth and legend, with a sensational 100-mile view from the summit as a reward for the not-very-demanding climb.

From Slieve Gullion Forest Park car park (signposted on the Drumintee Road between Newry and Forkhill) there’s a well-walked trail (‘Ring of Gullion’ waymarks) rising in stages via forest roads and tracks, clockwise round the southern slopes of Slieve Gullion. In a couple of miles you bear right at an upper car park, a short steep upward puff that lands you on the south peak of the mountain.

The prospect is simply sublime. A great volcanic ridge of hills encircles the mountain, with views beyond as far as the Mourne Mountains, the Antrim hills, the billowy Sperrins, and the green and brown midland plain running south to the tiny silhouettes of the Wicklow Hills beyond Dublin, a hundred miles away.

Explore the Neolithic passage grave on the peak, then picnic by the Lake of Sorrows. But don’t touch the enchanted millstone that lies half-submerged there. It might bring forth the dreaded magical hag, the Cailleach Beara, and you wouldn’t want that.

Start/finish: Slieve Gullion Forest Park car park, Drumintee Road, Killeavy, Newry, Co. Armagh BT35 8SW (OS of NI ref J 040196)
Directions: From top left corner of car park, left up path through trees. In ¼ mile join Forest Drive (038191), up slope, then level, for ¼ mile to ‘Ring of Gullion Way’ post on left (035190). Right up drive, past metal barrier; left uphill for 1½ miles to car park (018200). Beyond picnic table, right at white post, steeply uphill. South Cairn (025203) – Lake of Sorrows – North Cairn (021211); then return.

 Posted by at 15:30
May 172014
 

They dress their wells in the Peak District – always have, probably always will. First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window
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The old springs and sources of Derbyshire are famous for the intricate way they are ornamented by the local people with pictures of flowers and seeds in high summer. But here in Middle Mayfield across the county boundary in Staffordshire, they’re proud to carry on this ancient pagan tradition, too, garlanding the village wells in June come rain, come shine.

On a close, steamy morning, with heatwaves and thunderstorms threatened, we passed three or four wells on our way up Hollow Lane out of the village, the dark still water concealed like a treasure behind gridded gates or wooden doors. Spatters of blue and white seeds and stones showed where they had been glorified only a month before. Now the dimpling sources lay in secret among the borage and comfrey, knapweed and moon daisies along Hollow Lane.

From the ridge at Ashfield Farm we had a view lent mystery by the thick grey heat – the misty woods and hayfields of the River Dove’s deep valley behind us, and the long bald head of Blake Low rising ahead. Then we plunged down through Gold’s Wood to walk the bank of the shallow, glass-brown Ordley Brook. The local geology seemed to be having an identity crisis – the houses were of beautiful sun-paled pink sandstone, but the abundant scabious where the butterflies were feeding spoke of lime beneath the soil. The knobbly old shaft of the medieval Ousley Cross beside the road was peppered with conglomerate pebbles – another puzzle.

A stony lane between fields of skittish cattle brought us up to Stanton, from where Flather Lane rose northwards under shady ash and hazels to leave us on the brink of Cuckoohill Wood and its steep little gorge. Here Ellis Hill Brook chuckled under giant hogweed and the sky-blue flowers of nettle-leaved bellflower.

After skirting Leasow and Ellishill Farm we dropped into the cleft and went south beside the brook through thickets of nettles and brambles. A stiff climb to the ridge once more, and we followed the ill-waymarked but lovely Limestone Way path across newly mown hayfields on the crest of the land, with a wonderful breeze to cool our sun-baked faces.

Start: Rose & Crown PH, Middle Mayfield, Staffs DE6 2JT (OS ref SK 148447)

Getting there: Bus 409 (arrivabus.co.uk) Ashbourne-Uttoxeter
Road – Middle Mayfield is on B5032 (off A52, 2 miles west of Ashbourne)

Walk (7½ miles, moderate, OS Explorer 259): Opposite Rose & Crown, up Hall Lane. Just past Old Hall, left up Hollow Lane (147449, fingerpost). In 500 m leave trees by stile (142448); ahead with hedge on left. Cross stile; bear half right, aiming right of Ashfield Farm, to cross stile (139448, 2 yellow arrows/YA). In 30 m, right through squeeze stile/SS (YA). Diagonally left, over stile beside right-hand of 2 gates. Follow right-hand hedge to cross concrete roadway (137447); in 50 m, right through gateway (no waymark); half left to cross SS. Follow hedge on your left. Through next SS; on past conifer plantation. At end, over wooden stile (133447); right to bottom of slope, left along wood edge. In 250 m, right through stile (132447, YA); down path through wood, curving right in 150 m to descend and cross Ordley Brook by footbridge (131448). Left along far bank for 700 m to road (126445). Ahead for 50 m to see remains of Ousley Cross on right.

Retrace path along Ordley Brook. In 200 m cross side stream; in another 50 m, left (128447) through stile gap (YA, ‘Weaver Walk’/WW). Follow path through wood to stile out of trees (128448, WW). Forward to stone wall; left along it (YA, WW). Soon path becomes grassy lane. In a little over ½ mile, at a gate by Smithy Moor Farm (131457), don’t turn right (YA), but go through gate ahead (fingerpost) and on up farm track for ¼ mile to road on outskirts of Stanton (130460). Left; in 150 m, right up Flather Lane.

In ½ mile, after passing silage clamp on right, continue along wide grassy lane. Descend to cross stile (131472, YA); then steeply down to Cuckoohill Wood. Cross stony gap in bottom left corner of field (131473); bear left along stream bank for 50 m; cross footbridge and up steps to cross stile into field. Bear left and follow line of electricity poles across field to cross stile/kissing gate into field just south of Leasow (132477). Right along fence for 100 m; right over triple stile (YA); half left to cross double stile (133477). Half left to go through SS by holed stone. Aim for Ellishill Farm across field, and through SS.

NB Path is currently being diverted to pass left of house – please watch for signs! At time of writing, path passes close to right of house (134474) and continues for 50 m to go through wall gap (135473). Ahead along ridge with hedge on left and valley on right. In 100 m (135472), diagonally right down slope to bottom edge of field. 100 m from end of field, right over stile into wood (135469, YA). Follow path (can be very overgrown!) south for ½ mile on left (east) bank of brook. Just beyond stile out of wood, pass well and standing stone (137464) to Stanton Lane (138462).

Left up lane, past Harlow Farm drive. In another 150 m, at top of hill, right through gate (142464, arrow) on Limestone Way (labelled as such on map). Through SS above farm and on; at next gate, through stile on left of it (143461). On with hedge on right, through gateway (YA); half left across field to stile (144459, YA); on with hedge on left to double stile (YA). Across field to SS (YA); halfway across next field, right through hedge (143455, stile, YA) and left along green lane. Cross stile by metal gate; same at next one. In another 70 m, left (142452, YA, WW on your right) up hedge, over ridge and down through stile in left corner of field (143451, YA). Descend with hedge on left for ¼ mile to lane by Old Hall (148449). Right into Middle Mayfield.

Lunch/Accommodation: Rose & Crown, Middle Mayfield (01335-342498; roseandcrownmayfield.com). NB Closed Sunday evening, all Monday; but B&B operates 7 days.

Middle Mayfield Well Dressing 2014: Sat 14 June, 11 a.m.

Info: Ashbourne TIC (01335-343666); visitpeakdistrict.com

visitengland.com www.satmap.com www.LogMyTrip.co.uk

 Posted by at 02:13
Feb 092013
 

Flakes of snow in the chilly Cheshire air, and snow on the ground in Delamere Forest.
First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window
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Ghostly fingers of white crept along the black boughs of the trees, and snow blanketed the slopes where tobogganers went careering downhill, whooping their heads off.

There’s something liberating about being out in the snow. A sort of general loosening of the braces takes place. Dogs in knitted coats barked and scampered, their snouts whitened; grownups nodded ‘Howdo?’, and little kids came zooming by without thought for life or limb. Delamere Forest, packed with people at play, looked like one of those Frost Fair etchings from the Little Ice Age – a far cry from its Norman heyday as a hunting preserve of the Earls of Chester, when common folk entering the forest could expect to be flogged, blinded or hanged. Thank goodness for the Forestry Commission and today’s open-doors policy for all.

As we climbed the broad white track up Old Pale Hill, the cries and shouts from below faded to a faint babel against the gentle murmur of wind in the conifer tops, a sound paradoxically reminiscent of seaside holidays. Up at the summit we found the view obscured by flurries of snow. We scraped the snow off the topographical plaques and imagined the fair-weather prospect over seven counties and to all quarters, from the Berwyn Hills in Wales to the Liverpool skyline, and out east to Kinder Scout nearly 40 miles off, where Derbyshire slips over into Yorkshire.

We descended through snow banks dinted with fox and rabbit tracks and set out on the second half of this figure-of-eight walk, round the perimeter of Blakemere Moss. This big forest lake is formed of a pair of kettle holes, huge hollows left behind when trapped ice melted after the last glaciation 10,000 years ago. Cheshire is full of these ancient Ice Age lakes, and Blakemere is one of the biggest.

Today the moss lay as though under enchantment, a great scapula of glass-green ice scattered with snow patches and concentric lines of freeze ripples, the whole lake fixed and transformed. We walked its margin in a wintry silence, looking across to where a standing stone on Old Pale summit broke the skyline, tiny and sharp as a chip of black ice.

Start: Delamere Forest Visitor Centre, CW8 2JD – near Northwich, Cheshire (OS ref SJ549705). Parking £4/3 hrs, £6 all day.

Getting there: Train (thetrainline.com) to Delamere Station (½ mile). Road: Delamere Forest is signed off B5152 between A556 (Northwich-Chester) and A56 at Frodsham (M56, jct 12)

Walk: (4½ miles, easy, OS Explorer 267; Forest Trail map available at Visitor Centre): From Visitor Centre, right along road. At far side of Old Pale car park on left, pass ‘Old Pale Woodland’ sign (547703). Trail ascends through trees. Pass Post 11 (‘Delamere Loop’); broad path uphill to standing stone at summit of Old Pale (544698). Follow fenced track east away from masts towards farm; in 150m, left (Post 7) downhill. Across track at forest edge (546698); on downhill. At Post 9 (552700), left through hedge, right along lane; in 100m back through hedge; fork left to road (552704). Left; in 100m, right across railway; in 50m, right on waymarked Blakemere Trail. At Post 16 (554708) left, anticlockwise round Blakemere Moss. In 1½ miles at Post 61 (546711) right on Delamere Loop. In 150m, left (‘Visitor Centre’). Pass Linmere Moss; in another ⅓ mile, cross railway (551705); right to Visitor Centre.

Delamere Visitor Centre (café, shop, toilets, info): forestry.gov.uk/delamereforestpark; 01606-882167 – open daily, 10-5. Café: delamerecafe.com
www.ramblers.org.uk www.satmap.com www.LogMyTrip.co.uk

 Posted by at 02:42
Dec 302012
 

NB Please note that this was a Supplement article, with a maximum allowance of only 170 words approx. for each walk. So these are sketchy directions. But you should be able to work out the exact route if you relate the walk instructions to the relevant OS Explorer map.

1. Rock & Polzeath, Cornwall
Everything is very John Betjeman around this wonderful stretch of the Camel Estuary, the poet’s favourite corner of Cornwall. Start this beautiful walk with a ferry ride over the estuary from Padstow; then follow the South West Coast Path up the coast via St Enodoc’s, the ‘church in the sands’ where Betjeman is buried, to Daymer Bay. Then it’s over the cliffs above Greenaway beach (magnificent in storm seas), to Polzeath’s long surfing beach (ditto), and back through Cornish fields and farms.

Map OS Explorer 106
Start Ferry car park, Rock, PL27 6LD; OS ref SW 928759; ferry from Padstow, or signed from B3314 (Polzeath signs from A39 at Wadebridge)
The walk Follow the coast path north to Polzeath (detouring inland to St Enodoc’s Church); return via Shilla Mill (940783), Llangollan (945778), Trewiston (944773), Penmayne (948759), Trefresa (948757) and Porthilly (939753)
How hard is it? 6½ miles. Cliff paths and farmland; a good stretch with not too much up-and-down
Eat en route The Sandbar, Polzeath (01208 869655)

2. Worth Matravers & St Alban’s Head, Dorset
Purbeck is a wild and rugged stretch of the Dorset coast. From the old stone-quarrying village of Worth Matravers you descend a narrow cleft to Winspit, a cliff notorious for its winter wrecks (the worst, in 1786, claimed 168 lives). West along the cliffs stands the vaulted and buttressed Norman chapel of St Aldhelm, a lonely seamark. Back in Worth Matravers, the Square & Compass is a cosy and characterful pub – sensational pies!

Map OS Explorer OL15
Start Square & Compass PH, Worth Matravers, BH19 3LF; OS ref SY 975775; signed from B3069 at Langton Matravers (off A351 Corfe-Swanage)
The walk 150m past church, turn left (972773) on path to coast at Winspit (976761). Right on SW Coast Path past St Aldhelm’s Chapel (961755), then for another 1½ miles to hamlet in Hill Bottom (963773). Leave Coast Path; north on Purbeck Way for 500m; right (966781) to Worth Matravers.
How hard is it? 5 miles. Well-marked field and cliff paths, with some steep short ascents
Eat en route Square & Compass PH (01929 439229)

3. Godshill, Isle of Wight
The thatched houses of Godshill ooze rustic charm. A lovely old driveway takes you through rolling parkland to reach Appuldurcombe House, palely glimmering among trees – the eerie semi-ruin of an 18th-century mansion, famous all over the island for its many ghosts. Back at Freemantle Gate you pass over the steeply scarped Gat Cliff (sensational views) before dipping south through more parkland and back to Godshill. All Saints Church contains a beautiful 15th-century fresco of Christ on a cross of lilies.

Map OS Explorer OL29
Start Griffin Inn, High Street, Godshill PO38 3JD; OS ref SZ 530817; bus 2, 3 (islandbuses.info); A3020 Newport-Shanklin
The walk A3020 (Shanklin direction) for 250m; right (533817, ‘Wroxall’) on drive to Freemantle Gate (540807). In another 100m, fork left to outskirts of Wroxall (546802); right to Appuldurcombe House (543801). Right to Freemantle Gate; left (Worsley Trail) to Gat Cliff (534805) and Sainham Farm (528810). Right into trees; left (530810) to Godshill.
How hard is it? 3½ miles. Rolling parkland, good conditions underfoot; a nice stroll
Eat en route Griffin Inn (01983 840039)

4. Alfriston & Cuckmere Haven, East Sussex
No direction-finding problems here – the path follows the snaking Cuckmere River all the way from Alfriston to the sea and back. Views in both directions are fabulous. Setting out from the old inland smuggling village of Alfriston, you cut through a cleft in steeply rolling downland – look for the White Horse cut into the top of the well-named High & Over Down. A complete contrast is the flat apron of marshy ground through which the river winds in silvery sinuations to Cuckmere Haven and the dazzling white chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters.

Map OS Explorer 123
Start The Willows car park, Alfriston, BN26 5UQ; OS ref TQ 521033; bus 126 (cuckmerebus.freeuk.com); signed off A27 Lewes-Eastbourne
The walk Follow right (west) bank of Cuckmere River south for 3¼ miles to Exceat Bridge; Vanguard Way to Cuckmere Haven (515978); Cuckmere River cut (west bank) back to Exceat Bridge, then right (east) bank north to Alfriston
How hard is it? 9 miles. Flat, easy riverside paths.
Eat en route Golden Galleon, Exceat Bridge (01323-892247)

5. Hampton Court to Richmond, Middlesex
This is a walk packed with history. The Thames Path makes a grand curve round Cardinal Wolsey’s great Tudor palace of Hampton Court. You cross the four pale stone arches of Kingston Bridge, and continue north along the Thames past fine houses and boatyards to reach the thundering weir at Teddington Lock. Soon you pass Eel Pie Island, whose dance hall hosted The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and lots more embryo stars in the 1960s. Then comes Ham House, a handsome Jacobean riverbank mansion, before you reach Richmond by way of Petersham’s waterside meadows.

Map OS Explorer 161
Start Hampton Court station KT8 9AE; OS ref TQ 154683; rail from Waterloo, Zone 6
Finish Richmond station TW9 2NA (District line, Zone 4)
The walk Cross the Thames to north bank; right on Thames Path to Kingston Bridge (177694); cross to right (east) bank; north to Richmond Bridge (178745); inland to Richmond station
How hard is it? 8 miles. Flat, well-marked, easy underfoot
Eat en route Tiltyard Café, Hampton Court Palace (020 3166 6971) – child-friendly, no Palace ticket needed

6. Hellfire Caves, West Wycombe, Bucks
A lovely path runs south along a spine of Chiltern woodland to reach the scene of the misdeeds and mischiefs of Sir Francis Dashwood’s mid-18th century Hellfire Club. The great golden ball moored to St Lawrence’s Church tower was the Club’s card and boozing den, the flint-built hexagon alongside is the Mausoleum built to house the members’ hearts, and the labyrinthine stone quarries in the hill below were the notorious Hellfire Caves. Lots of hokum, whiffs of magic and orgies, all enjoyably explored these days in the tourist-orientated caves (hellfirecaves.co.uk).

Map OS Explorer 172
Start Saunderton station, near West Wycombe, HP14 4LJ; OS ref SU 813981; on A4010 Princes Risborough-High Wycombe
The walk From lane (812977), follow woodland track for 2 miles to St Lawrence’s Church (827950), Mausoleum, and Hellfire Caves (829948). Return via A40 (826945), Great Cockshoots Wood (813948), road at Chorley Farm (816955) and Buttlers Hanging nature reserve (819961) to woodland track (821962); left to Saunderton.
How hard is it? 6 miles. Woodland and farmland tracks.
Eat en route George & Dragon, West Wycombe (01494 535340)

7. Nympsfield & Owlpen, Glos
Starting high on the South Cotswold ridge at Nympsfield, you plunge down through the trees to find the secret valley of Owlpen with its Tudor manor house of beautiful silvery stone. Back along Fiery Lane to Uley, steeply up a grassy hill to the Iron Age hillfort of Uley Bury (there’s a stunning prospect from its ramparts across the River Severn into Wales), and a return through the woods to the roaring fire in the Rose & Crown.

Map OS Explorer 168
Start Rose & Crown, Nympsfield, GL10 3TU; OS ref SO 800005; signed off B4066 Stroud-Dursley road (M5 Jct 13, A419)
The walk Nympsfield church; in 200m, right (803003); cross road (802000); Dingle Wood; south to Fiery Lane (797986). Left to Owlpen Manor (800984); return to Uley (792986). Beside churchyard, right to Uley Bury (787990). Cotswold Way (787993) north for 1¼ miles; cross B4066 (795008); Nympsfield
How hard is it? 6 miles. Short steep climb to Uley Bury
Eat en route Rose & Crown, Nympsfield (01453 860240); Old Crown, Uley (01453 860502)

8. Brancaster to Burnham Overy Staithe, Norfolk
The Norfolk Coast path skirts a wonderfully moody coast under enormous skies. The seawall path makes a grandstand for bird-watching, and this is the best time of year to stroll at the edge of the saltmarsh, binoculars at the ready for pinkfooted geese, golden plover and clouds of wigeon, with snow buntings on the shore and fieldfares gobbling berries in the bushes. Dawn and dusk bring spectacular skies and huge, noisy packs of geese on the wing.

Map OS Explorer 250/251
Start Ship Hotel, Brancaster, PE31 8AP; OS ref TF 773439; Coasthopper bus (coasthopper.co.uk); on A149 Hunstanton to Wells-next-the-Sea
The walk Down lane opposite Ship Hotel towards sea; right on Norfolk Coast path to Burnham Overy Staithe
How hard is it? 6 miles. Flat seawall and marsh paths. Wrap up warm, and don’t forget binoculars!
Eat en route Ship Hotel, Brancaster (01485 210333); The Hero, Burnham Overy Staithe (01328 738334)

9. Ely & Little Thetford, Cambs
The pride and joy of this walk is the majestic bulk of Ely Cathedral, riding the level Fenland landscape like a fabulous ship in a flat calm sea. On the outward leg, south down the slow-flowing Great Ouse, the cathedral stands behind you, a compelling presence urging you to turn round and stare. The fen landscape hereabouts wheels in a great disc of peat black and corn green. Returning towards Ely you are beckoned home by the cathedral’s tall towers and the great lantern turret that straddles the building. Ely Cathedral is superb – it contains some absolutely wonderful carvings, including splendidly wild and wicked Green Men peeping out in unexpected places, great fun for children to spot.

Map OS Explorer 226
Start Ely station, CB7 4BS; OS ref TL 543794; beside A142
The walk South along Fen Rivers Way (west bank of Great Ouse) for 3¼ miles to confluence with River Cam. Right under Holt Fen railway bridge (531745); right up Holt Fen Drove to Little Thetford (533760). North by Thetford Catchwater, Grunty Fen Catchwater. Cross Braham Dock at Great Ouse (540773); Fen Rivers Way to Ely station; continue to Cathedral.
How hard is it? 9 miles including Cathedral. Flat riverbank and field paths
Eat en route Refectory Café (01353 660346) or Almonry Restaurant (01353 666360), Ely Cathedral

10. Manifold Valley, Staffs
The limestone dales of Staffordshire are often thought of as neighbouring Derbyshire’s poor relations, but here’s a superb round walk that shows you Staffordshire’s most enchanting face. Field paths take you through steep, stream-filled farming country, before dipping into the dramatic limestone cleft of the River Manifold, a thickly wooded canyon with crags of naked rock. The Leek & Manifold Light Railway once trundled through the gorge, and its track is now a popular cycleway. This cranky little rattler of a narrow-gauge railway ‘from nowhere to nowhere’ never made a penny in its brief and inglorious lifetime (1904-1934), but passengers loved the superb scenery it ran through, the deep tree-hung Manifold dale. You follow the Leek & Manifold’s trackbed all the way back to Wetton Mill and its welcoming tearoom.

Map OS Explorer OL24
Start Wetton Mill car park, near Wetton, DE6 2AG; OS ref SW 095561
The walk (theaa.com/walks) Bridleway west by Waterslacks; footpath by Hoo Brook (086556) to Butterton. Village road, then path north to cross B5053 (075579). North for 400m; left (076583) to Warslow. School Lane (087585), then field path to Manifold Way near Ecton Bridge (091579). Follow it south for 1¼ miles to Wetton Mill.
How hard is it? 5½ miles. Muddy footpaths, some steepish; flat and firm underfoot on Manifold Way
Eat en route Wetton Mill Tearoom (01298 84838; weekends only in winter); Greyhound Inn, Warslow (01298 687017)

11. Hardwick, Derbys
‘Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall’ was built in the 1590s by the formidable Elizabeth Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury, a woman of iron will and ambition. There are great views to the Hall and its ruinous predecessor as you walk this parkland round through cleverly landscaped woods and valleys. Great avenues of trees, ponds alive with wildfowl, and many viewpoints over the twin houses.

Map OS Explorer 269
Start Hardwick Park Centre, near Mansfield, S44 5QJ; SK 454640; between Jcts 28 and 29, M1
The walk (nationaltrust.org.uk/walks) From Centre cross footbridge; on between ponds to pass between two Hardwick Halls (462637); follow Lady Spencer’s Walk, bearing left in Lady Spencer’s Wood to cross Hardwick Park Farm track (470637). Ahead through Park Piece Wood; cross drive (469646); on into Lodge Plantation. Bear left to blue gate (461645); go through, downhill to cross drive (458642); ahead to ponds and Centre.
How hard is it? 3½ miles. Parkland and woodland paths; an easy stroll
Eat en route Hardwick Inn, Hardwick Park (01246 850245)

12. Flamborough Head, East Yorks
The poignant memorial at Flamborough’s crossroads, to a crew of fisherman who drowned trying to help their fellow villagers, demonstrates the dangers of fishing off this cliff-encircled, tide-ripped promontory, and once out on those tremendous chalk ramparts you can fully appreciate the power of winter’s winds and tides. This is a walk full of drama and spectacle – seabirds wheeling far below, crash of waves against the cliffs, and the remarkable isolation of Flamborough, high on its remote nose of land.

Map OS Explorer 301
Start Crossroads by St Oswald’s Church, Flamborough, YO15 1PW; OS ref TA 225702; bus 510 (eyms.co.uk); B1255 from Bridlington
The walk South along West Street; footpath from Beacon Farm to south coast (226692). Anti-clockwise around promontory for 5½ miles, via Flamborough Head and North Landing, to North Cliff (224726); left inland to Flamborough.
How hard is it? 7½ miles. Field and cliff paths; no difficulties, but take care on the unguarded cliffs!
Eat en route Rose & Crown, Flamborough (01262-850455)

13. Stoodley Pike, West Yorks
From the old wool town of Hebden Bridge a steep path leads up and over the moors to the summit of Stoodley Pike with its landmark monument to Waterloo and the Crimean War. Pause to take in the fantastic moorland views, then descend to the friendly Top Brink Inn at Lumbutts, and on down to the Rochdale canal and a welcome flat towpath walk back to Hebden Bridge.

Map OS Explorer OL21
Start Hebden Bridge station, HX7 6JE; OS ref SD 995268; road – A646
The walk Left along river; in 500m, left across railway (991270); steeply up to radio mast (988268); left, then in 250m right, up to Pennine Bridleway (988262). Follow bridleway, then Pennine Way, to Stoodley Pike monument (973242). Pennine Way to Withens Gate (969231); Calderdale Way and lane to Lumbutts (956235); path down Lumbutts Clough to Rochdale Canal at Castle Street (951244); canal towpath to Hebden Bridge.
How hard is it? 9 miles. Moorland paths (some short, steep bits), then canal towpath. Not for bad weather.
Eat en route Top Brink Inn, Lumbutts (01706 812696)

14. Saltburn, Cleveland
A straightfoward, brisk walk from Cleveland’s favourite seaside resort of Saltburn-by-Sea, out east along the cliffs with a huge pavement of scars (sea-ground rock plates) exposed at low tide. Back over the hummock of Warsett Hill (great views all round), and back through the fields to the Ship Inn with its cosy fires and handy seaside location.

Map OS Explorer OL26
Start Ship Inn, Rosedale Lane, Saltburn-by-Sea, TS12 1HF; OS ref NZ 670216
The walk (nationaltrust.org.uk/walks) Follow waymarked Cleveland Way along the cliffs for 2 miles. Right (inland) at Guibal Fanhouse info board (699213); path across railway and over Warsett Hill. Recross railway (688215); path ahead across Brough House Farm track (682215); Ladgates (678214); Ship Inn.
How hard is it? 4½ miles. Cliff and field paths, easy gradients, a good 2-hour round walk
Eat en route Ship Inn (01287 622361); Virgo’s Café-Bistro, Dundas Street (01287 624031)

15. Causey Arch and Beamish, County Durham
Quiet paths through woods and fields take you through the North Durham countryside (Beamish Open Air Museum is just down the road). At the walk’s end, the Causey Arch is the oldest railway bridge in the world, its parent railway (originally a horse-drawn coal tramway) the oldest of its kind, too. Now the steam-powered Tanfield Railway (tanfieldrailway.co.uk) runs here – Sunday is the best day to do this walk if you want to see the trains.

Map OS Explorer 308
Start Causey Arch car park, Causey, NE16 5EG; OS ref NZ 205561; opposite Beamish Park Hotel, off A6076 Stanley-Sunniside
The walk (theaa.com/walks) Cross A6076, then Beamishburn Road (207561, ‘Beamish Hall’); Coppy Lane footpath to road opposite Beamish Hall (212550). Right; in 400m, left (208548) through picnic area. Right on Great North Forest Trail (208546) across Beamishburn Road (204546) and A6076 (201547) to road (195546); right to East Tanfield station (193549). Right beside Tanfield Railway to Causey Arch (201559) and car park.
How hard is it? 4 miles. Field paths, woodland tracks
Eat en route Causey Arch Inn (01207 233925)

16. Loweswater, Cumbria
Loweswater makes a perfect circuit for a winter’s afternoon, under the rumpled flank of Burnbank Fell and through beautiful Holme Wood, before taking the track to Maggie’s Bridge. Great views here, back to the high shoulder of Carling Knott, before reaching the road and decision time – back to the car, or a sidetrack to the warm and welcoming Kirkstile Inn? Hmmm …

Map OS Explorer OL4
Start Car pull-in at Waterend, NW Loweswater, CA13 0SU; OS ref NY 118225; on Mockerkin-Loweswater road (off A5086 Cockermouth-Cleator Moor)
The walk A simple anti-clockwise circuit of the lake via Hudson Place (115222), Holme Wood and Watergate Farm (127211), Maggie’s Bridge (134210) to road (138211). Right for 300m; right again (140211) to Kirkstile Inn (141209). Return to Mockerkin road; left along it to car park.
How hard is it? 4¼ miles (3¾ miles without Kirkstile Inn detour). Level and easy underfoot; can be very squashy after rain
Eat en route Kirkstile Inn, Church Bridge, Loweswater (01900 85219)

17. Cardurnock, Cumbria
Once you have walked down the short green lane from Cardurnock, a remote hamlet at the edge of the Solway Firth, there’s no set path. Just pick your way along the green apron of Cardurnock Flatts, the creek-cut fringe of saltmarsh, or wander the vast firm sands under gigantic bird-haunted skies, looking north across the enormous estuary to the Scottish hills, south to the 3,000-ft hump of Skiddaw twenty miles off in northern Lakeland.

Map OS Explorer 314
Start Park near phone box in Cardurnock, CA7 5AQ; OS ref NY 172588; M6 Jct 44, Carlise Western Bypass, B5307 to Kirkbride; Angerton, Whitrigg, Anthorn, Cardurnock
The walk Down the green lane by the phone box to the shore; then choose any direction and enjoy strolling the sands
How hard is it? As many miles as you like! Green lane; then flat, firm sand underfoot
Eat nearby King’s Arms, Bowness-on-Solway CA7 5AF (01697 351426) – 4½ miles NE of walk

18. Marcross & St Donat’s, S. Glamorgan, Wales
Marcross lies just inland of the Bristol Channel’s carefully-preserved Glamorgan Heritage Coast. Reach the cliffs by way of St Donat’s Castle, a splendid medieval fortress. Down on the shore, bear left to beautiful little Tresilian Bay – chuck a pebble across the natural rock arch inside Reynard’s Cave here (low tide only!), and you’ll be wed before the year’s end. Return along the cliffs to the twin lighthouses at Nash Point, then inland to the Horseshoe Inn.

Map OS Explorer 151
Start Horseshoe Inn, Marcross, CF61 1ZG; OS ref SS 924693; 1 mile west of St Donat’s, off B4265 near Llantwit Major
The walk From Marcross (922691), follow Valeways Millennium Heritage Trail to St Donat’s Castle (934681), road (937685) and coast (941682 to 940679). Left for ½ mile to Tresilian Bay (947677) and Reynard’s Cave (just west of beach – see below). Back along cliffs for 2¼ miles to Nash Point (916683); inland to Marcross.
How hard is it? 5½ miles. Field and cliff paths. Reynard’s Cave, low tide only (easytide.ukho.gov.uk)
Eat en route Horseshoe Inn (01656 890568)

19. Aberlady Bay, East Lothian, Scotland
If you like wild geese, you’ll love Aberlady Bay. Some 20,000 or more pinkfooted geese spend the early part of the winter here, and their massed flight (inland at dawn, seaward at dusk) is a great wildlife spectacle. Walk north beside the wind-whipped Firth of Forth, with the shark-fin peak of North Berwick Law ahead; then return from rocky Gullane Point by dune paths. Braw, brisk, bracing!

Map OS Explorer 351
Start Aberlady Nature Reserve car park, Aberlady, EH32 0PY; OS ref NT 471805; bus X24, 124 (Edinburgh-North Berwick); on A198, just east of Aberlady
The walk Cross wooden footbridge; north (1¾ miles) to Gullane Point (462830). South along track, parallel to shore, golf course on left. In ¾ mile fork right (466817) to Marl Loch; shore path (468809) to car park.
How hard is it? 4 miles. Shore paths (can be marshy); dune paths and tracks. Don’t forget the binoculars! Beware flying golf balls.
Eat nearby Old Aberlady Inn (01875 870503), on A198 in Aberlady, ½ mile from start

20. Tollymore Forest Park, Mourne Mts, Co Down, N Ireland
If you’ve no taste or time or daylight to tackle the Mourne Mountains proper, here’s a great network of paths at the northern feet of the mountains – a stroll by the river through the 18th-century Gothic folly of The Hermitage, the forest paths and excellent Mourne views of the longer Mountain Trail, and the Drinns Trail with its Curraghard viewpoint over sea and mountains.

Map OSNI 1:25,000 Activity Map ‘The Mournes’; downloadable ‘Forest Trails’ map at walkni.com
Start Tollymore Forest Park Lower Car Park, Newcastle, Co Down; OSNI ref J 344326; signposted on B180 between Bryansford and Newcastle
The walk You can compose your own round walk using the trails; Mountain Trail intersects with River Trail at Parnell’s Bridge, Hore’s Bridge and Old Bridge. Drinns Trail is a circular extension of Mountain Trail
How hard is it? River Trail (mostly level) 3¼ miles, Drinns Trail (a couple of climbs) 3 miles, Mountain Trail (gentle inclines) 5½ miles. Well-surfaced and waymarked tracks
Eat nearby Villa Vinci, Main St, Newcastle (028 4372 3080)

 Posted by at 12:55