Newsletter > Newsletter archive > October 2019

October 2019


Walk contributor booklet

At the recent 'Walkers are Welcome' get-together in our local town we ran a session on promoting an area's walks through Walkingworld. If you are in any way involved in promoting your area, either through the tourist board or because you have accommodation or a pub, Walkingworld is a great way to attract walkers. You can offer walkers access to a whole portfolio of local walks at different lengths and difficulty levels, essentially at no cost to yourself or your organisation.

To make the task of submitting a walk easier we created a 20 page A5 booklet for participants in the 'Walkers are Welcome' session to take away. It incorporates a sample walk, our Contributor's Guide to collating and submitting the information for a walk and a quick guide to using OS Maps to plot the route. We gave away 100 or so copies at the event but printed an extra 100 more.

If you are keen to build a collection of walks in your local area, perhaps to supplement ones that are already published, please get in touch giving your address and we can post you a copy of the booklet. There are just 100 copies left but we hope that will be enough for anyone who wants one.

Brough, Walkingworld dog
Many Walkingworld members will be familiar with our little terrier Brough, having seen his picture in our books or newsletter or indeed having met him at some event or walk. We are sad to report that we lost Brough a couple of weeks ago. He was 16 years old, so he has been with us almost since the start of Walkingworld.

Brough has been our constant companion at home in Cumbria and on trips and walks around Britain and abroad. He has been to the summit of many peaks, including Scafell Pike, England's highest mountain. He has scampered to various high level mountain huts in Europe too. Back in Cumbria he helped to raise funds for Kirkby Stephen Mountain Rescue Team (people would often put notes into our collecting buckets saying it was for the dog not for us) and helped raise the spirits of many Duke of Edinburgh Scheme groups on their expeditions.

Brough was in fact a 'posh dog', a pedigree Parson Russell Terrier with a triple barrel Kennel Club name, Ratpack Brough Superior (after the famous British motorbike). We got him because he was deemed a breeding reject, thanks to a beautiful multi-colour coat that, absurdly, was not considered breed standard. Someone else's loss and our gain. Brough was never a reject to us and life will be very different without him.

Escape to the warmth
Year-round sunshine and the lure of the beach - it's easy to see how the Canary Islands earned their reputation as the ultimate winter sun destination. Yet self-guided holiday specialists Inntravel have discovered another side to these far-flung Atlantic isles, where there's not a sunbather in sight, and where scenic walking routes meander peacefully between deep ravines, volcanic craters, centuries-old forests and ancient lava flows.

Inntravel offer walking holidays on all seven of the main islands, as well as the opportunity to walk on tiny La Graciosa - the white-sand paradise to the north of Lanzarote. For this winter season, however, they're particularly excited by 'Valleys, Vines & Volcanoes' - their new and improved walking holiday on Tenerife. Beginning in the World Heritage town of La Laguna, from where you can enjoy walks into Tenerife's oldest mountains, this three-centre journey leads you by car through the island's volcanic heartland to Vilaflor, set amid pines and vines. Add extra time here to explore the Teide National Park at your leisure or continue directly to Garachico, the island's most picturesque town and a fabulous place to finish.

Vilaflor also features on 'To the Top of Spain', Inntravel's rewarding hotel-to-hotel walk in southern Tenerife, as well as on their four-night New Year getaway. Based at a gorgeous mountain hotel and with a black-tie dinner included, this is a wonderfully indulgent way to mark the changing of the years.

For more details on these or any of Inntravel's self-guided walking holidays in Spain, visit inntravel.co.uk or speak to their expert team on 01653 617034.

Valleys, Vines & Volcanoes
- Self-guided, three-centre walking holiday
- Prices from £775pp, inc 7 nights' B&B accommodation, 7 days' car hire & detailed route notes
- Flights extra (direct from several UK regional airports)
- Available 1 September 2019-30 April 2020

Discover Slovenia
Walk Slovenia consider themselves truly blessed to enjoy a stunning location in the foothills of the Julian Alps. They have taken the concept of the traditional skiing chalet break and adapted it to walking to offer an exceptional all-inclusive guided hiking experience. The walks can be adjusted to suit all levels and abilities. The routes follow paths through beautiful terrains including dramatic woodlands and wildflower meadows as well as upland alpine pastures and challenging mountain summits that take in some of Europe's most breathtaking views.

You can relax during your stay in the picturesque Pri Lenart hotel, awarded 9th best hotel in Europe, and 11th in the World, in Tripadvisor's Travellers' Choice Awards 2017. The team at Walk Slovenia pride themselves on always delighting their guests and providing a truly unique experience.

The summer season runs from May through to October, with a stable climate usually giving beautiful sunny days and clear alpine views. For more information or available dates, visit the Walk Slovenia website or call +386 41 650 321 to start your adventure.

River Tyne Trail guide
Sigma Press have republished the River Tyne Trail guide by Peter Donaghy and John Laidler, now with 'proper' Ordnance Survey maps. The trail was created to promote the charity Daft as a Brush Cancer Patient Care, which provides volunteer driven transport to and from hospital for cancer patients - a brilliant service. Recently the trail has been accepted for inclusion on OS mapping and that has prompted the brand new guidebook.

The 135 mile trail goes from source to sea through a wonderful variety of terrain, with oodles of history and culture on the way. The walk is divided into twelve sections and there's no need to complete it all in one go, as each section has carefully planned access points. The book has detailed route instructions and background information, plus of course the route on segments of OS Explorer mapping. Price is £12.99 from www.daftasabrush.org.uk, with proceeds going to the charity.

Alpine glaciers
Our friends at Mont Blanc Treks are concerned that people are being put off hiking in the Alps next season after reports of collapsing glaciers, both in the Mont Blanc massif and elsewhere in the Alps. In fact very few walking paths are at risk and those that are are generally well off the beaten track. For instance the famous Tour de Mont Blanc and Haute Route trails are well away from the Planpincieux Glacier, the one that has most recently been in the news. This doesn't mean, of course, that we shouldn't be concerned about glaciers receding, both in the Alps and elsewhere in the world. Mont Blanc Treks have written a blog with a little more information.

How to walk!
We have all been walking since a pretty young age so it's natural to think we know what we're doing. But actually human beings are only fairly reasonably adapted to moving on two legs, even after hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, and venturing onto uneven ground can trip us up, literally. Want to know how to make walking more comfortable and reduce the risk of falling? Our resident walking doctor and Walkingworld contributor, Ian Runcie, gives us some tips in his blog on 'How to Walk'.