Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i Country Walking

This month l've been… A WEEKEND. TWO DAYS. What can you do in a mere 48 hours? That we've allowed the word ‘minibreak’ into our language reflects the lamentable sizeism which affects so many aspects of our judgement. If two days away is a minibreak what was the day you got married – a microexperience? Size is no way to judge the value of most things, and I say this not as a 5’ 6” sequoia of a man, but as a walker many of whose most enduring memories have been formed from the smallest units of time. Not the least of which was the quick trip I took this month to the remotest railway station in Britain. Corrour stands at 1340ft but is itself just the ground floor level…

1 The Salt Path is coming to the big screen Gillian Anderson (The X-Files, The Crown, Sex Education) and Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter, The Death of Stalin) are set to star in an adaptation of Raynor Winn's best-selling memoir The Salt Path. It's reported filming has already begun on the South West Coast Path – the 630-mile trail that Raynor and her husband Moth walked after the couple lost their home, and Moth was diagnosed with an incurable neurological disease. The book is honest, tender, lyrical and inspiring, and much admired by Anderson, who revealed on Bookshelfie, the Women's Prize for Fiction podcast: “Whenever I think about this book I get teary. It affected me so profoundly.” 2 You can take it easy… If you want to explore the South…

The Flash in cinemas Many English mansions have served as Wayne Manor, home of Bruce Wayne and his alter ego Batman: Knebworth House in Hertfordshire (Batman, 1989), Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire (Batman Begins, 2005), Wollaton Hall in Nottingham (The Dark Knight Rises, 2012) and Sutton Scarsdale Hall in Derbyshire (Batman vs Superman, 2016). Now it's Burghley House, near Stamford in Lincolnshire, which serves as Batman's des res in new release The Flash. Burghley is well used to stardom, having appeared in Pride and Prejudice (2005), The Da Vinci Code (2006) and doubling for Windsor Castle in The Crown. WALK HERE: Download a route through Burghley Park at walk1000miles.co.uk/bonusroutes…

HEROES “I have so many. George Monbiot, Chris Packham, Nan Shepherd, Robert Macfarlane. I love Charles Foster's book Being a Beast [in which Foster chronicles his attempts to live as a deer, a badger, a fox, an otter and a swift], I love his conclusion that otters are basically bastards. And Katie Holten's The Language of Trees broke my heart. When she tells you that every forest has a Mother Tree that supports and nourishes those around it, and that any oak tree standing alone in a field is desperately seeking its Mother Tree, you'll lose it.” BIRDS “I love all birds, but especially garden birds, and especially brown garden birds that people think are boring. God, I love a dunnock.” WALK1000MILES “I totally get the whole walk1000miles thing, and…

SEEN YOU'VE WON? Email walk1000miles@countrywalking.co.uk with your address and a pic of you holding this edition to claim your precious! #minichallenge21 Walk to a named tree #minichallenge22 It's a sign! #minichallenge23 Find a famous face #minichallenge24 Be a disembodied head #minichallenge25 Walk 4 miles in 1 hour It's harder than it sounds!…

I'm an avid reader, and I noticed Guy mentioned in last month's editorial that he missed Topic chocolate bars, which went out of production last year. I do too! But I have good news. ‘Topics’, under the Israeli name “Egozi” are still made in Israel and are usually sold in the UK at Kosher Kingdom in Golders Green, North London. Otherwise you can get them online, (for example from israelifooddirect.com/product/egozi-hazelnut-bars-45g) but they are more expensive than in the shop in Golders Green. • Much obliged Jonathan – we'd missed them so!…

WALK HERE Turn to Walks 1 & 2 in this issue for your perfect Cornish weekender. GETTING THERE Camelford sits on the A39 and both walks can be accessed within 20 minutes of the town by car (no rail access sadly). WHERE TO EAT, DRINK & STAY Several options in Tintagel, including the King Arthur's Arms (01840 772120, kingarthursarms.co.uk) which has doubles with breakfast from £100 and mains such as Davidstow cheeseburger for £15. For a light bite, grab a pasty or pastry from The Cornish Bakery (01840 779146, thecornishbakery.com). In Camelford, the Countryman Hotel (07913 562779, thecountrymanhotelcamelford.co.uk) has doubles with breakfast for £100 while the Masons Arms (01840 213309, themasonsarmscamelford.com) has high-class pub grub like linguini puttanesca for £15. And of course, on the other side of Bodmin Moor…

WALK HERE Details of the trail, including the route leaflet, can be found at cheshireeast.gov.uk/gritstonetrail Merging it into a two-day walk simply means pausing at the Ryles Arms, which is roughly a third of the way along Day 2 in the leaflet. The trail is waymarked on the ground and appears on OS maps. GETTING THERE There are frequent train services to and from Disley and Kidsgrove, meaning you can either leave a car at one end – or just leave the car at home and do the whole thing on the train. WHERE TO STAY It pretty much has to be the Ryles Arms (01260 252244, rylesarms.com). This fine country pub dates back to the 1500s, and has cosy doubles with breakfast from £70, or from £90 in peak…

WALK HERE Turn to Walk 24 in this issue for Hart Fell; find routes for Carrifran or Loch Skeen at walk1000miles.co.uk/bonusroutes GETTING THERE All the walks start from the A708 through Moffat Dale. Bus X74 Dumfries-Glasgow stops at Moffat, but no services along dale. WHERE TO EAT Brodies (brodiesofmoffat.co.uk) in Moffat is a restaurant, gin and coffee lounge, serving brunch, lunch, three-course dinners, 50 kinds of gin and afternoon teas – which you can have packed in a box to go for a feast in the wilds. Limehouse Restaurant at Hartfell House B&B (hartfellhouse.co.uk) is renowned for its dinners – smoked venison, herb roasted vegetable gratin, sticky toffee pud – with two courses from £29. WHERE TO STAY It's Scotland so you can legally wild camp in the hills, or…

Jenny Walters, Features Editor Miles walked this month: 117 It was a sunny May day in the Bannau Brycheiniog. I adore Pen y Fan and Sugar Loaf and Hay Bluff, but knew they'd all be really busy, so I set off for a secret little hill where I have never laid eyes on another walker. As I lounged at its summit trig point, crunching Pickled Onion Monster Munch and feeling smug I had this park-spanning panorama all to myself, a couple of people hoved into view. Then a couple more. Finally, a group of 11 friendly walkers said hello and settled down for a picnic. I wouldn't have thought anything of it on Pen y Fan, but here – and I'm not proud of this – I found myself feeling…

CUT-OUT AND-KEEP ROUTES OUR POCKET-SIZED ROUTE CARDS START ON PAGE 91 SOUTH WEST Brown Willy, Cornwall Prehistoric remains hidden in the moors add extra intrigue to this classic walk to Cornwall's two highest summits. TURN TO WALK 1 EAST Thorpeness & Sizewell, Suffolk From a cottage in the clouds to a gianl golf ball – not your average ramble. TURN TO WALK 13 WALES Table Mountain, Powys A rewarding circuit where you climb to an Iron Age fort before traversing part of the Black Mountains in Brecon Beacons. TURN TO WALK 21 SOUTH EAST Danbury, Essex Explore a village surrounded by native woodland, heathland and ancient parkland, with carpets of wildflowers. TURN TO WALK 6 NORTH WEST Buttermere to Keswick, Cumbria The full Lakeland experience: woodland ambles to exhilarating scrambles.…

Rab Nexus Hoody At work, down the pub, on the hills – it's rare to find a piece of high performance outdoor gear that looks and feels so good you just want to wear it all the time. Originally bought as a holiday treat for a trip to Canada in 2019, my ‘go to’ top is now entering its fifth year of weekly use, and apart from some minor pilling after many, many washes, and a broken pocket zip (my fault), it's still serving me well, (in fact I'm wearing it as I write this). It wasn't cheap, but costed out on a price-per-wear basis it has proved to be great value for money over the years. Slim, stretchy and snug, it packs up small and makes a perfect windproof…

If you could go for a walk with anyone, alive or dead, real or fictional, who would it he and why? I'm not very good at identifying birdsong, so I'd like to go for a walk with someone who would just say, ‘that's a yellowhammer’ and be right, like Chris Packham. I mean, David Attenborough would be great, but I'd be too scared because it's basically like going for a walk with God. With Chris I could talk about music, so we'd be fine. What's the best walking snack? Hard-boiled egg. Compact dense protein in beautiful biodegradable packaging. Tiny bit of Maldon salt, and a packet of oatcakes for afters. What's the weirdest thing you've ever found on a walk? A bra with a poo in it. One in each…

31 FIND A HEART IN A STRANGE PLACE Express our shared love for the outdoors by finding a heart-shaped thing on your walks this month: big, small, natural, man-made; animal, vegetable or mineral… 32 SEND US THE WORST POSTCARD YOU CAN Wherever you're walking this month, send us the crummiest postcard you can find: Country Walking, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6EA. 33 HAVE AN IN-TENTS EXPERIENCE Send us an in-tent selfie and the view from the door and we'll rate the latter and try to read the night's sleep you had in the contours of the former, you magnificent wild thing. 34 KISS A CAIRN They mark the way, they give hope, they're made from allnatural ingredients and they're windbreaks of last resort. So much more than a pile…

We chose the Chrome and Parkhouse walk from the May 2023 issue and set off early to avoid the busy bank holiday traffic – a beautiful morning, if a little chilly. Parking in Earl Sterndale we set off determined to complete the walk in less than the five hours stated – what appeared to be a long time for a 6½-mile walk. Going up Parkhouse Hill was a doddle, and we were full of confidence. But descending was certainly not for the fainthearted! It took us much longer to descend than ascend, with a rather precarious scramble. Parkhouse achieved, we put our best foot forward – Chrome Hill, was a much easier descent than Parkhouse, but the ridge itself is constantly up and down with its own challenges. The views…

In May I spent three nights solo camping in Snowdonia. I used my campsite (Llyn Gwynant – very good) as my base and planned three walks. I was lucky enough to have your very useful routes as my resource and inspiration. Sunday was a walk up Moel Siabod (via Daear Ddu) from the December 2022 magazine and I used a couple of bonus route sheets for the remaining walks – a delightful circuit of the Carneddau (dated August 2012) and my final walk of the trip, the mighty Tryfan (dated October 2011). Each of the walks was spectacular, each with their own character and amazing views. Many thanks for your magazine, full of useful tips, information, and most importantly inspiration.…

THE RIVER MERSEY. What could be more emblematically Liverpudlian, more quintessentially Scouse? Merseybeat; Ferry Cross the Mersey; Merseyrail; the Mersey Tunnel. Pete Wylie, voluble front man of local heroes Wah!, even christened his daughter Mersey. It flows through the double helix of the city's DNA like the choppy waters between the Pier Head and Birkenhead. How weird, then, to find out that the most beautiful, navigable and most gloriously walkable stretch of this magnificent watercourse flows through (and you should whisper this quietly in Sefton, Toxteth or Dingle)… Manchester. I have Mick Lynch to thank for this discovery. My always looked-forward-to Saturday afternoon walk after my radio show in Salford was going to be Stoodley Pike above Todmorden, and I will be reporting about this very soon, I hope. But…

Spy a hermit Three-mile distant Loch Treig (there's a path following the railway line to it) is home to two real-life hermits. Seventy-six-year-old Ken Smith, originally from Derby, lives alone in the hut he built in woods on the south side of the loch and has occupied for 40 years, foraging, fishing and brewing 80 gallons of birch sap wine he wants to be consumed at his open-invitation funeral. Davy McDonald, 68, has lived in a tent at Loch Treig's southern tip since 2007 after being diagnosed with a serious heart condition: “I thought: if I've only got a short life expectancy, I'm just going to come out and live in the wild, which is what I was going to do when I retired.” He's going strong. Climb the Trainspotting…

WALK HERE For Day 1 turn to Walk 18 in this issue; for Day 2 it's Walk 19. The latter is linear; unless you can sort two cars, or are happy to pay for a taxi, it's vital to plan around a bus trip (see below). GETTING THERE Both walks start and finish at car parks near the B6160 between Adding ham and Wensleydale, and can be reached by bus. Day 1: The 72B ‘Upper Wharfedale Venturer’ from Grassington runs to Buckden five times a day Mon to Sat. On summer Sundays and bank hols, catching the first 874 from Grassington allows just enough time for the full route. Or you can make it a linear walk and return from Starbotton. Day 2: If you'd like to catch the bus…

WALK HERE See Walks 12 and 13 in this issue for the raw materials for this perfect Suffolk weekender. GETTING THERE Being at the extreme edge of farthest-flung Suffolk, Thorpeness and Dunwich take a bit of getting to. Aldeburgh makes a great base for both though, and the nearest rail access is via Saxmundham. WHERE TO EAT, DRINK & STAY CW route-writing expert Phoebe Taplin recommends the Brudenell Hotel in nearby Aldeburgh (01728 452071, brudenellhotel.co.uk), which offers luxurious weekend packages and boasts a restaurant and terrace with some beautiful rooms that overlook the beach. You can also catch a bus two miles up the coast to Thorpeness for the Day 2 walk. B&B doubles from £190; mains such as sea bream, smoked bacon and clams for £24. On a budget?…

WALK HERE You'll need Ordnance Survey Explorer 123 to trace paths by the river from sea to source, taking in sections of The Vanguard Way, South Downs Way, Cuckoo Trail and Wealdway. GETTING THERE From Seaford railway station (southernrailway.com) it's a spectacular 2½-mile cliff walk to Cuckmere Haven. From the source, continue into Heathfield to take a bus to a range of railway stations including Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne. WHERE TO STAY There are a few accommodation options in Hailsham, around the River Cuckmere's halfway point, with the pick being the Crown Hotel (crownhotel.southcoastinns.co.uk) with bright and breezy ensuite doubles from £94pn in July. WHERE TO EAT Exceat's Saltmarsh Kitchen (saltmarshfarmhouse.co.uk) is great for a drink and a light homemade bite from locally-sourced ingredients. At the popular Village Shop and Café (upperdicker.com)…

VIEWFINDER The butterfly effect A wing, a flight, a flutter, a rabble, a rainbow, a kaleidoscope: whatever collective noun you choose, butterflies flitting by are a joyful sight on a summer walk. And they're not only beautiful; they're extraordinary. Painted ladies migrate thousands of miles. Wall browns release a scent like chocolate cream, while green-veined whites trail a zesty lemon fragrance. Purple emperors will sup on rotten carrion and the males battle across the sky like fighter planes. And the large blue (below) is a master con-artist. After feeding on flowers of wild thyme, a larva will drop to the ground and sweetly secrete drops of honeydew to attract passing red ants. It then mimics the sound of a queen ant, encouraging the worker to carry it back to the…

Yorkshire Wolds Way The South Downs Way is one of the busiest and bestloved trails in England, but this path shares the same chalky foundations and sees just a fraction of the walkers (despite also being an official National Trail). The Yorkshire Wolds Way winds from the banks of the Humber to the dramatic headland of Filey Brigg, over billowing turf-topped hills and through wildflowerspeckled valleys, and its 79 miles fit sweetly into a relaxing week on the hoof. The area has links with poet Philip Larkin, stars in many of artist David Hockney's works, and is in line to become an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so now might be a good time to walk the Yorkshire Wolds Way, before it does get famous. See nationaltrail.co.uk ‘Rest is not…

Born: 1975, Brighton; the eldest of eight children. Born Catherine, she chose ‘Caitlin’ as it sounded cooler, although she pronounces it ‘Catlin’. Early life: The family moved to a three-bed council house in Wolverhampton when Caitlin was two. She left school at age 11 and educated herself at home. Germaine Greer's book The Female Eunuch inspired her to become a feminist. Career: Wrote her first novel The Chronicles of Narmo (an anagram of Moran) at 16, when she also got a job on music magazine Melody Maker. Today she is an award-winning columnist and interviewer for The Times (once famously describing David Cameron as ‘a C-3PO made of ham’). Non-fiction: How to Be a Woman, Moranthology, Moranifesto, More than a Woman, What About Men? Fiction: The Chronicles of Narmo, How to Build…

BROUGHT TO YOU IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 2.74 x 365 = walk1000miles.co.uk SHH! Is that an enamel #walk1000miles badger you're wearing? £4.99 walk1000miles.co.uk/shop ‘Walking is the BEST medicine’ ‘Since my husband got diagnosed with cancer two years ago, walking has helped our fitness and mental and physical health. It's made my husband determined to beat his cancer, and push himself to get through his treatments as quickly as he could, so he could get back out there walking again. We both feel much better for being out in the fresh air, AND we've discovered new hobbies, birdwatching and photography!’ Sarah Deeley ‘Best therapy in the world’ ‘I've discovered it doesn't matter how bad I feel when I set off, I ALWAYS feel better by the time I get back.’ Clare Ellis…

SCIENCE You don't need a scientist to tell you walking more makes you happier, healthier and less prone to many ailments, but their research into ‘myokines’ is opening our eyes to the reasons why – and our mouths over just how much. Sometimes described as the ‘hope molecules’, myokines are small proteins produced by the contraction of muscles every time you move. They're already known to cross the blood-brain barrier, where they exert a powerful antidepressant and anti-anxiety effect. But it's now thought myokines also improve cognition, memory and motor coordination, as well as helping the body's various systems – from brain to blood, bone, liver, gut, skin, heart and pancreas – ‘talk’ to each other and co-operate to mutual benefit. They're effects so useful scientists are investigating the possibility…

I very much like reading Country Walking magazine, usually from cover to cover. So much so that I have picked up a couple of errors in your geography in your last issue. On page 39 Farming on the edge, I should point out that Dorset and Devon are in the southwest of Britain, not southeast. On page 93 Walk 2, Bantham and Hope Cove are in Devon not Cornwall. I still enjoy your magazine and will continue to look forward to it each issue. ED SAYS: Thank you to Graham and everyone who pointed out an unusual constellation of slips last issue, exacerbated by a printing error affecting the routes maps. You can find all the June 2023 routes to print at walk1000miles.co.uk/oops and we are very sorry for the errors, which go…

Kes the conkercolour Cocker is an inveterate explorer, often finding his way into the unlikeliest of places when we're busy putting the magazine together. In fact he's hiding out in this issue for you to find! Spot him (not on this page) and you could win over £47 worth of Mountain Paws goodies – just email the page number where you found Kes, along with your address, to: ifoundkes@LFTO.com by 14 July 2023 putting ‘Kes July’ in the subject line. Congrats to Simon Morgan from Pembrokeshire, who spotted Kes walking by the canal in London on p80 of the May issue, and wins this month's prize!…

WALK HERE Turn to Walk 26 in this issue. GETTING THERE The Caledonian Sleeper departs from Euston at 21:15 (Mon-Fri) and 21.00 on Sundays, stopping at Crewe, Preston and Edinburgh en route to Corrour and Fort William. A seat costs £55 each way, a room from £250. It returns from Corrour at 20:01 on Sundays (20:52 Mon-Fri). You can book far in advance (sleeper.scot). To drive, pass Pitlochry on the A9 and reach Rannoch station at the end of the B846, from where it's a 12-minute, £4 Scotrail ride to Corrour. Departures: 08:45, 11:09, 15:12 and 21:08. Returns: 18:25 (buytickets.scotrail.co.uk). WHERE TO STAY Loch Ossian Youth Hostel (01397 732207; hostellingscotland.org.uk) is a bucket-list stay costing £26/night for a bed (no need to bring bedding). B&B in Corrour Station Signal Box…

WALK HERE Turn to Walks 7 & 8 in this issue. GETTING THERE Oxford is well served by buses, trains and the M40. It's a 20-minute £4.60 journey by rail from Oxford to Radley at the end of Walk 8. WHERE TO EAT Yellow Submarine (yellowsubmarineshop.org) So many places to eat in Oxford, but Yellow Submarine in Park End Street is an award-winning charity café for coffee, cakes and lunches with superb service and real heart. If you're thirsty you've got to try nanobrewery Teardrop in the Covered Market (teardropbar.co.uk). WHERE TO STAY For your own version of the up-at-Oxford student experience a room at the Turl Street Mitre is right on the thick of it and every room comes with a desk to start your fantasy epic at! (turlstreetmitre.co.uk).…

WALK HERE The two-day walk heads south-east from Tregaron along (or on footpaths parallel to) the mountain road. From there, follow the Cambrian Way to RSPB Gwenffrwd-Dinas via Ty'n Cornel hostel. Two cars are required for this, or Fastline Cabs will give you a lift back to Tregaron if you organise in advance (07748 586848). Alternatively, download Llyn Brianne & Twm Siôn Cati's Cave at walk1000miles.co.uk/bonusroutes if you only have a day, or can't arrange two cars. GETTING THERE There's no public transport to RSPB Gwenffrwd-Dinas reserve. Instead, take Cilycwm Rd north from Llandovery, through the village of Rhandirmwyn following signs to the cave, and there are car parks at the reserve and at Llyn Brianne Reservoir. WHERE TO STAY Country Walking stayed at Ty'n Cornel (7½ miles from the…

WALK HERE Find route descriptions, walk reports and videos of climbing both peaks at Mountain Views: for Errigal see mountainviews.ie/summit/76/and for Muckish see mountainviews.ie/summit/163/ GETTING THERE Numerous ferry and flight options to Ireland from Britain: Dunfanaghy is a four-hour drive from Dublin, just over 2½ from Belfast, and the Errigal walk is about 25 mins from the village. No trains in Donegal; buses to Dunfanaghy but getting to Errigal is then tricky without a car. See transportforireland.ie WHERE TO STAY Once the studio of landscape artist Frank Egginton, The Mill (themilldunfanaghy.com) looks over New Lake by Dunfanaghy and is now run as a B&B by his granddaughter Susan, with seven gorgeously decorated en-suite rooms and awardwining breakfasts including porridge, pancakes or a full Irish with black and white pudding. Double…

LONG TERM TEST VANGO Tay 400 £145 REVIEWED BY Matthew Pike Vango market this as a festival tent, but that does it an injustice. A festival tent is one you can throw around without worrying too much if it gets wrecked, but this is too good for that. For a start it has an inner layer (most festival tents just have the one skin) to keep it ventilated and free from condensation. It's made from tough materials too – mine has survived several nights of strong gusts and heavy rain. The groundsheet is sturdy and extends out into the porch, which is big enough to dump gear in. It's easy to put up, and comes in an oversized bag so it's easy to pack away, while the dark walls reduce…

+ 230 miles Walking rocks A river of literature in Oxfordshire | The finest ridge walk in southern Scotland | Exhilarating scrambling in the Lakes and more great walks for summer fun! SOUTH WEST SOUTH EAST MIDLANDS EAST NORTH WEST NORTH EAST WALES SCOTLAND IRELAND…