Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2024 i Country Walking

On the cover Vatersay, off Barra in the Outer Hebrides. Our islands feature starts on page 26. Talk to us! Share your pics, questions, have a natter – we love to hear from you: facebook.com/countrywalking editorial@countrywalking.co.uk x.com/countrywalking…

“WE HAVE A very mixed relationship with clouds,” says Gavin Pretor-Pinney. “On the one hand we think of them as something that ruins a walk, a wedding or a festival. “But then if you stop and ask someone what they actually think of clouds, without the context of cause and effect, they will usually say, ‘do you know what? I rather like them’.” And there are many reasons why we like them, according to Gavin. “They somehow represent freedom or escape. They draw the eye and become a story. They are invitations to the imagination. They are nature's poetry. They are cool.” It was this determination to defend their honour that led Gavin to set up the Cloud Appreciation Society 18 years ago. Today it boasts over 60,000 members in…

■ YOU! We'll be giving you the chance to vote for your favourite image once the final shortlist has been chosen, and the public vote will count as one of the five final votes alongside our four judges. ■ NADIR KHAN An acclaimed adventure sports photographer and filmmaker who specialises in mountains, Nadir's photography is published in Extreme Scotland and Extreme Lakeland. ■ KAT LAWMAN Winner of Mountain Photo of the Year 2022 with her shot of the stars aligning on Snowdon, Kat is a qualified ML, photographer and bookkeeper! @overthemountains underthestars ■ TOM BAILEY Country Walking and Trail‘s long-serving photographer has probably captured every mountain in Britain, and specialises in documenting people's experiences in the outdoors. ■ LOUISE PARKER After several decades as Trail‘s art editor, Lou knows pretty…

SEEN YOU'VE WON? Email walk1000miles@countrywalking.co.uk with your address and a pic of you holding this edition to claim your precious! #minichallenge26 Lay down the lore Tell us some local myth, suspicion or historical fact from your patch. #minichallenge27 Adopt a posture in which you would hate to be trapped in lava Because spoiling a lovely view with your silly pose is such fun! #minichallenge28 Find an interesting blue plaque Because notable folk have roots all over. Join the group: www.facebook.com/groups/walk1000miles #minichallenge29 Pose with an oxeye daisy Like that insufferable perfume advert! #minichallenge30 Walk to a notable rock And can you pose by it dramatically? You can! BROUGHT TO YOU IN PARTNERSHIP WITH…

The View I LOVE THE VERSE of Robert Frost, the rightly beloved American poet who read at JFK's inauguration. There's a homespun folksiness about it that contains sublime insights into the human condition. Plus, he often uses conceits and imagery taken from the outdoors which make them even more resonant to we walkers. A favourite is The Road Not Taken, a short lyric about the diverging paths open to us on walks and in life. It ends with the famous lines, ‘I took the one less travelled by/And that has made all the difference’. Frost is really talking about life choices. But on a practical level, it's often the best advice for a walker with a bit of curiosity. Twice lately I've taken the road less travelled by and it…

DISCOVER Isles to walk round All in a day LUNDY, Devon This hunk of granite 12 miles off the north coast of Devon is the largest island in the Bristol Channel and just the right Goldilocks size to circumnavigate in a day. Eight miles of path tour you round Lundy's chiselled clifftops, by views that skip across the waves to Cornwall, Exmoor, Gower and west over an expanse of Atlantic that doesn't lap land again until the Americas. In the nearer seas, dolphins frolic and basking sharks gape through warm summer waters after plankton, while birds crowd the crags with nests and call in on migration. Lundy's history is as turbulent as the ship-wrecking seas in which it sits. Marauding Vikings gave it the name meaning Puffin Island. The wild…

1. Before you set off, ask yourself three questions, as found on the very helpful website adventuresmart.uk… • Am I confident I have the knowledge and skills needed for the day ahead? • Do I know what the weather will be like? • Do I have the right gear? 2. Remember ETHANE. If you find or become a casualty and need to call for help (999 – Police – ask for Mountain Rescue), you can summarise the situation using the acronym ETHANE: Exact location: grid reference and What3Words Type of Incident Hazards (terrain, weather conditions) Access (what's the easiest way to reach you?) Number of casualties Emergency services – which ones are needed? 3. Download the JESIP app, which covers the basics of incident management. 4. Donate via mountain.rescue.org.uk/donate or subscribe via mountain.rescue.org.uk/basecamp 5. Volunteer!…

WALK HERE An out-and-back on The Saint's Road from An Baile Breac to the top of Mount Brandon is relatively straightforward; for other routes on the range it's well worth hiring a guide. We hiked with Piaras Kelly from Kerry Climbing (kerryclimbing.ie), who has 30 years of experience and guides walks, scrambles and climbs here and in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks. Note: dogs are not permitted on Mount Brandon. GETTING HERE Visitors from Britain can ferry or fly to Ireland; the nearest airport to Dingle is Kerry, with flights from Luton and Stansted. A shuttle runs to the peninsula (dingleshuttlebus.com) and a limited bus service around the area (buseireann.ie). WHERE TO STAY & EAT Dingle is the only town on the peninsula and has a good range of options, including its…

I DON'T KNOW ABOUT you but I like it when I hear Britain referred to as an ‘island nation’. It makes me feel exotic. For those of us who don't live in sight of the sea of course, the island-ness of this country is rather theoretical. If you really want to embrace your islander identity, you've got to visit a few of our more islandy islands, and experience the sea in surround sound – and there are plenty to choose from. An astonishing 6289 in fact, depending on where the tide is. No setting is more flattering for a hill than the sea, nor for the walker who aspires to bestride a whole world. And if islands are the British landscape at its best, our Mountain Rescue Teams (whose fascinating…

Moel Eilio Almost every walker in Llanberis has their eyes on one peak, and that's Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon. No wonder, for it's a legendary mountain, but turn your sights south-west, and 1178 feet lower, and you'll find another cracker in its long shadow. Moel Eilio (2382ft/ 726m) is the highest top in a lessertrodden grassy ridge known as the Big Dipper which dips and soars over Foel Gron, Foel Goch and Moel Cynghorion too. Snowdon carves across the view ahead, while the 360° wheels over other Eryri icons including the Glyderau and Nantlle Ridge, and far out to sea too. For an eight-mile loop from Llanberis, take the Snowdonia Slate Trail west to Bwlch-y-groes, turn south up the ridge to the top of Moel Eilio, and on as far as Bwlch…

BROUGHT TO YOU IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 2.74 × 365 = walk1000miles.co.uk 500, 1000 MILES & BEYOND! Delivery now or on completion: www.walk1000miles.co.uk/shop Friends & memories ‘Walking with a group I've made friends for life; with my grown up children it brings us closer; with my grandchildren walking will give them memories of moon-catching nanny to hold all their lives and mine.’ Linda Thomas The freedom ‘It's free, you can do it almost anywhere, at almost anytime, you don't really need any special equipment, and just a walk round the block, can be as rewarding as a ‘big walk’ out in the hills.’ Don Lane The enchantment ‘Walking creates an inviolable space full of peace and simple joy, like walking down an enchanted path for a few hours before returning to the…

Literally priceless! 36 FIND AN INTERESTING GRAVE A strange name? Quirky epitaph? Odd stone? Same name as you? Share your chin-stroking find and rejoice in having the good fortune of being alive yourself. 37 LAP A LAKE Walk all the way around a lake – surely the most satisfying of circular walks – and wet your head with its refreshing waters. Thanks for the excellent suggestion from lake-lapper Don Lane! 38 FIND A FACE In a tree, a cloud, a landscape or in anything at all when you're out walking and tell us who you think it looks like. They leap out don't they? Thanks for the idea Jenny Martin-Shasby! 39 TAKE A SHADE PHOTO Capture a pleasing shadow or give us an example of delightful dappling – because it's…

Bardsey HOLY HILL Beyond the outstretched tip of the Llŷn Peninsula lies this 548ft/167m hill with a fringe of farmland and the remains of an ancient abbey. You can catch a boat between March and October (£50) and spend the day exploring Mynydd Enlli's heights and Bardsey's perfect peace and abundant wildlife – among them dolphins, seals and Manx shearwaters. Holy Isle SPIRITUAL SWITCH Holy Isle off Arran is an island off an island, double-yolked with summits, accessible by ferry from Lamlash April-Oct It has a long sacred history, with the latest chapter beginning in 1992 when its Catholic owner dreamed the Virgin Mary told her she must give the isle to Buddhism. It's now home to a Tibetan retreat named, with admirable ambition, the Centre for World Peace and…

DISCOVER Inland & inspiring isles No boat, no wet boots: you don't need to cross any water to walk some of Britain's ‘isles’. Dorset's Isle of Portland* is tied to the mainland by the pebbly spit of Chesil Beach; its Isle of Purbeck and Highland's Black Isle are securely docked peninsulas. And there are ex-islands. Kent's Isle of Harty (see Walk 8 in this issue), Lincolnshire's Isle of Axholme* and Cambridgeshire's Isle of Ely* all used to be marooned, until man changed the landscape. Ely once rose from a swampy waterworld, a dry sanctuary crowned by a mighty cathedral built in the Middle Ages. Then in the 1600s a group of wealthy ‘Gentleman Adventurers’ hired Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden to drain the fens so they could farm the peat-rich soils.…

DISCOVER Remote islands St Kilda THE EDGE OF EVERUTHING St Kilda isn't just the remotest part of the British Isles, it's a land at the very edge of reality, with its Tolkienesque topography and unlikely story of 2000 years of occupation by a now vanished people. Up to 180 people lived here on puffin and porridge, wearing shoes made from goose heads and forging an isolated existence 41 miles from their nearest island neighbour and 110 miles from the mainland. Now uninhabited, but visitable by the determined, this double World Heritage Site is out there in every sense. St Kilda comprises a trio of constituent islands – Hirta, Soay, Boreray – due west of Harris in the Outer Hebrides. At 2.6 square miles Hirta is by far the biggest, and…

WALK HERE For a 5 mile/8km route, start at Symondsbury Estate car park and walk past the church to pick up Shute's Lane. You can climb onto Colmer's Hill or leave this until the end of the route if you want to enjoy it later in the afternoon. Explore Hell Lane before you take a circuit of the estate past Axen Lodge and Bilshay Farm House back to the start. See symondsburyestate.co.uk/activities/walking-cycling-trail/ GETTING HERE It is easiest to get to Symondsbury by car but you can take a train to Dorchester and catch the X51 Jurassic Coaster bus towards Bridport and get out at Sprakes Corner (a 47 minute journey) then walk the final mile to Symondsbury. WHERE TO STAY There are lots of options in nearby Bridport or you…

DISCOVER Mountain Rescue Partnerships are vital to the viability of Mountain Rescue Teams. The North of Tyne team has signed a three-year partnership with gear brand Helly Hansen, which includes a complete wardrobe of bespoke Mountain Rescue Responder Uniforms. “The partnership is massively important to us,” says training officer Helena Sansum. “We were so excited to apply for it, and even more so when we first tested out the Mountain Collection. “When we do this work, it's not always a nice day like today, so having this best-in-class kit means we can focus on saving lives, whatever the weather might be doing.” Helly Hansen's UK general manager Piers Barnes adds: “Helly Hansen has a tremendous amount of respect for Mountain Rescue teams and their volunteers. We know it is trust…

WALK HERE Turn to Walk 18 in this issue for your full route guide. GETTING HERE Wharram Percy and Thixendale are situated about 10 miles south-east of Malton, North Yorkshire. The free car park at Wharram Percy is on a minor road running west of the B1248. Some sat navs direct you west at Wharram le Street, along Station Road, but you actually need to continue south of Wharram le Street on the B1248, then take the next road right to reach the car park (grid ref SE867644). WHERE TO STAY & EAT The Cross Keys in Thixendale (01377 288316, crosskeysthixendale.co.uk; closed Tue & Wed) has en-suite rooms with full English breakfast from £100 (from £60 single occupancy). It also serves evening meals with traditional pub food (mains around £15).…

YOUR COMPLETE BUYING GUIDE TO OUR TESTERS Country Walking always tests products for both men and women. Our reviewers Lauren Baker and Matthew Pike know the value of good kit at the right price. This test took them up Snowdon (twice), and to the nearby Glyder Range, the gentle undulations of Rutland, and the rocky coastline of Anglesey. BACK IN MAY we ran our big annual walking boot review. Now it's the turn of the walking boot's smaller, lighter, more nimble cousin, the walking shoe. If you own a pair of walking boots, you might find you're wearing them less at this time of year. In the full heat of the summer sun, your feet often crave something a bit cooler and lighter, and that's when walking shoes come into…

Nick Hallissey, Deputy Editor Miles walked this month: 107 I spent the first 10 years of my working life as a local news reporter, so I love meeting people. That came in handy for the Mountain Rescue feature this month (page 48). It was a joy and a privilege to meet the men, women and canines of the North of Tyne MRT and tell the rich and surprising story of their training session. But it was especially fun to play a bothersome reporter in one exercise. Of course, the point of this exercise was to play the kind of reporter that I never was: pushy, awkward, annoying. Not gonna lie, it was hard because I'm a massive softie. But in fact, most of the local reporters I worked with weren't…

The View SIGHTS | SOUNDS | WONDERS | IDEAS | COOL STUFF VIEWFINDER Like a small Spitfire, anax imperator whirrs through the summer skies. Manoeuvring on four long wings it can power forwards at up to 30 miles an hour, throw hairpin turns, helicopter straight up and down, and even fly backwards. The emperor is Britain's most impressive dragonfly: its sky-blue and apple-green body can hit three inches long; its gossamer wings, leaded like stained glass, stretch four inches tip to tip. It's dwarfed by its earliest ancestors though: a 300 million year old fossil found in a Somerset coal seam had an 18-inch wingspan. Today, 57 species of odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) are found in the UK: the name means ‘toothed’ and refers to the insects’ sharp, serrated mandibles. They…

THE HEART OF THE WOODS Wyl Menmuir From rewilding in Scotland to storytelling in Ireland to coffin makers in Cornwall, Menmuir travels the British Isles in this thought-provoking exploration of humanity's relationship with trees – past, present and future. THE VOLUNTEERS Carol Donaldson Suddenly single and jobless, Donaldson leaps at an opportunity to lead a team of countryside conservation volunteers. Working from a leaky porta-cabin, she discovers community and purpose in this heartwarming book. CHASING FOG Laura Pashby Fog, mist, haar: Pashby takes a fascinating dive into low cloud as she walks, and swims, at the foggiest places, unravels the role of mist in myth, literature and history, and explores the increasing rarity of ‘fog events’. CAIRN Kathleen Jamie The latest book by one of Britain's foremost poets and nature…

PHOTO COMPETITION Could your photo be Country Walking and Trail's UK Mountain Photo of the Year winner? This summer we are seeking the best snaps that capture those magic moments and that feeling of being in the mountains. Don't worry though, you don't need to be a pro photographer to be in with a chance of claiming the top prize. Previous winning images have been captured by hillwalkers on their smartphones, proving that sometimes it really is about being in the right place at the right time. You have until 16 August to enter, so get snapping on your hillwalks to be in with a chance of winning some incredible prizes from FUJIFILM, worth a total of £4547. ■ To find out how to enter, see below right.…

THANKS FOR THE INSPIRATION! ‘In February 2023 I saw my GP as it was taking me forever to eat a meal and soon learned I had cancer of the oesophagus. But they said that due to my walking I would have the best chance of recovery. In August I had an eight-hour op, and after three weeks was up to walking to my local shop – best walk ever! I built up from there and finished the year on 2000 miles. ‘At a checkup in March this year I was declared all clear, and I was up to as much as 10 miles a day when in April I started getting headaches, and suddenly couldn't walk as far. When 1½ miles was the absolute limit I sought urgent medical attention.…

WRITE TO US AT: Country Walking, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA EMAIL: editorial@countrywalking.co.uk FACEBOOK: facebook.com/countrywalking TWITTER/X: x.com/countrywalking I loved Nick Hallissey's comparison of the Coast to Coast to a new romance (May issue). For me walking the spectacular South West Coast Path with our collies summed up our 21-year romance. The cliffs change colour, the flora and fauna change but the sea remains a constant companion. You can plan as much as you like but the path sets its own pace. Tides and ferries wait for no man. It also tested us as a couple. Two hundred and sixteen miles in and Simon had shin splints. He caught a bus home, I caught the ferry into Cornwall alone and in tears. That evening Simon drove back to meet…

“PEOPLE SORT OF expect Cheshire to be flat,” says Stewart Pain. “The Sandstone Ridge proves pretty conclusively that it isn't.” He's quite right. Rising sensationally from the surrounding pancake of the Cheshire Plain, the Cheshire Sandstone Ridge is a complex and intriguing geological upthrust which, just like the Yorkshire Wolds, is under Natural England's scrutiny for possible admission to the AONB/ National Landscape club. Stewart's enthusiasm for the idea makes perfect sense. He is the vice chair of the Cheshire Sandstone Trust, which was established to protect the ridge as well as campaigning for its inclusion among England's elite landscapes. As far as he and his colleagues are concerned, adoption as a National Landscape is no less than it deserves. The ridge runs for some 25 miles from Frodsham and…

The panorama from Mount Brandon is a top contender for the best in Ireland and you can walk right around it on the Dingle Way. Starting from the Kerry capital of Tralee, the 109/176km trail first heads west for Camp, then loops the peninsula. Tracing quiet boreens (country lanes), farm tracks and coast paths, the route offers new views at every turn: wind-tickled moors in the Slieve Mish foothills; bustling streets in Dingle, with its statue to much-loved local character Fungie the dolphin; wild Atlantic cliffs around Slea Head; long vistas at the trail's highest point, 2100 feet up on the shoulder of Mount Brandon; and numerous sandy shores including the seven-mile Fermoyle Strand, one of the longest beaches in Ireland. The Way is richly threaded with history too –…

QUECHUA NH500 Hiking Sandals £27 Here's ample proof you can get a sturdy hiking sandal at a bargain price. At just £27, the NH500 boasts a grippy outsole, beefy strapping and three points of adjustment. The plasticky footbed isn't super-comfy and the large clip-closure is rather clunky, but it can be relied upon to do the hard yards over relatively tough terrain. decathlon.co.uk JACK WOLFSKIN Lakewood Ride £60 A beautifully made, lightweight (211g) strappy sandal for gentler beach walks. It looks gorgeous, and there's decent traction, a well-cushioned midsole and soft webbing straps, with tougher (but still comfy) lateral supports to keep the unit securely swathed and stable around your foot. A bit too flimsy for tougher landscapes beyond the beach, but wonderful for summer larks. jack-wolfskin.co.uk KEEN Hyperport H2 £95 Keen make…