Author: Andy Hodges
Publisher: Cicerone Press
ISBN: 9781783628070
Category: Sports & Recreation
Page: 193
View: 580
Italy's Alta Via 1, a 180km trail through the Italian Alps following the northern flank of the Aosta Valley, boasts magnificent views of the Alpine giants: Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, the Grand Combin and Monte Rosa. Indeed, it is sometimes known as the Giants' Trail and can be combined with a sister-route, the Alta Via 2 (covered in a separate Cicerone guide), which runs along the southern flank of the valley, to form the Tor des Géants. Stretching from Donnas to Courmayeur, the Alta Via 1 offers fantastic alpine walking, with welcoming refuges and small hotels providing overnight accommodation (and great food) along the way. The guide presents the route in two sections, for the advantage of those who can't spare the full fortnight-plus needed to walk the entire AV1. The trail is described in 16 stages, with alternative stages covering some popular variants, including an optional detour to visit the famed monastery at the Great St Bernard Pass. Each stage includes clear route description and mapping, plus notes on local points of interest and accommodation options. An alternative itinerary, list of useful contacts, kitlist and glossary can be found in the appendices. The AV1 crosses cols of nearly 3000m as it traverses the side-valleys of the main Aosta Valley. Suited to those with some of experience of alpine trekking, the walking is demanding but without technical difficulty. And the rewards are many: quieter huts, breathtaking vistas and a chance to immerse yourself in fabulous mountain landscapes overlooked by soaring, snow-clad giants.
Author: Kev Reynolds
Publisher: Cicerone Press
ISBN: 9781783625291
Category: Sports & Recreation
Page: 234
View: 557
The North Downs Way National Trail is a 130 mile (208km) between the high downland of Farnham and the historic city of Dover on the Kent coast. The route is described in 11 day stages from west to east with an optional detour via Canterbury. Step-by-step route descriptions are fully illustrated with colour photographs and extracts from OS 1:50,000 mapping for every stage. The guidebook comes with a separate map booklet of 1:25,000 scale OS maps showing the full route of the North Downs Way. Clear step-by-step route descriptions in the guide link together with the map booklet at each stage along the Way, and the compact format is conveniently sized for slipping into a jacket pocket or the top of a rucksack. The North Downs Way is one of the easier national trails with a modest number of steep (but short) ascents and descents and long sections with no noticeable height gain or loss. Several historic sites including Neolithic burial chambers, Roman roads and Norman churches are passed and much of the route follows The Pilgrims' Way.
Author: Keith Bradbury
Publisher: Cicerone Press Limited
ISBN: 9781849657013
Category: Sports & Recreation
Page: 208
View: 905
This guidebook covers the northern stages of the Pennine Bridleway, through Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria, a dedicated and waymarked mountain biking and horse-riding trail that opened in 2011. Using part of the Mary Towneley Loop, the route is described for mountain bikers from Summit, just outside Rochdale all the way to Ravenstonedale in Cumbria, in about 176km. 11 circular day mountain bike routes are included for those who do not wish to ride the whole route as a linear trail. It splits the main bridleway into rides of 8 - 16 miles in length. A grand total of 384km of trail are covered, mapped using OS map extracts and illustrated with profiles, photographed and described in enough detail to suit all levels of navigational ability. Appendices also offer information on local facilities, accommodation, bike shops and other useful contacts for planning your days out or longer trip along the Bridleway, and information provided before each route description includes distance, ascent, grading, estimated time and percentage of route off-road, as well as maps needed and pubs and cafes en route.
Author: Paddy Dillon
Publisher: Cicerone Press Limited
ISBN: 9781783628599
Category: Sports & Recreation
Page: 353
View: 231
The South West Coast Path National Trail (SWCP) measures a staggering 630 miles (1015km) from Minehead on the Somerset coast right round Devon and Cornwall to Poole in Dorset. The guidebook divides the route into 45 stages of between 12.5 to 37.5km, beginning and ending where amenities are available. Written by prolific outdoor writer Paddy Dillon, this guidebook is packed with lots of information for planning your walk, including clear step-by-step route descriptions and OS map extracts, public transport links, accommodation and facilities along the way. Also described is the 17-mile South Dorset Ridgeway, from West Bexington to Osmington Mills, which can be used as a scenic way to shave 42 miles off the total distance. This epic route takes in Exmoor National Park, five AONBs and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, besides various nature reserves and SSSIs. No other stretch of coastline compares for scenic splendour, historical sites and availability of refreshments, accommodation and public transport, making it easy to split the South West Coast Path into week or weekend-long sections.
Author: Dennis Kelsall
Publisher: Cicerone Press
ISBN: 9781783624799
Category: Sports & Recreation
Page: 257
View: 152
A guidebook to 44 circular walks in the south and west of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, with bases including Sedbergh, Malham, Grassington, Skipton, Settle and Kirkby Lonsdale. The walks cover the valleys of Wharfedale, Littondale, Malhamdale, Ribblesdale and Dentdale - each with its own distinctive landscape and character. Also included is the Yorkshire Three Peaks, a 23 mile (37km) challenge to bag three summits - Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough. The walks range between 3.5 and 13 miles in length and showcase Yorkshire's diverse landscapes, beautiful views and rich heritage. With the exception of the Three Peaks walk, they are designed to suit most abilities: steeper sections are rare and usually short-lived. Detailed route description and 1:50,000 OS mapping are provided for each route, along with information on nearby points of interest and facilities. Highlights include delightful riverside walking in Wharfedale, spectacular views of the distant Howgills and Lake District Fells, and the arresting limestone cliffs of Malham Cove providing a wonderful introduction to this magnificent area.
Author: Steve Davison
Publisher: Cicerone Press Limited
ISBN: 9781783628858
Category: Sports & Recreation
Page: 193
View: 312
30 walking routes exploring the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The routes are between 7 and 20km through this peaceful rolling chalk landscape and cover parts of four counties: Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, with walks to reach the highest point in each one.
Author: Terry Marsh
Publisher: Cicerone Press Limited
ISBN: 9781849655392
Category: Sports & Recreation
Page: 176
View: 443
Guidebook to 30 day walks in the West Pennine Moors, the wide open country between Blackburn, Darwen, Chorley and Bolton in the heart of northern England. Walks range between 2.5 and 9 miles in length, and from short, easy rambles to challenging hikes. The West Pennine Moors cover over 80 square miles of wild and diverse landscape. The area is rich in historical heritage, including historic houses, monuments such as Holcombe Tower and Jubilee Tower, and other reminders of the industrial revolution. The walks are described step-by-step clearly illustrated with OS map extracts and colour photographs, with lots of information on local history and geology explained along the way.
Author: Kev Reynolds
Publisher: Cicerone Press
ISBN: 9781783626137
Category: Sports & Recreation
Page: 257
View: 502
This book is a celebration of mountain huts, showcasing the the sheer variety and sometimes quirky nature of these buildings that allow walkers, trekkers and climbers to access remote corners of the mountains. Packed with entertaining stories that bring the places and people to life, it contains descriptions of the author's favourite huts in the Alps, along with suggestions for hut-to-hut tours of 3-13 days duration, including the Tour of Mont Blanc. It also traces the history of huts and how they have evolved from the most primitive of shelters to the often purpose-built, eco-friendly buildings of today. For the uninitiated, it unravels some of the mystery of huts and explains how to use them and what facilities to expect. Above all, it illustrates the way in which mountain huts can be truly sociable places, where like-minded people can spend a night or two in the most magical of locations and share a love of wild places.
Author: Ronald Turnbull
Publisher: Cicerone Press Limited
ISBN: 9781849653510
Category: Sports & Recreation
Page: 224
View: 849
The West Highland Way is one of the finest of Britain's long-distance paths. It passes through six separate mountain ranges, from the tall elegant cone of Ben Lomond and the crag towers of grim Glen Coe to the seductive Mamores. But it doesn't go onto those enticing Stobs and Bens. NOT The West Highland Way makes the most of the surrounding area, taking in sights that the linear Way doesn't allow. With mountain alternatives to all but one of the West Highland Way's nine standard stages, this guidebook takes you on a higher and wilder journey. By taking the best of what the standard Way has to offer and adding in all its diversions away from the linear paths, and get to the heart of what makes the West Highland Way so great. It crosses Ben Lomond and Beinn Dorain, the charming Campsie Fells and the mighty Mamores, while the crossing of the Black Mount from Inveroran to Glen Coe represents the best pub-to-pub to be found in Britain.
Author: Terry Marsh
Publisher: Cicerone Press
ISBN: 9781783627394
Category: Sports & Recreation
Page: 177
View: 298
This guidebook offers all the information walkers need to enjoy the 338km (210 miles) of the Severn Way. Beginning at the River Severn's source in Powys, mid-Wales, the route follows the entire Severn Valley, meandering through many superb landscapes and interesting towns and villages before finishing near Bristol, in south-west England. The step-by-step route description is divided into four county sections, accompanied by OS map extracts and packed with historical and geographical information about the places along the way. Also includes a route to the source of the river via Plynlimon and a link route from Severn Beach back to Bristol at the end. The River Severn pulls together threads of history, trade, commerce, civil war and the lives of ordinary folk to produce a tapestry that is finely woven and rich in colour. That walkers should want to trace its course, its many twists and turns, is hardly surprising, not least because of its capacity to offer countless challenges and plentiful delights. Walking the Severn Way is a chance to get away from it all and relax without having to resort to distant mountain regions.