The National Trails: The National Trails of England Scotland and Wales Europe Great Britain Wales Paddy Dillon Cicerone Press Limited

Jul 11

‘This book covers the 15 national trails of England, Wales plus four long-distance in Scotland. Paddy looks at each of them all in turn, unravelling their themes, what makes them special and to help us plan our next long walk.This is the book to savour as you start thinking about your next walk and where to go. I have to say that having had the book for over a week now, I find a great wish to walk them all, that is, those not yet done.This is the book you should have when you start considering your next adventure or for those days when the weather is foul and you are feeling low. It will remind you what a wonderful land we live in and what delightful walks we have.’(South West Coast Path Association / Autumn 2007)

Paddy Dillon is a prolific outdoor writer with over thirty books to his name. He writes for a number of outdoor magazines and other publications. Paddy has walked and written about every county in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. He has walked in many parts of Europe, Nepal, Tibet, Colorado and the Canadian Rockies.

National Trails were established as part of the post-war programme to keep areas of Britain ‘special’ and to protect them from development. The first such route, the Pennine Way, opened in 1965, and since then another 14 have been designated in England and Wales, with a further 4 in Scotland.Together, the National Trails cover well over 5000 kilometres (3100 miles), each one with unique qualities which explore the rich, scenic and historic countryside of Britain. Even the most dedicated long-distance walker would take over 200 days to walk them all, but most are happy to explore them one after another over several annual holidays.With its route descriptions, photographs and profiles, this book is not only an invaluable reference for anyone researching our National Trails, but is in itself a celebration of these wonderful routes across Britain’s landscape. Paddy Dillon has walked all the National Trails twice, and keeps abreast of all the latest developments.

The National Trails: The National Trails of England, Scotland and Wales

Coast to Coast Path, 4th: British Walking Guide: planning, places to stay, places to eat; includes 109 large-scale walking maps

There’s something about completing a straight walking route rather than a circular one that gives me more of a sense of achievement. And adventure. If that route is coast to coast then my senses are magnified. At just under 192 miles, this is no day trip but it’s all the better for it. With highly detailed pathways, and truthful accounts of overnight stays, this has to be the most definitive guide to this route so far.” Escape Magazine (UK)

The Trailblazer series stands head, shoulders, waist and ankles above the rest.

They are particularly strong on mapping… The Sunday Times (UK)

Fully revised 4th edition of this classic 191-mile walk across northern England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, inspired by Alfred Wainwright. Crossing three fabulous national parks the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors it samples the very best of the English countryside rugged mountains and lakes, gentle dales and stone-built villages; wild moorland; sea cliffs and fishing villages.

Coast to Coast Path, 4th: British Walking Guide: planning, places to stay, places to eat; includes 109 large-scale walking maps (Coast to Coast Path St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay: Planning,)

Cicerone Press LimitedPaddy Dillon, Europe, Great Britai

Comments

Vince Gaseoma

July 11th, 2012 at 3:56 PM


We hike with a young couple (who only turned 70 this year) and are hiking the Coast to Coast next spring for the 4th time. We have several books and guides for the hike, as well as several different maps, including a digital Ordinance Survey map of the route. This is the most useful guide I have seen for finding the route (which is not always easy) and for enjoying the people and countryside. If I could only take one guide on the hike, I would take this one.
Rob D

July 11th, 2012 at 10:27 PM


Excellent book with outstanding detail. Using this book and Google Earth I was able to track the route on the computer with no problem. This is a great way to familiarize yourself with the route. Later this summer I hope to track the real thing, and this book will be with me all the way.
Garrett

July 12th, 2012 at 7:11 AM


My husband and I have recently completed the first half of the Coast to Coast Walk with North-West Walks with our 26 year-old daughter. Our walk package included a copy of the Trailblazer book and we used this, with a GPS, as our only navigational aids. The book was fantastic and its battered and tattered condition at the end of our week’s walk is testament to its importance to us. We also enjoyed the lovely sense of humour weaving throughout it. The book told us we would feel like the Shap Abbey ruins at the end of day 5 … and we did!! During our six days of walking, we had a mix of weather conditions – we had to celebrate with icecream at the end of Day 4 as the first day we managed to end the stage with dry feet! The conditions also included storm-force winds at the top of Greenup Edge Pass, so strong we could hardly stay upright. We did have a scary 10 minutes when we thought we may not make it down, and it took us a while to get our bearings back and find the path down into the valley. The GPS way points provided in the book were invaluable (crucial, even!) in helping us work out where we were going when we couldn’t see much in front of us!

As there are no good, current OS maps for the walk, the maps in the book were invaluable. The only improvement I would suggest is that it would be really helpful to have another copy of the same maps separate from the book that could be stored in a waterproof map holder for easy access. It is not easy to keep stopping to open the book in the middle of pouring rain. We ended up carrying our book in a map holder around our necks, but this was still a bit awkward, and loose maps would have been a helpful addition.

Doing this walk was one of the best adventures we’ve had, and we were only sorry to stop halfway. In the week after the walk, we often yearned to be back on the trail! The trailblazer book was fantastic. We couldn’t have completed the walk without it.
Rickie Oreb

July 12th, 2012 at 7:42 PM


I walked the Coast to Coast Path 9/7-18/2010. I purchased this book directly from the publisher before it was available from Amazon. I also purchased the seven Ordnance maps OL4, OL5, OL19, OL30, 304, OL26, and OL27 (at 1:25,000 scale these are nicely detailed and continue after you have accidentally left the edge of other path maps). The Ordnance maps do not show the Coast to Coast Path. The Harvey “East” and “West” Coast to Coast maps show the path (1:40,000 scale). The maps of this book are just under 1:20,000 scale. I didn’t want to use GPS, but it appeared that about half the hikers had it as a back-up. On a related note, had I taken a cell phone it would not have worked in some areas. Two-thirds of the path is unmarked (corresponding to that portion which is within national parks). So you need something to guide you and the most recent edition of this book appeared to be the most popular choice. I made numerous mistakes, but greater attentiveness to the details of this book would have avoided all of them. This book includes a wonderful blend of easy to read maps, where to stay and eat, flora and fauna guides, and local histories. The hike was physically harder than I anticipated, but I surprised myself in being in adequate shape for the task. It also surprised me how easy it is to go astray (brawn did better than brain). That said, depending on the season there are plenty of other hikers to help one through. Other recommendations: sock liners (200 miles blister-free), I didn’t use walking sticks but would next time, next time I would rig a waist belt for my daypack, wet/dry hot/cold conditions change frequently during a day so zippered pant legs are handy, I didn’t have gaiters and didn’t miss them. My book got soaked one day–those plastic bibs are a good idea. One pair of hiking shoes was enough–plan on some slop every day. I highly recommend this book and this adventure.
Xander

July 13th, 2012 at 3:02 AM


One could literally walk across England using nothing but this guide. The detailed instructions are so good, it would be hard to get lost if you just pay attention.

The downloadable waypoints shown on the maps are a bonus. Use your GPS to make sure you’re going in the right direction and to ease your mind that you are where you think you are.

That all being said, don’t try to walk the Coast to Coast without a good map (like the Harvey strip maps) and a compass. GPS units do die (one of my two did), and if you get off the recommended trails (intentionally or not) the guide book won’t help you.
Milind

July 13th, 2012 at 8:10 AM


The photos are so beautiful that I nearly bought my plane ticket and headed to England today. This book gives me much to savor while I plan my trip for next year. The major walking trails are included, with an overall level of detail that makes planning easier, while in-depth details on each of the walks can be found in Cicerone paperbacks specific for each trail. The text is well-written and clear. Anyone looking for a guide to help them zero in on the trails they most want to walk will find this book very helpful.

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