On the Seven Sisters walk from the book
If you are looking for ideas for a pleasant countryside stroll, there are plenty of guide books available for every part of the UK. Just browse in the local bookstore and you’re likely to find everything from pub walks to circular walks to family friendly walks. That’s all well and good, but what if you’re an experienced walker and you want something a bit more challenging – something that will get you exploring some of the wilder, more remote areas of the country? If that sounds like you, then Richard Gilbert’s book, 200 Challenging Walks in Britain and Ireland could be just the thing for you.
As you might imagine, for a guide book that focuses on some of the more challenging walks, the majority of the walks featured are in Scotland, the North of England and Wales. But if you don’t live in those areas, then there could still be some interest for you, as there are also eight walks in the West of England, 16 scattered across Ireland and even seven in the South of England.
The descriptions of each walk are kept brief and to the point (one page per walk). Rather than give a dull list of directions, Gilbert focuses on giving details of landmarks and directions that are genuinely going to be required, but often includes some general narrative on the history of the area and sights to look out for en route.
Each of the walks is accompanied by a route map and relavant facts and figures, such as the distance, transport links and the numbers of the required OS maps. It has to be said at this juncture, that this guide is intended for experienced walkers and should always be used in conjunction with a detailed map of the area.
To test drive the book I attempted walk #141 – The Seven Sisters and the Long Man of Wilmington, a 20 mile circular coastal route in the South of England. The quality of the walk was excellent, taking in one of the most beautiful stretches of British coastline. Although the inland return leg was not quite as dramatic as the initial cliff walk, it certainly was varied, with stretches along rivers, through woodland and ending with a good views over Eastbourne.
It was certainly a challenging walk in terms of length, but the terrain was nothing that any moderate walker would worry over and navigation was easy throughout. All in all it was one of the best walking days I’ve had in a while (fortunately the weather stayed kind to me), and it left me with an appetite for some of the more far flung walks in Gilbert’s book.
As a final note, the book is compact enough to fit in the glove compartment of a car, or even in a backpack if you don’t mind the extra weight. It also has three sections of colour photographs showing the landscape in some of the walks in the book. These should be enough to get you reaching for your boots, even before you start reading some of the descriptions. I can thoroughly recommended this book for the experienced walker who is looking for something more challenging.
Tags: Books, challenging walks, walking guides
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