The route owes much to the
pioneering work of Dr Peter Clarke,
whose 2006 book The Outer
Hebrides: The Timeless Way was
the inspiration for the creation of
the new Way. It was not until 2012
that Clarke’s idea received official
financial support, and work began
on improving and waymarking the
route.
Highlights along the route
include retracing parts of Bonnie
Prince Charlie’s flight from
Government forces after the
Battle of Culloden in 1746; the
magnificent, flower-filled machair
meadows and dazzling white sand
beaches of South Uist, and, just
off route, the imposing standing
stones of Callanish on the west
coast of Lewis.
WILD GUIDE: SCOTLAND
Kimberley Grant, David Cooper
& Richard Gaston
Wild Things Publishing, £16.99 (pb)
T
he latest in Wild Things Wild
Guides sets out with the
ambitious intention of covering
the whole of Scotland, home to
what most people would regard as the
wildest parts of wildest Britain.
How well it succeeds really
depends on whether you think that
intention is actually physically possible
within 312 pages of nicely designed
but inevitably selective opportunities
for adventure north of the Border.
Apparently aimed at the
cosmopolitan adventure seeker, the
authors claim that exploring the wild
landscapes of Scotland will make the
reader healthier, happier and more
open-minded about their connections
to it.
From the white sand beaches of
Barra and Berneray to the forbidding
heights of Suilven, Applecross,
Torridon, Moidart and the Lairig
Ghru, wild camping and swimming
opportunities are thoroughly
examined.
But surely one of the joys of
experiencing real wilderness is that
you don’t have to be led by the hand
to it, but to go out and find and live it
yourself. But then, maybe I’m being a
bit too purist myself…
HADRIAN’S HIGH WAY PARTS ONE AND
TWO; CASTLES OF EDEN, AND GREAT
LAKES CONNECTION
Mark Richards
JR Nicholls Publishing, £6.99 each (pb)
M
ark Richards’ love affair
with Hadrian’s Wall country
continues with the publication
of his two-part Hadrian’s High
Way, a new 100-mile walking route
linking Ravenglass on the Cumbrian
coast and Bardon Mill on the Wall.
This imaginative route links no
fewer than ten Roman forts and
is published to commemorate the
1,900th anniversary of Hadrian’s
accession as Emperor. It is also
claimed to be the world’s first Peace
Trail and has a foreword by Mechtild
Rossier, director of the UNESCO
World Heritage Centre.
Best moment comes when a
delighted Richards discovers a
200m long Roman kerbed causeway
crossing Melmerby Fell above
Garrigill in the South Tyne valley,
“untouched since the Roman
legionaires (surely that should be
legionaries?) held sway over the
Brigantes.”
described by the author
as “A fabulous fantasia of
Lakeland, afoot and afloat.”
Castles of Eden is another new 42-
mile, four-day heritage trail through
the Eden, Lyvennet and Lowther
Valleys. It visits the Norman castles
at Brough, Appleby and Brougham,
with an opening diversion to take in
Pendragon Castle in Mallerstang,
and concludes through the Lowther
valley to pass Lowther Castle,
e nding along a Roman road to
Penrith.
The Great Lakes Connection is a
new 50-mile walk linking Windermere
and Ullswater, alliteratively described
by the author as “A fabulous fantasia
of Lakeland, afoot and afloat.”
Starting at Grange-over-Sands on
Morecambe Bay, the route goes
on to Windermere, and then via
Brothers Water into Patterdale and
Glenridding. Ullswater’s eastern
shore is then followed to reach
Pooley Bridge, then field-paths
alongside the River Eamont to
Penrith.
Uniquely, you can shave 18 miles
off the walking route by using the
ferries that can take you the lengths
of both Windermere and Ullswater.
But you’ll miss, as the author so
enthusiastically describes, “a
fabulous mix of natural and human
ingredients” on the main route.
New and revised editions of the following
books have also recently been published:-
WALKING THE SOUTH DOWNS WAY
Kev Reynolds, Cicerone, £16.95
TREKKING THE PACIFIC COAST TRAIL
Brian Johnson, Cicerone, £16.95 pb
WALKING ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT
Paul Curtis, Cicerone, £12.95 pb
autumn 2017 | Outdoor focus 13