New members
Colin Speakman
Teashop Walks: the best
teashops and cafés in the Lake
District
Vivienne Crow
Northern Eye Books, £5.99 (pb)
The Peak District: The Finest
Walks in the Peak District
National Park
Dennis Kelsall & Chiz Dakin
Northern Eye Books, £6.99 (pb)
Walks to Viewpoints: Walks
with Stunning Views in the
Peak District
Chiz Dakin
Northern Eye Books, £5.99 (pb)
M
any of the places visited
in these latest titles in
Northern Eye’s popular
Top 10 Walks series
of pocket-sized walking guides to
the National Parks have already
featured in previously-published
volumes in the series. So inevitably
there is a fair amount of re-cycling
and repetition. But to the authors’
credit, in most cases, different
routes to the chosen sites have been
used.
It’s almost always
invidious to name any
walk as “the finest”,
because so much will
depend on individual
taste, ability and local
conditions. So maybe
these walks should be
best described as the
authors’ favourites
among those places
they have previously
described.
But as every walker
knows, a good cup of
tea and some cake is the
tempting reward after
any ramble. And Viv
Crowe’s Teashop Walks in
the Lakes is enlivened by
photographs of walkers
who are obviously
enjoying their repast at
the various cafés and
teashops encountered on
the 10 relatively-gentle
walks she describes.
Colin published his first book
Walking in the Yorkshire Dales
in 1967, and since that far-
off time has produced a long
succession of walking and
outdoor books and articles,
mainly in Yorkshire and the
North, but also in mainland
Europe, topography, as well as
biography, transport, a literary
Anthology of the Dales, a history
of leisure walking, short stories
and poetry. Author or co-author
of around 60 books, including
a recent guide to the Yorkshire
Wolds, he is best known for
helping to establish The Dales
Way which in 2019 celebrates its
50th anniversary, and his classic
guidebook to the route is now
in its 11th edition with Skyware
Press. He is also a founder
member of Gritstone Britain’s
only writers’ co-operative, a
new self-publishing enterprise
(www.gritstone.coop) In 1997 he
was made an Honorary Doctor of
Letters at Bradford University,
and received the first Dalesman
lifetime achievement award in
2007.
Paul Richardson
Born and brought up in Leeds, I
discovered the Yorkshire Dales
and the Lake District when I was
in my twenties. From then on
I spent much of my spare time
hill walking there, eventually
managing to live and work in the
Yorkshire Dales.
After several years in the
Dales I moved to Southern
Ireland, getting to know the
magnificent hills of County
Tipperary before returning to my
native Yorkshire.
I have written articles with
images for several magazines
and am a regular contributor for
TGO. My aim now is to spend
more time roaming the fells as
Alex Roddie
Alex is an editor and outdoor
writer, and is currently online
editor at TGO magazine. His
mission is to tell the stories that
matter – tales of wilderness,
nature, and adventure. If
you’re looking to write an
outdoor book, or if you work
with an adventure magazine
well as discovering a way to carry
a camera in a comfortable and
accessible way whilst wearing a
rucksack.
and need an expert pair of
eyes, Alex can help. Alex also
writes The Pinnacle Newsletter,
a perspective on outdoor and
adventure writing. To sign up to
and receive the newsletter visit
www.tinyletter.com/alex_roddie
www.alexroddie.com
spring 2019 | Outdoor focus 13