the variety of scenery were amazing.
My guidebook to Madeira went
through reprints and a new edition,
while plans for the Canaries involved
ditching the original two guidebooks in
favour of much more detailed coverage
in five guidebooks. Once more, by some
remarkable coincidence the timing was
perfect. The island authorities were
signposting and waymarking entire
networks of trails and many new routes
had yet to feature in guidebooks. It’s
always great to be first on the scene,
and in my case I met gangs of workmen
clearing trails and I watched signposts
being planted. I also noticed large
groups of German walkers on every
new route, so I knew I’d have to get
published quickly.
One thing that I noticed soon after
starting the Canary Islands series was
an evolving plan to create a long-
distance walking trail, the GR131,
across all seven islands. Another
discussion at the Cicerone office led to
the issuing of a contract for the trail.
A spanner was thrown in the works
when it was realised that each of the
islands had their own ideas about how
quickly, or slowly, they were going to
Once again, many
of these new trails
had never been
featured in
guidebooks...
create each stretch of the trail. To cut a
long walk short, from first setting foot
on the trail to getting the guidebook
published took nearly twenty years, but
in that time I managed to walk the 560
kilometre route bit by bit, then all at
once.
I wasn’t worried about the GR131
being delayed, as another off-the-
cuff remark was made in the Cicerone
office.
‘Do you want the Azores?’
Did I want the Azores? Of course
I did! Over several decades I have
become a dedicated island hopper, and
I’m always hungry to visit more and
more islands. The map revealed nine
widely-spaced islands located one
third of the way across the Atlantic
Ocean between Europe and Canada,
under the control of Portugal, yet 1,500
kilometres offshore. I made my plans
and was delighted to find that the
island authorities had been clearing
old trails and signposting them for the
benefit of visitors. Once again, many
of these new trails had never been
featured in guidebooks, and on many of
the trails I was the only person actually
walking them.
spring 2020 | Outdoor focus 7