less than one per cent of the country .
Led by local experts , Shrubsole visits many of these precious fragments in this inspirational book , inevitably including a deliberate trespass to reach the “ Lost World ” of Holne Chase on the banks of the Dart in Devon . Other excursions include the misnomer of Young Wood , a “ huddle of wizened corkscrew oaks ” on the remote slopes of Bowscale Fell in the Lake District ; the scattered birch and rowan woodlands in the ravine approaching Coire Gabhail , Glen Coe ’ s fabled Lost Valley and the so-called “ ghost woods ” where placename evidence indicates where these natural , native forests once stood . Shrubsole describes how aweinspiring and important these places can be to the human spirit : “ Immersing myself in the dripping , viridian fastness of an Atlantic rainforest is the closest I ’ ve ever come to a spiritual experience .”
Great Walks on the England Coast Path
Andrew McCloy Cicerone , £ 20 ( pb )
When the 2,795-mile England Coast Path National Trail is completed as a continuous route , it will be the longest purely coastal path in the world . The author of this sumptuously illustrated new guide to 30 walks based on and around the trail , is Guild committee member Andrew McCloy . His Coastwalk of 1996 foreshadowed the day when the England coast walk would be combined with the pioneering Welsh Coast Walk , which opened in 2012 . Though the book is graced with the essential OS 1:50,000 mapping , you are not likely to want to take this weighty , 216- page , 22cm by 24cm tome with you on any of the walks . So the best option might be to get the free GPX download of the routes ( www . cicerone . co . uk / 989 / GPX ), or to photocopy them before you set out . The routes themselves vary from the lengthy 31-mile Scarborough to Staithes sortie along the crumbling Yorkshire coast , to the five-mile stroll around Arnside above the shifting sands of Morecambe Bay , but most fall within an easy day-trip distance . Many , like the Scarborough- Staithes walk and the 28-mile Pendeen to Penzance route along the westernmost Cornish coast , stick closely to the designated route along the cliff tops . But others have an added frisson of danger , such as the Spurn Head walk to that shapeshifting spit on the Humber estuary and to Hilbre Island in the Dee estuary , which are subject to submersion at high tides . A beautiful book , but one to use to plan or reflect on your walks , rather than to take with you .
Scottish Wild Country Backpacking
Peter Edwards , David Lintern and Stefan Durkacz Cicerone , £ 25 ( pb )
Abeautifully illustrated celebration of wild country backpacking in the Scottish Highlands and Islands from Cicerone , this time with 1:100,000 locational mapping by Lovell Johns . The 30 routes featured are described as “ weekend and multi-day ” walks by the authors , and they all come with an appropriate health warning to less experienced hill goers and wild campers . The longest route described – an airy tour of the ridges of Ben Alder – is a thigh-busting 38 miles , starting and finishing at Dalwhinnie station . The shortest is the eight-mile stroll around the island of Mingulay in the Outer Hebrides , featuring a dizzying bird ’ s eye view of the imposing seastack of Dun Mhlughalaigh ( Dun Mingulay ) on its eastern shore . Few would argue with the authors where they claim in their introduction that the Highlands and Islands are “ the most ruggedly beautiful , expansive and challenging backpacking country in the British Isles .” “ Out among the mountains , moors and glens and along the wild coastline it is still possible to walk for days without encountering roads , settlements and other people .” That surely is the essence of wild trekking and camping , and this 200-page doorstopper will whet the whistle of many wilderness lovers willing to follow in their doughty footsteps . But again , the book is far too weighty to take with you , and Cicerone advise readers to download the GPX routes ( www . cicerone . co . uk / 904 / GPX ).
16 outdoor focus / spring 2023