incorrectly attributed), was actually
leading a walk on the other side of
the Peak District on that day!
But it is not true to say that
there were no further trespasses
for 50 years after those which
took place in 1932. Groups like
SCAM (the Sheffi eld Campaign
for Access to Moorland) and
individuals continued to trespass in
a completely responsible manner
until the passing of the CROW Act in
2000.
Nidderdale Way
Beth Rimmer
Rucksack Readers, £12.99 (pb)
L
ong-time Guild member
Paul Hannon once described
Nidderdale, perhaps the least
known of the major Yorkshire Dales,
as “the jewel of the Dales.”
And to its afi cionados, it is still
a mystery why it was excluded
from the Yorkshire Dales National
Park when it was designated in
1954. It was especially diffi cult to
understand in 2016, after the Park
area was extended by a quarter
into the beautiful but surely less
attractive Lune Valley and northern
Howgills in the west.
The story was it was the string
of three reservoirs – Gouthwaite,
Scar House and Angram, built to
provide urgently-needed water for
industrial Bradford – which was
the deciding factor against original
inclusion. But in truth, they have
all weathered in and now provide
considerable added interest to this
sadly under-estimated landscape.
Retired GP Beth Rimmer had always
believed that Nidderdale lived up
to its ancient Celtic name, which
means “brilliant.” So when she
discovered that all previous guides
to the Nidderdale Way (including
Paul Hannon’s), were out of print,
she had found the ideal retirement
project.
The result, in Rucksack Readers’
new 20 per cent lighter format,
maintains the larger (1:40,000)
map scale, with more (over 95)
beautifully-reproduced pictures and
same amount of always informative
and detailed text.
Nidderdale highlights, some just
off the main 54-mile waymarked
route, include the How Stean gorge,
Pateley Bridge, Fountains Abbey,
Ripon and its cathedral, Ripley
and its castle, and Brimham’s
spectacular Rocks.
south west Scotland. And in 2009,
he came up with the 57-mile Cowal
Way, connecting some of the main
heritage sites between the ferry
at Portavadie on Loch Fyne and
Inveruglas on the western shore
of Loch Lomond. It also links the
Kintyre Way with the West Highland
Way, and runs for over half its
length through the Loch Lomond
and Trossachs National Park.
This is a fully-revised version
of the original Rucksack Readers
guides, and includes the 30-mile
West Island Way round the Isle of
Bute – Scotland’s fi rst waymarked
long distance footpath. A fi ve-page
feature on the lovely Isle of Bute,
enclosed by the “lobster’s claw” of
the two arms of the peninsula, is
also included.
Highlights include the scramble
up to The Cobbler, in “the Arrochar
Alps”, the ascent of Coilessan Glen,
with its fi ne views of the Luss Hills,
Ben Lomond and Beinn Bheula;
Lochgoilhead and Drimsynie
House, and the unpronounceable
Tighnabruaich, (try “tine-ah-bru-
ach”), once home to the famous
Clyde steam “puff ers”, on the Kyles
of Bute.
Loch Lomond & Cowal Way
James McLuckie with Michael Kaufmann
Rucksack Readers, £12.99 (pb)
A
fter 25 years in the military,
James McLuckie was looking
for a base for his proposed
outdoor training centre. He found
his ideal situation in the “hidden
gem” of the Cowal peninsula in
summer 2019 | Outdoor focus 15