and the Nidd Gorge west of Knaresborough . All these are covered in Fallis ’ s clear and concise text , backed by OS 1:25,000 mapping .
Walking the John o ’ Groats Trail
Andy Robinson & Jay Wilson Cicerone , £ 16.95 ( pb )
This new , 145-mile trail along
Scotland ’ s little frequented north-eastern coast from Inverness to John o ’ Groats will be a boon to “ End to Enders ” �inishing the popular Land ’ s End to John o ’ Groats charity walk . Previous to its inception , they had to endure the busy traf�ic on the A9 and A99 coastal roads . The John o ’ Groats Trail builds on the pioneering work of the Caithness Waybaggers , now merged with Hillwalkers Anonymous , who opened up the glorious Caithness coast path . After crossing the Moray , Cromarty and Dornoch Firths , the route parallels the line of the A9 and A99 as they speed up past some of the most spectacular Devonian Old Red Sandstone seacliffs and geos in Britain , which are ignored , largely unnoticed and invisible , from the road . They include the Needle ’ s Eye and An Dun natural sea arches ; the striated cliffs of Whaligoe and the amazing sea stacks of Duncansby Head . History is never far from the coast in this part of the world , and the route passes no less than �ive ancient castles , including Inverness at the start of the walk ; the ruined Castle Sinclair Girnigoe ; Ackergill Tower , Carn Liath and Keiss and Bucholly Castles in its later stages . In addition to those , the ruined brochs of Carn Liath north of Dunrobin ; Ousdale Broch north of Helmsdale , and Nybster Broch south of Auckengill are also passed on the route .
Also recently published by Cicerone Hiking and Cycling The California Missions Trail by Sandy Brown (£ 18.95 ), a second edition of Mike Townsend ’ s Walking on Uist and Barra (£ 16.95 ), and a fourth edition of Leigh Hatts ’ Walking the Thames Path (£ 17.95 ).
Walking the Camino : A Journey for the Heart and Soul
Julia Goodfellow-Smith Self-published , £ 10.99 pb
This self-published book by the
Guild ’ s secretary is the �irst I have seen where the author freely acknowledges the fact that she was assisted in its production by AI ( Arti�icial Intelligence ). She says she used AI for research ( search engines ), for checking grammar and for marketing assistance . Given the current moral concerns about AI and where it might take us , this is a particularly brave and honest
admission . By all accounts , the jury is still out on whether writers should rely on AI or good , old-fashioned NI , ( ie Natural Intelligence ) and their own imagination in the production of their work . Walking the Camino is the latest in the author ’ s quest to complete her personal bucket list , which she has outlined in her previous publications . In the case of the Camino , when another trip she was planning fell through , it was a last-minute decision to join a friend who was already two weeks into the walk . This book is another which should not be regarded purely as a route guide ; there are no maps and minimal directions . In any case , there are already plenty of these for this route on the market . It merely recounts in diary style one person ’ s journey and the people she met on the popular pilgrimage route , which is of�icially known as the Camino de Santiago . It does , however , contain tips for others thinking about doing the route and following in the author ’ s at times painful footsteps .
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