Walks Aviemore including Glenmore & Speyside Author: Richard Hallewell

The old Walks Speyside guide has been completely rewalked.  This is one of our earliest books (1999), and covers one of Scotland’s most popular walking areas.  As with the East Perthshire guide, we felt that the old title no longer meant much to the casual visitor, so have brought the main walking centre – Aviemore – to the fore.  The walking is, of course, superb: the massive, rounded, Cairngorm Mountains; the long paths through the magnificent Caledonian pine forest around Loch Morlich; the more gentle hills of the Monadhliaths – the hill path from Aviemore to Carrbridge, via Sluggan Bridge, is a personal favourite (photo bottom left).
Few of the routes had changed to any degree.  The footbridge at Carnachuin, in upper Glen Feshie, was washed away in a flood and is yet to be replaced; there are some new signposts (and a new forest road) on the path from Drumguish to Glen Feshie; the forest walks at Glenmore and the little Uath Lochans have been altered, but otherwise most of the routes are much as before.  The one new route in the book is the path from Kingussie to Newtonmore via Loch Gynack: a pleasant, varied walk, staring through mixed woodland and ending over open moorland.
Most serious walkers will have spent some time in this area.  It was worth revisiting these walks – after a few years exploring other areas – to be reminded just what a terrific walking area it is.
For more details or to order a copy click here.

Walks Grasmere, Ambleside & Windermere – Author: Richard Hallewell

At the end of last year we rewalked one of our most popular guides.  Although the geographical area covered is tiny – the smallest of any of our guides – such is the density of good footpaths in the heart of the Lake District that this is a very strong selection of walks.  The hills are rugged; the lakes and tarns numerous and varied; the dales winding and beautiful.  And the whole area is criss-crossed by a web of footpaths which can be linked to make walks of any length.

Usually, Lake District rewalks are simple affairs.  The routes have been established for so long that there are rarely any major changes.  This time around things were slightly different.  Bridges removed (Great Langdale) or added (Skelwith Bridge); paths altered (Tarn Howes to Coniston) or removed (Brundholme Wood); the ever shifting paths on the east side of Loughrigg – virtually every route needed an alteration of some kind to bring it up to date.  Well, the changes have been made and the updated guide is now available (now at £2.50, to bring it more into line with the other books in the series).

This is a very popular area, of course, and very busy – it is some time since I braved walking around Ambleside in high Summer – but for sheer quality and variety of walking within a given area, the Lake District remains hard to beat.

For more details or to buy a copy click here.

Shortly after we published the first Pocket Walks Guide – Walks Deeside, in 1994 – it dawned on us that it might be possible to produce similar guides for the whole of Scotland, and that the existence of such a series – providing seamless coverage, split into small areas – might prove useful to the general walker.  Since then we have gently progressed towards that goal – slowed by rewalks and by enjoyable diversions into England along the way – and with the completion of the two Wester Ross guides we feel that the north of the country is sufficiently well covered that we can begin to number the series, north to south.

At present we have 29 Scottish guides (with another due this year: watch this space), describing 802 walks.  When we are finished there will be 38-40 guides, describing over 1,000 walks from Shetland to the Solway.  It may take a little while to reach the last area, but from now on we shall be showing the (rough) boundaries of the anticipated books beside those of the books which have been completed.  At this juncture I would like to pause to thank all those of you who have bought books from the series in the past, and who have passed on comments on the routes.  Good walking to you all!  Here’s hoping for a decent Summer, and I hope you will continue to find the new guides – and the completed series – useful.