Walking Tour

[ChrisM]

Hi guys. My wife has asked for a 7-day walking tour in the British Isles, as a50th Birthday gift.

As this is the place where I encounter the most residents of those isles, I thought I might do well to ask here at the Cafe.

Suggestions?

Oh: Timeframe: Late August or September, 2007.

Thanks!

Chris

[howard h]

Congratulations on her 50th (I'll be there soon!)!
What sort of walking do you like? Coastal, hills/lakes, villages? Either way, it's easy to do in the UK, if you like Youth Hostelling (rather than hotels) you can base walks going from hostel to hostel.

Can't promise the weather, but Sept is prob the best time to visit (not too hot/cold) and the kids have gone back to school, so everywhere's less crowded and cheaper!

Personally, I would choose NW Scotland, rugged, remote, beautiful coast and mountains.

[ChrisM]

Our current plan is that in June of this year we will sail our small sailboat from the US to Ireland. We will make landfall in Bantry, and spend several months on the emerald isle. We plan to fly back to the US in the fall, leaving the boat in europe (incl UK/Eire).

So my thoughts run down several paths, not all of them congruent: We could look for a walk in Eire, or we could look for a walk that is very different than the scenery we will see in Eire.

Our inclinations are to nature, so not a London walk, but maybe Hadrian's wall, or the cliffs of Wales. (Do I have that right? Are there cliffs in Wales?)

But we have spent very little time in the UK, so maybe we should start with the Lake District...isn't that where everyone begins?

Or shall we wander the mud and marshes of the Thames estuary...

So many choices...so hard to choose.

And that's why I brought it up here.

So, rock your cafe chair back onto it's hind legs, let your eyes loose focus softly into the ceiling, sip your pint of bitter, and let me know what YOU would recommend.

Thanks mates!

[cessna152towser]

My walks have taken me all over Britain; paths along disused railway tracks from Yatton to Cheddar in Somerset - Strawberry Line; Barnstaple to Bideford, Torrington & Meeth in Devon; The Camel Trail from Padstow to Wadebridge, Bodmin and Wenfordbridge in Cornwall; Braintree to Bishops Stortford in Essex; Whitby to Scarborough in Yorkshire; The Wirral way from West Kirby to Hooton in the north-west; Hadfield to Woodhead in the western pennines; the Port Road from Dumfries to Newton Stewart; the Waverley route and branches in the Scottish Borders; the Speyside Way from Dufftown to Baillindalloch in the north of Scotland etc. etc. Some of these walks can be quite busy with cyclists in summer but are quiet out of the main holiday season. If you prefer something more challenging there are lots of waymarked routes like the Southern Upland Way and many shorter routes among the rolling hills around here in the Scottish Borders, as well as lots of forest trails - I often do these walks in casual kilts and have never had any hassle.

[Milfmog]

One option would be to walk the Thames Path, a designated National Trail. This starts at the source of the river, goes through Oxford and Windsor, amongst other places, and finishes at the Thames Barrier in London, so you'd get the opportunity to take in some of the cultural bits (if that's your bag) as well as a generally rural walk. Being along a river there's little change in altitude so it's a pretty easy walk. Total distance is abut 150 miles but any section can be walked or you could do bits and use public transport to skip sections.

You may find the National Trails website useful.

Another personal favourite of mine is the Pembrokeshire Coast Path in the south west corner of Wales (details available at the same website).

Hope that helps.

Have fun,


Ian.

[Stevie D]

Here's a website - Graham's Walks - that will give you a flavour of upland walking in England, Wales and Scotland.

http://stigvista.co.uk/walks.htm

[ChristopherJ]

First - Scotland is too big - you won't have time to see much. And also the walking is tough there - it's not a gentle rambling country! And it rains. Every day.

As you mention cliffs, I really don't think that you could beat the North Devon and/or North Cornwall coast. Spectacular cliffs, tiny sandy beaches here and there - well marked footpath - which is a National Trail. Small villages every 10 miles or so where you could find accommodation.

It's as close to heaven as you are ever likely to get . . .

No. I'm not biased! Whatever made you think that?

[ChrisM]

Wow, what a welath of information - thank you very much, gentlemen!

Walking is not something done in the USA, and thus I don't know much about the practical aspects of a walking tour. I have found some organized tours, and I understand that in that case the tour organizer will arrange in advance for each night's lodging, and will have a van to forward the luggage on a daily basis. They also provide a guide, although that seems to be optional. All of these services seem worthwhile.

But from what some of you have said, I take it that there is a lot more un-guided, or (to abuse a word) un-organized walking taking place. In that case, how do you attend to the logistics? How do you get your luggage to your next night's lodging (do you carry it?) How do you know where your next night's lodging will be, if you have never been in the area before? And how do you get to and from the walk's beginning and end...assuming you don't carry your motorcar in your rucksak with you! (smile).

I would appreciate all kinds of practical counsel on this very-civilized form of entertainment.

Thanks.

Chris

[Stevie D]

In the UK, there are lots of youth hostels (http://www.yha.org.uk) for people of all ages, where it is the done thing to walk from one hostel to another, carrying all your gear with you. However if you don't want to do that - if you have too much dunnage to carry with you on a backpack - then there are plenty of small hotels/guesthouses in the good walking areas. You can then do circular walks taking the high ground if you want, returning to the same base in the evening. You can stop in one place for a couple of days or so, before moving on by car to the next. This is what many people do.

Remember that the UK is small and compact by US standards; it's only central and north-west Scotland where mountain walking can be *really* remote. The mountainous areas such as the Lake District, Snowdonia, and the upland moorlands of the Pennines, Peak District and the south-west moorlands such as Dartmoor are all relatively small so that significant enjoyable (and challenging) walks can be done on an 'out-and-back' basis.

Hope this helps.

[Stevie D]

One more tip....
Don't skimp on the maps. I have seen many people on the hills lost or uncertain because they had no map or merely an inadequate map. Don't be like that! Get the Ordnance Survey maps of the areas you are going to visit. They are truly worth every penny.

The Ordnance Survey maps of the UK are, in my opinion, the finest in the world. They are readily available, and relatively cheap. For walkers, the best scales are the 1:50,000 Landranger series (about 1.25 inches to a mile) and the 1:25,000 Explorer series (about 2.5 inches to a mile). Both are extremely clear, supremely accurate and reliable, show contours, footpaths and rights of way, and many other useful features. In addition the 1:25,000 Explorer series show walls, hedges and other field boundaries in the open countryside, which are especially useful for navigation. Both series are overlain with the National Grid - a systematic mesh of kilometre grid lines from which you can pinpoint any location - useful if you get into difficulties.

You can buy OS maps form any good UK bookshop or cafes, etc., in tourist areas. Or you can buy them on-line from the OS website:
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/

Yes - you can buy other, cheaper maps, not published by the OS, but they are nowhere near as good, nor do they normally have the National Grid.

[Charlie]

... and don't forget to pack a kilt or skirt or two. Walking in a kilt is great and we don't have any poisonous creepy-crawlies to run up it Also, most people are completely unfazed by a kilt - except for the usual tiresome question :rolleyes:

Charlie

[Departed Member]

Don't forget your GPS, either!

[crfriend]

[... I]n June of this year we will sail our small sailboat from the US to Ireland. We will make landfall in Bantry, and spend several months on the emerald isle. We plan to fly back to the US in the fall, leaving the boat in europe (incl UK/Eire).

Where will you be departing from, and, out of curiosity, how big is the vessel you'll be sail on? All in all, it sounds like you two are in for a fantastic trip! Heading back for the boat the following year?

... and don't forget to pack a kilt or skirt or two.

I suspect that goes without saying. Interestingly, my web-browser/spell-checker indicates that "kilt" is a mis-spelling. I need to "educate" it. Where's my soldering-iron?

Don't skimp on the maps.

There's wisdom. If you'll be away from visual cues like chimneys where you can at least find guidance or a telephone, a map will be a most welcome companion.

Don't forget your GPS, either!

Don't folks today receive any sort of training as to how to orient themselves with nothing but a map and compass (if one has a compass, that is) any more? If not, it's a crying shame -- learning to do it "the Old School" way has its benefits; the batteries never quit. Whatever became of the sextant, compass, and chronometer mentality? I have nothing against technology, but I'm not a big fan of over-reliance on it.

[Departed Member]

Don't folks today receive any sort of training as to how to orient themselves with nothing but a map and compass (if one has a compass, that is) any more? If not, it's a crying shame -- learning to do it "the Old School" way has its benefits; the batteries never quit. Whatever became of the sextant, compass, and chronometer mentality? I have nothing against technology, but I'm not a big fan of over-reliance on it.

I wouldn't fancy my chances on the West Coast of Ireland without something a little more 'positive' than a mere map, shall I say? A map of what? There is a lot of 'nothing', and it stretches for miles. Same applies to various other parts of Britain when the 'mist' descends. But I do agree, you need 'all round' training. Don't be fooled into thinking the British Isles are 'small' - too many folk die of exposure - every year, and not just novices/strangers. My mate brought too many corpses off Ben Nevis in his time with Mountain Rescue............:shake:

[ChrisM]

Thanks to all for the helpful replies.

Specifically for CRF: The boat is 1968 Columbia 36 sailboat. She has been our primary residence for the past 7 years. We sailed her on the Pacific from Canada to Mexico, but then the company relocated me to WAshington DC so we have been sailing on the Chesapeake Bay.

I can't take the 9-5-suit-and-tie-pecking-order-bull-hockey any more so i am going to chuck it and go sailing. I'll be gaining an income via consulting.

We have never sailed on the Atlantic, so we approach this passage with some trepidation. There will be three of us (#3 daughter will be on board) so watchstanding will be adequate. And in June/July the passage is likely to be benign, although we won't count on that.

The crossing should take about a month.

We will then wander in Eire or thereabouts until fall (October?) and fly back to US, returning to the boat in spring. We intend to become 'snowbirds' between our high-latitude boat and a warm-states RV (Caravan). I have some consulting opportunities in Norway....(Things get fuzzy in the out years...sailors don't make very firm plans too far in advance.)

Of course, I do have certain orienteering skills, although I don't fancy bringing a sextant and sight reduction tables on a countryside walk (smile.) But I almost always carry my GPS. Got lost wandering the streets of Sydney during the Olympics and had to 'home in' on my hotel in Bondi via GPS waypoint!

For all: I have a few more questions about walking tours in the UK. I described some of the options and Madame expressed a strong preference for a self-guided tour. But as we are both at about 50 years of age, we would prefer not to live out of a rucksack, and would prefer a few more sybaritic pleasures (there's a lovely Castle hotel on the Hadrian's wall walk - thanks for that National Trails link!) So I like the idea of sending the luggage on ahead, and walking to meet it.

So how can one do that without a tour organizer? Is there a means of sending luggage ahead? (Could I call a taxi and pay him to run it to the next B&B?) And how about picking those B&B's in the first place? I guess I can take a shot just as one does in any strange city..but what about this idea: Does it seem possible that there might be a tour organizer who arranges all this logistics but doesn't actually walk with? You know the sort of thing: He would arrange the lodging, and arrange a van to schlep the bags, but he doesn't keep you company on the road.

I'm almost ready to dare to build a walking tour a la carte, but would be interested in a wee bit more hand-holding.

Your comments are appreciated, mates! Keep 'em coming!

Chris