A guidebook to walking the Pennine Way, England’s toughest National Trail. Suited to fit experienced walkers, the 427km (265 mile) route from Edale to Kirk Yetholm follows northern England’s mountainous spine, passing through three national parks: the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland. The route is described from south to north in 20 stages of between 11 and 32km (7–20 miles). Contains step-by-step description of the route alongside 1:100,000 maps and elevation profiles Includes a separate map booklet containing OS 1:25,000 mapping with the route line Route summary table and trek planner showing the distribution of facilities and public transport along the route Accommodation listings GPX files available for free download

This book presents a portrait of the Pennine Way, Britain's oldest and best known long-distance footpath, tracing its remarkable history through the experiences of walkers past and present. As Andrew McCloy walks the 268-mile route from the Derbyshire Peak District to the Scottish borders, he discovers how the Pennine Way set a benchmark for personal challenge and adventure and how reconnecting with wild places and the unhurried rhythm of the long walk continue to provide a much-needed antidote to our busy modern age. The resilience of the long distance walker is mirrored in the path's fascinating history: the initial struggle for access, battles to tame the bogs, later challenges of path erosion and the fluctuating circumstances of the rural hostel. Above all else however this is a book about Pennine Way people - from crusading ramblers to resourceful B&B landladies, hard working rangers to fanatical trail walkers. Their conversations and memories are woven into the narrative to give an account of the changing fortunes of the path and its special significance. Personal, thoughtful and often humorous, The Pennine Way - the Path, the People, the Journey is an exploration of our desire for challenge and adventure, the stimulation of wild places and how a long journey on foot through our own country still resonates today. It will appeal to people who have walked or are preparing to walk the Pennine Way, as well as to those with an interest in the history and legacy of this iconic path.

PLAYAWAY. 'Walking Home' describes Simon Armitage's extraordinary, yet ordinary, journey. It's a story about Britain's remote and overlooked interior - the wildness of its landscape and the generosity of the locals who sustained him on his journey. It's about facing emotional and physical challenges, and sometimes overcoming them.

'I am already planning the next adventure. The wanderlust that infected me has no cure.' It all started in Fishguard in the mid-1970s when, aged fifteen, Martyn Howe and a friend set off on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path armed with big rucksacks, borrowed boots, a Primus stove and a pint of paraffin, and a thirst for adventure. After repeating the route almost thirty years later, Martyn was inspired to walk every National Trail in England and Wales, plus the four Long-Distance Routes (now among the Great Trails) in Scotland. His 3,000-mile journey included treks along the South West Coast Path, the Pennine Way, the Cotswold Way and the West Highland Way. He finally achieved his ambition in 2016 when he arrived in Cromer in Norfolk, only to set a new goal of walking the England and Wales Coast Paths and the Scottish National Trail. In Tales from the Big Trails, Martyn vividly describes the diverse landscapes, wildlife, culture and heritage he encounters around the British Isles, and the physical and mental health benefits he derives from walking. He also celebrates the people who enrich his travels, including fellow long-distance hikers, tourists discovering Britain's charm, farmers working the land, and the friendly and eccentric owners of hostels, campsites and B&Bs. And when he is asked 'Why do you do it?', the answer is as simple as placing one foot in front of the other: 'It makes me happy.'

To replace its previous two-volume guide to the Pennine Way, Aurum now publishes an entirely new one-volume guide for the 21st-century walker. The Pennine Way is Britain’s toughest long-distance path, running 268 miles from Derbyshire’s Peak District up through the Yorkshire Dales, Cumbria and Northumberland into the Scottish Borders. Until now, Aurum’s Trail Guide has covered it in two volumes, where our competitors publish one, and those volumes have been bulked out with circular day walks which no-one essaying the arduous task of walking even a stretch of the Path will realistically want to divert to do. Now, Damian Hall, one of Country Walking’s senior contributors, has written a completely new guide, giving all the information the modern walker requires: GPS references, gradients of each section, public transport links, extensive details of the wildlife and flora to be seen along the way, and a guide for occasional walkers to the real highlight stretches of the path.

On 24 April 2015, it will have been exactly fifty years since a ceremony was held at Malham to mark the official opening of the Pennine Way Long Distance Footpath (now designated a National Trail), a trek of some 270 miles from Edale in Derbyshire’s Peak District to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders. There are now 15 National Trails of varying length but despite competition from younger upstarts, the pioneering Pennine Way retains its cachet of being the most challenging (and consequently most rewarding) expedition across vast tracts of Britain's untamed countryside. The legendary fell-walker, writer and illustrator Alfred Wainwright published his own inimitable step-by-step pocket guide to the Pennine Way in 1966 and in 1985 used that material as the basis for a collaboration with photographer Derry Brabbs: Wainwright on the Pennine Way, an illustrated overview of the trail, which topped the Sunday Times best-seller list for several weeks. For this edition, published in a handsome new large format, Wainwright's text has been revised and annotated to account for the changes in the route that have occurred in recent years, as well as the improvements to the terrain underfoot, in areas where flagstone paths now cover the boggy peat moors. In addition, Derry Brabbs has reshot the entire book specially with stunning year-round photography, to bring this classic fully up to date. Wainwright on the Pennine Way brings together a writer and a photographer who have each been acclaimed for their artistry in recording the high places of Britain. This is a ‘must have’ memento or gift for anyone who has done the route or an aspirational reference work for armchair walkers content to let others do the legwork.

Italy's Alta Via 1, a 180km trail through the Italian Alps following the northern flank of the Aosta Valley, boasts magnificent views of the Alpine giants: Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, the Grand Combin and Monte Rosa. Indeed, it is sometimes known as the Giants' Trail and can be combined with a sister-route, the Alta Via 2 (covered in a separate Cicerone guide), which runs along the southern flank of the valley, to form the Tor des Géants. Stretching from Donnas to Courmayeur, the Alta Via 1 offers fantastic alpine walking, with welcoming refuges and small hotels providing overnight accommodation (and great food) along the way. The guide presents the route in two sections, for the advantage of those who can't spare the full fortnight-plus needed to walk the entire AV1. The trail is described in 16 stages, with alternative stages covering some popular variants, including an optional detour to visit the famed monastery at the Great St Bernard Pass. Each stage includes clear route description and mapping, plus notes on local points of interest and accommodation options. An alternative itinerary, list of useful contacts, kitlist and glossary can be found in the appendices. The AV1 crosses cols of nearly 3000m as it traverses the side-valleys of the main Aosta Valley. Suited to those with some of experience of alpine trekking, the walking is demanding but without technical difficulty. And the rewards are many: quieter huts, breathtaking vistas and a chance to immerse yourself in fabulous mountain landscapes overlooked by soaring, snow-clad giants.

This title presents a record of the Cultural Olympiad sponsored project headed by Simon Armitage to carve specially commissioned poems into rocks in the landscape surrounding the Pennine Way. The book is filled with pictures accompanying the poems and accounts of the project.