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32 Articles

THERE IS A fabulous story somewhere in this bumper issue of Country Walking about the power of walking with friends. It reminded me that there might be no more beautiful train of words than ‘you're among friends here’. And you really are. If you've ever thought, ‘I'd like to get a bit more exercise, but I can't stand the thought of going to the gym’, we've got you. If you've ever passed through a kissing-gate onto a woodland track and felt your pulse quicken with childlike wonder, we see you. And if you've ever stood on top of a hill or mountain and thought, ‘by golly, I feel ABSOLUTELY SUPERHUMAN RIGHT NOW’, we're right there with you. The friendships start with the team of lovely people who are your guides…

‘Chieftain o’ the puddin’ race!’

Robert Burns – also known as Rabbie, the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire – is Scotland's most famous poet. His verses include Auld Lang Syne, My Heart's in the Highlands, To a Mouse and To a Louse, and in 2009, the nation voted him the greatest Scot of all time. Folk have been celebrating his life and work since five years after his untimely death in 1796, aged just 37. The first Burns Supper was a small gathering of the poet's friends; now it's a January fixture – on his birthday on the 25th – across Scotland, and the world too. And where better to walk than his early stamping grounds at Alloway on the Ayrshire coast, where you can stroll to the beachside ruin of Greenan Castle, and…

‘Chieftain o’ the puddin’ race!’

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS MONTH

1 The woods are wild England's forests are home to over 5000 species of fungi and 1000 species of invertebrates, new research reveals. Forestry England used cutting-edge DNA testing on soil, water and air over four months, discovering more species than in the last century of traditional sampling. Rare finds include the glistening waxcap, and the data will be a baseline for assessing nature restoration work. Meanwhile, the Woodland Trust has revealed a list of weird and wonderful species living in our temperate rainforests, a precious habitat that now covers just 1% of Britain. The stinky sticta lichen whiffs of fish, the hazel gloves fungus looks like intestines, and the ash-black slug can grow to 20cm long and swings in the treetops to mate. 2 There's a word for it… The clumps…

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS MONTH

‘The outdoors is where we're meant to be’

AS I WAS preparing to chat to Bill Bailey, I tried to work out if there was one common element that unites all the myriad things we love him for. A phenomenally talented musician. An enduringly loveable stand-up comedian. The winner of Strictly Come Dancing 2020. A devoted birdwatcher. And a man who likes to relax by paddleboarding and (here's the rub) walking. Then I realised what it was. Rhythm. From the ebb and flow of making an audience howl with laughter to the simple swish of footsteps; from the sound of birdsong to a top-scoring samba: Bill Bailey is a creature of rhythm. “I think – hope – most of us are, in some way,” he says when I suggest it. “I think it's probably down to our connection…

‘The outdoors is where we're meant to be’

SEALS RESTING ON sandbanks, dolphins jumping from the waves, medieval colleges, clifftop cafés, botanic gardens… these aren't the images that come to most people's minds when they think of Aberdeen, but they're all here. Scotland's third biggest city grew up partly around the cobbled lanes of Old Aberdeen, where St Machar's cathedral still towers over flowering Seaton Park. This area is packed with things to see so our first walk is a winding exploration through some of the city's oldest treasures to the long, sandy beach. Next day, we head over to Greyhope Bay, where a new project aims to connect visitors with the area's marine wildlife. You can stroll past historic lighthouses, defensive towers and jetties while watching huge gannets plummeting beak-first into the North Sea. The new glass-walled…

WRITE TO US AT: Country Walking, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA EMAIL: editorial@countrywalking.co.uk FACEBOOK: facebook.com/countrywalking TWITTER/X: x.com/countrywalking LETTER OF THE MONTH The next challenge? Having finished the Wainwrights a few years ago my wife, Jane, and I were looking for a new challenge. So when we saw the article in the June 2021 Country Walking magazine about the Ethels, our curiosity was aroused. ‘Looking for a new tick-list?’ the article asked. ‘Try the Ethels, 95 distinct Peak District summits’. We had moved from Cambridgeshire to West Yorkshire in 2014, and live right on the northern boundary of the national park. So the challenge was ideal for us. The Ethels, named after Ethel Haythornthwaite who lobbied for the Peak to become our first National Park in 1951, are peaks…

The Path of Peace

I recently picked up this book on a speedy visit to the library, when I didn't have much time to consider my selection. Well, it was a great choice and I would highly recommend it. Such a thoughtful and well crafted book. I learned so much about the First World War, the horror and pointlessness of it all. I was constantly worried about the author's feet too. Did he make a good choice of boots? Definitely one to add to the ‘walking reads’ bookshelf. Alison Miller, by email…

The Path of Peace

Kes the conker-colour Cocker is an inveterate explorer, often finding his way into the unlikeliest of places when we're busy putting the magazine together. In fact he's hiding out in this issue for you to find! Spot him (not on this page) and you could win over £47 worth of Mountain Paws goodies – just email the page number where you found Kes, along with your address, to: ifoundkes@LFTO.com by 31 January 2025 putting ‘Kes February’ in the subject line. Congrats to Stuart Merritt from Somerset, who spotted Kes on 66 of the December issue, and wins this month's prize! GREAT PRIZES WORTH OVER £47…

A VERY WARM WELCOME to a brand new year in the world of Country Walking. A limitless world of opportunity and ambition lies ahead, and I will greet it, somewhat predictably, with my New Year's resolutions. (This is by no means a new phenomenon. Authors have written humorous columns on this subject for as long as there have been columns to put them in.) Here, then, are some of the things I will be resolving to do in 2025… and several I will be resolutely not doing. I will finish the Cotswold Way. Or at least do some more of it. I have done several little sections of this 102-mile National Trail over the past few years and they were just as cute as you'd expect. I must get over…

Britain's BRILLIANT landscapes

IT'S AN INCONCEIVABLE wonder that Dunwich Heath and Ben Nevis are on the same planet, never mind the same landmass. And yet here they are, happily sharing this small corner of the earth along with all their other pals on this page. So we asked our writers to travel to each of these landscapes and write them a love letter, to be intercepted by you. What follows is the result: eight remarkable stories designed to bring you to these amazing places. Britain, you see, is full of inconceivable wonders. You're about to meet them.…

THERE ARE PROBABLY a thousand pairs of eyes watching me. There's a flock of rooks and jackdaws circling above the ash copse, below which maybe 50 fallow deer are hiding between the tree trunks, every head turned my way. A fox, roused from its daytime slumberings, keeps one eye alert. Then there are the small mammals, songbirds, pigeons, pheasants, raptors, insects, reptiles, amphibians…oh, and a scarecrow. Walking through the middle of a field in the English Midlands, I am the untouchable focus of all attention. Utilised agricultural areas – or as I like to call them, fields – cover around 70% of the UK's landmass. That's more than 17 million hectares. But you don't need me to tell you fields are everywhere: stretching the horizons of East Anglia, scaling the…

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

A PRE-DAWN START is something I'll always associate with big mountain days. It's how Alpine peaks have traditionally been tackled – the 4am stumble out of your rifugio to reach a snowbound summit before sunrise. It's the signature approach of peak baggers, as they labour to squeeze as many summit ticks as possible into a single outing. And, sometimes, it's a thing you do simply for the joy of watching day break from a high and lonely place. There's a feeling that comes alongside those early starts. It's part adrenaline, part childlike anticipation, part excitement and just a dash of controlled panic – because no long day in the mountains comes without a small element of risk. Much as I love woodland wanders, the ups and downs of coastal paths…

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

Water, water, everywhere

MAGIC HANGS IN the air on the Avalon Marshes, but not because of Arthurian legend or the mystical ley lines that are said to run through its peat-rich soil. It's all down to the alchemic power of water in the landscape. The winter sun hangs low today, stretching shadows across the lake, light glistening on perfectly formed wavelets. Nestled between the Mendips and the Polden Hills, we can see the abbey-topped mound of Glastonbury Tor, as dusk begins to darken the sky. There's a rustle of reeds as we set out along the boardwalk and into this low-lying wetland. Step off the wooden walkway and the ground feels so sponge-like in places that it's hard to tell where land ends and water begins. A flock of starlings career into view,…

Water, water, everywhere

THE LAST TIME I wrote a piece about walking round a city, a friend of mine raised an eyebrow. “You do know the name of the magazine you work for, right?” he asked with scorn. “So why are you writing about Liverpool?” Well, yes, I do know that the word ‘country’ appears in the name of this magazine. But I also know three other things. 1) That walking is walking, and wherever it happens, we love it. 2) Towns and cities are where most of us live, so while we might relish those blessed escapes into the countryside, the daily walk of the average Briton is usually, in some way, urban. 3) Some of Country Walking's most successful issues and warmly received stories have come from the exploration of towns…

The OPEN SPACES Society

I FIRST KNEW MOORLAND as a sort of longing as I spied it from the back seat of the car. As we drove about the country as an RAF family, we'd pass through these long stretches of lonely-looking high ground, en route to somewhere more interesting or more pressing, and I'd think, why can't we stop here? Or better yet, why don't you let me out here and I'll find my way over the course of what might be days or months? Living for a few years in Carlisle, the family got into fell-walking and dad prided himself on being able to name every Lake District peak within a 360-degree radius. But he was never able to recite the names of the great, leaden moors on the wrong side of…

The OPEN SPACES Society

I do like to be BESIDE THE SEASIDE

I'M TRYING TO work out what the best thing is about this beach. The golden sand is quite glorious, but it's not that. The waves gently kneading the shore have me in a trance, but it's not those either. Neither is it the stream that drops into a pool, then spills out across the bay. For me, it's the fact that no one else is here. This might make me sound like an antisocial grouch, but on an island that's home to Newquay, Blackpool and Skegness, the prospect of securing a beach all to myself seems improbable. Just finding a parking spot within sight of the ocean in summertime can feel like uncovering lost treasure. But away from the candy floss and mini golf lie mile after mile of coastal…

I do like to be BESIDE THE SEASIDE

Where the wild things are

SKYLARKS ARE SINGING overhead as I walk between yellow, coconut-scented banks of gorse. The sandy track ahead winds through wiry miles of heather with scattered birch and pine trees. The UK is home to one fifth of the planet's lowland heath. These open areas with poor soil and low-growing plants are one of the world's most unusual and embattled habitats, supporting unique species of wildlife: mammals, birds, plants, Nreptiles and insects. Early butterflies are flickering through the spring sunlight. I spot a brown speckled wood and several cheerful orange tips. A melodic fluting sound nearby turns out to be a rare woodlark (thanks Merlin app!) and an orange-breasted stonechat calls from the top of a gorse bush. Heath looks quintessentially wild and natural, but is actually a manmade landscape. From…

Where the wild things are

A walk in the woods

STEPPING INTO A woodland is like diving into an ocean. This isn't a landscape you walk on; it's one you walk in. Roots twist into the earth beneath you, trunks grow beside you, branches stretch above you, all thrumming with ever-changing life that plays on every sense. Just think of the sweet scent of bluebells, the garlicky taste of young ramson leaves, the cackling yaffle of a green woodpecker, the eye-catching red and white polka dot toadstool of a fly agaric and the velvet touch of a mossy branch. You could spend a year visiting a single square metre of forest and never get bored; scientist David George Haskell proved it in his fascinating book The Forest Unseen. The woodland I'm walking today is 30 million times that size. West…

A walk in the woods

INSULATED JACKETS

YOUR COMPLETE BUYING GUIDE TO WE'LL GO OUT on a limb here, and suggest that the insulated jacket might be the most exciting purchase in the buying life of a walker. Yes, boots and rucksacks are pretty cool, but they don't give you a hug like an insulator does. They don't offer that magical dopamine hit that comes with wrapping yourself in instant, soul-nourishing warmth. They don't promise blissful winter days when you'll feel snug (and indeed smug) even though it's -8° out there. (Their nickname isn't ‘duvet jackets’ for nothing). So yeah, we think the pulse quickens when it's time to buy an insulator. But within that excitement comes a somewhat daunting level of choice. It starts with the filling: some jackets use natural down to keep you warm,…

INSULATED JACKETS

Wellies for muddy walks

SOLOGNAC Glenarm 300 £20 A remarkably-priced basic welly from retailer Decathlon, the Glenarm is durable enough for woodland and farmland walks, where its rugged outsole offers decent traction. It's not awfully sophisticated though; the opening is floppy which can make it tricky to get your feet in if you're in a hurry or the dark, and it doesn't feel quite as supportive round the calf as the others in our test. (There's also no adjustment.) But the footbed is comfy enough, and for shorter walks on squelchy days, it's a reliable friend – especially at that bargain price. NH decathlon.co.uk DUNLOP Blizzard £45 These provide instant warmth and comfort with their faux-fur lining and padded cuff – a pleasure on a cold morning. But they can also handle more than…

Wellies for muddy walks

PRIZE CROSSWORD

JANUARY ANSWERS DECEMBER WINNERS Fiona Hunt, Shropshire, Dave Spershott, W Sussex Claire Bolam, Ruthin January issue winners will be published next month. Full terms and conditions can be found at greatcompetitions.co.uk Win Cicerone guidebooks Three lucky winners will each get to select two guidebooks from Cicerone's range, including The National Trails of England, Scotland and Wales and Walking in Arran. For more details, Tel. 01539 562069 or visit www.cicerone.co.uk EMAIL COMPLETED PUZZLES TO: cwcrossword@bauermedia.co.uk Closing date: 31 January 2025 WIN! Bauer Media Group (the publishers of Country Walking) have other great offers and promotions that we think you'll like, but if you'd rather not hear about these offers, please tick this box □ For our privacy policy visit bauerdatapromise.co.uk Bauer Media Group consists of Bauer Consumer Media Ltd, Bauer Radio Ltd…

PRIZE CROSSWORD

OUR ROUTES YOUR WALKS

Email your picture, along with a few words about the walk and your contact details to cwroutes@bauermedia.co.uk THIS MONTH'S PRIZE WINNER CLOUGHA PIKE, Route 14, March 2024 I had an operation to my right knee in August and my recovery has been very slow, but I have recently been able to resume short walks. Every year, between our birthdays, a mate and I meet up to celebrate. I live near Manchester and he lives near Kirkby Stephen, so I was looking for a short walk halfway between us and found this one, and what a little gem it is. The highlight is the exceptional view from the summit area. You can see Blackpool Tower, Heysham Power Station, Morecambe Bay, the Lake District fells, and two of the Yorkshire Three Peaks.…

OUR ROUTES YOUR WALKS

Tom Bailey, Senior Content Creator Miles walked this month: 38 Sunsets, who doesn't love ‘em? Winter sunsets, seen from mountain tops, now they're a different beast altogether… Each winter I try to see at least one and it only takes one to create vivid, lasting memories. This winter has seen success on the Lakeland summit of Kentmere Pike. What's special about a winter mountain sunset I hear you ask? Well, the main way they're different is that darkness comes galloping after the sun, and when you think about the fact you're up in the mountains, that means one of two things: a walk out in the dark by head torch, or a winter wild camp. On this occasion I opted for the latter. Fifteen hours of freezing darkness later, I…

Welcome to the rest of your life

EACH DAY MARKS the start of the rest of our lives - a time that will go by whether we use it or not. Whether we choose to be a passenger in the process or the pilot determines how much we enjoy the journey and how worthwhile the whole caper was - and let's not forget how amazingly unlikely and fortunate it is for us to each find ourselves alive, here, right now in the greatest biological contraption ever conceived. And the great news is it doesn't take years of training to become that pilot - in fact it's easy. Because thousands of years of evolution have preinstalled in each of us the required aptitude and equipment - and a very generous rewards package. All we have to do is…

Welcome to the rest of your life

Why walk 1000 miles?

94% agree It makes a big difference to how you feel Prepare to meet the more robust, sunnier, smilier, problem-solving new you. 99% agree It's better than joining a gym Cheaper, more enjoyable, longer lasting, memory-building, free-roaming… 70% surprised themselves It shows you things about you you never suspected The things you're capable of, the qualities you never knew you possessed. 94% agree You'll be happier More than 9/10 people say they're more contented thanks to doing Walk 1000 Miles; 98% that it's changed life for the better. 96% agree It takes you to new places Places you never suspected near to home; adventurous new horizons you never saw yourself reaching. 73% agree It gives you body confidence The best version of you awaits (and 69% say they've been getting…

Why walk 1000 miles?

How does it work?

IT TAKES AN average of 2.74 miles a day for 12 months to walk 1000 miles. You keep track of it on the Progress Tracker you'll find with this month's magazine. You've got one year from the day you register to complete the 1000. Along the way, you'll make friends and celebrate reaching milestones in the Facebook group -the friendliest place on the internet. We'll send you newsletters, and print pictures and stories of what you get up to on the way in the magazine. At the end you reward yourself with a glorious medal. In essence that's it. And yet it's a challenge unlike any other: you do it on your own, but you're part of a massive community. You can expect tons of support, but look forward to…

How does it work?

The magic of walking and talking

IT WAS AN identical cardboard box that dropped through 40 letterboxes that week. Inside each one was a small, circular compass and a letter that read: “I'm inviting you to take me on a walk…” The packages had been sent by Dee Heddon, an academic from Glasgow University who spends much of her time researching the way that walking can boost creativity. “I decided I was going to turn my research into a gift for my 40th birthday,” explains Dee. “I was so overworked at the time and I thought wouldn't it be lovely to just slow down and spend more time with people who were important to me.” The invite went out to 40 friends and family: her brothers, a nephew and niece, old friends who she hadn't seen…

The magic of walking and talking

Meet our partners

Scarpa has been a world leader in footwear for over 80 years, continually innovating and striving for extraordinary comfort and resilience. We are passionate about the outdoors and have an extensive collection of boots and shoes to ensure people have the best fit, performance and comfort at all times. We're pleased to partner the challenge to encourage more people to get walking and enjoying the outdoors. Whether you're looking for a lightweight go-anywhere shoe or a technical boot for the mountains, we have everything you need. You can find our full collection at scarpa.co.uk FOOTWEAR PARTNER At Bridgedale we believe it's the little things that make the biggest difference to our lives and our socks are one of the little things that will transform your #walk1000miles journey every day. We've…

Meet our partners

Get ready to be superhuman

IT TAKES ABOUT an hour a day to hit 1000 mile in 12 months – and that's a form of exercise that's become one of the most-studied in science. The findings are striking: an hour's walk isn't just pleasurable, safe, accessible, a great way of socialising, of connecting with nature and de-stressing, it's magic for body and mind. In fact it's almost as if we've evolved to do it above all else… Muscles IN 1 WALK: Every muscle, tendon and ligament of your leg is in play, summoning the body's resources and becoming stronger. The rhythm of walking puts you in a state of mild ‘muscular meditation’, which allows your mind to empty and awareness to grow. IN 1000 MILES: Your walking has resulted in better strength, balance, tone and…

Get ready to be superhuman

With you every step of the way

WE LOVE WALKING because it turns the world into an amazing place. It asks so little and gives so much. It takes us to places we'll daydream about forever, and makes us feel more at home in our bodies and our place in the great scheme of things. It feeds our curiosity and starves our anxieties, bringing laughter, adventure and an appetite for life. That's what Country Walking's all about, and if it sounds like the kind of magazine for you, we'd be thrilled to welcome you aboard. Become a CW subscriber and the magazine will come to you 13 times a year, you'll get benefits like half-price access to the incomparable OS Maps app, and you'll have access to all our awardwinning features and photography, routes and reviews. Every…

With you every step of the way

Why walking 1000 miles is the best thing you'll ever do

NEW HORIZONS ‘This challenge takes you places’ ‘I started the #walk1000miles challenge on 1st January and managed to hit 2000 miles of walking last week! Two things I've learned: ‘No. 1: This challenge takes you places. This year alone, I've visited six different countries and practically made the Peak District my backyard. New places, new trails, and new paths every time. My husband might not be thrilled with my searches for ‘the most difficult hikes,’ but hey, a girl needs a hobby! ‘No. 2: This challenge is as much psychological as it is physical. Netflix and a sofa? A rainy day and a blanket? Doing absolutely nothing all day? Nope. I opted for hikes instead. Rain or shine, with boots and waterproofs on. Walking was never the problem – getting…

Why walking 1000 miles is the best thing you'll ever do

The right stuff

P RETTY MUCH EVERY outdoor activity other than walking costs more than walking. (Just ask anyone who's ever got into golf, angling, cycling, photography, paddleboarding, kayaking, climbing, skiing or snowboarding.) At brass tacks, to walk 1000 miles all you need is a decent pair of shoes, a waterproof coat, a jumper of some kind and something to carry your sandwiches in. But a few careful choices will mean you're literally ready for anything and anywhere, for years to come. And perhaps best of all, they can make even the soggy days a joy. Here's what we'd recommend to get you started… The perfect socks It is astonishing how much more comfortable you'll feel in a good pair of walking socks. Its not just about thickness; it's about how they protect…

The right stuff

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