The Gentle Art of Tramping

In Ambleside the other week, in Fred Holdsworth’s wonderful independent bookshop, where we always have a browse if we are walking in the vicinity, I was thrilled to spot a brand-new and beautiful edition of Stephen Graham’s classic work on vagabonding, The Gentle Art of Tramping (Bloomsbury). Now I already have a first edition of

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Exploring Unknown Footpaths

Richard Jefferies, the Victorian country chronicler, was always full of praise for country footpaths – “always get over a stile” was his motto. And he was right. You never know what you might find when you take a walk down a public footpath or bridleway that you haven’t been down before. A few blogs ago,

Dartmoor Path in Peril

One of Dartmoor’s oldest paths is under threat of being stopped up – and you have just a few days to object. The footpath, running through Okehampton Battlecamp, on the northern boundary of the Dartmoor National Park, is facing closure by the Ministry of Defence, despite the fact that it existed long before the battlecamp

Walking to England’s Highest Roman Fort

Epiacum, the Romans called it, a second-century fort built to guard the empire’s interests in Pennine lead mining, and probably to provide backup for Hadrian’s Wall. It’s unique in being the only lozenge-shaped fort in Britain – rather than the more familiar playing-card shape, and has the most complex defences of any Roman fort yet

Brownber – A Much Neglected Hill

Brownber Hill – you see its splendid shape from so many places. Many gaze, I suspect, but few climb to its lonely summit. But why not? It’s a grand hill and a terrific viewpoint. A dramatic rampart of the Eden edge of the North Pennines. It’s not that people don’t walk in the area. Nearby