Historic walking trails
Journeys along Britain's historic pathways
We retired to the Lake District, to climb mountains steeped in history
In an extract from her new book, the historian traces how her corner of Cumbria was shaped by neolithic axe makers, Wordsworth and Victorian clergy
Country diary: walking through Wise's Eye into a dizzy of birds
The Gobbins, Islandmagee, Co Antrim: The route is chiselled into the cliffs’ base, barely above the clutch of the tide
Walking the wilder side of the Algarve
A self-guided walk along the dramatic cliffs and deserted footpaths of an Algarve a world away from the beach resorts and golf courses
Peru: take the high road to Inca glory
Machu Picchu sees a million visitors a year, but another great pre-Columbian monument remains little-known. We join the first supported trek on the Incas’ Royal Road
Country diary: a wild walk in Wales, in the footsteps of Coleridge
Llangynog, Powys: Bluebell leaves are emerging through the bracken and parsley fern adorns the scree-slopes
Five of the best archaeology walks in the UK
As the days get longer, walking in the great outdoors gains appeal. Archaeological remains add layers of history to these scenic routes
Country diary: a change in the ecological weather
High Fields, Stoney Middleton, Derbyshire: These exhausted hay meadows, now owned by the National Trust, are on the way to being restored
Country diary: a boon to walkers, a threat to the wetland
Dibden Purlieu, New Forest, Hampshire: Presumably intended to make the path more welcoming, the drain has significantly changed the delicate hydrology of this hillside
Country diary: summer breezes across the South Downs
Harting Down, West Sussex: Bees and black-veined marble white butterflies float from flower to flower, as skylarks trill above and a meadow pipit parachutes down into the grass
Country diary: this stony grazing is littered with prehistoric remains
North Hill, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall: Marks of cutting on the edges of split rock are softened and disguised by turf, moss, lichen and rushy pools
Country diary: this old railway sleeper has become a dreaming post
Wenlock Edge, Shropshire The weathered waymark, like a fragment of a wooden henge, is an archive of local history
Country diary: green covers the mines that once scarred this landscape
Gunnislake, Tamar Valley In the late 1800s this north-facing land would have been denuded of vegetation, dominated by smoking chimneys and dust
Rained-out festival has left the fields in chaos
Country Diary: Minninglow, Derbyshire The Y Not festival site is still a mess, but a walk along the High Peak Trail underlines the resilience of nature
Bring on Valhalla: on the Viking trail in Denmark
West Jutland is bringing old Norse culture to life with interactive attractions alongside historic sites and nature trails. Mother and daughter immerse themselves in a land of legend
Listening for the shovels, hooves and curses of long-dead miners
Country Diary: Frosterley, Weardale The footpaths were deserted, but, at every turn, there were signs of the days when they echoed with the sounds of human labour
Books to give you hope: Wild by Cheryl Strayed
This memoir of an epic walk along the US’s Pacific Crest Trail, during which the author regains lost strength, offers redemptive inspiration to any reader
The Old Straight Track by Alfred Watkins – walking through the past
This eccentric but rigorous study of lost routes across England draws on archaeology and etymology, but is shot through with a compelling poetry
Reaves and cairns and midges too
Country Diary: North Hill, Cornwall Ancient boundaries cross the moor, a stone row linking Fox Tor with a hill crowned in ring cairns
Manchester walking tour — Peterloo massacre, 196 years on
This Sunday marks the anniversary of one of the most important moments in UK democratic history, which ultimately led to the founding of the Manchester Guardian. Charlie Bennett has devised a walking tour to commemorate Peterloo
Granite tors wear summer dress of sedges, sphagnum and cotton grass
Country Diary St Breward, Bodmin Moor: Skylarks sing above this expanse where drifts of flowering grasses mix with stony outcrops
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