I’ve been reviewing Vertebrate Publishing books for the past year and they never fail to inspire the imagination for adventures. I was delighted to review Walking the Literary Landscape, particular as it focuses on the North of England. There’s so many hidden gems in the North that guidebooks like this which are national are going to always miss something wonderful.
The slim book is laid out in a relatively standard format with all the necessary safety information and countryside code reminder for hiking and hill walking in the UK.
The book covers 20 walks ranging from 5 to 14km (3 -9 miles), from the Lake District, North East, Peak District to Cheshire. Each walk also relates to a different literary author, which provides a great range of interesting routes and tales.
Each walk is covered with a beautiful photo of the location and a page summary of the author’s links to the landscape. Its then followed by a 2 page guide with step by step notes about the route and an ordnance survey map of the route.
Some of the walks and literary connections are obvious ones – Ted Hudges for the Calder Valley, Bram Stoker for Whitby and Beatrix Pottery for Windermere. Others were a little less obvious, such as William Shakespeare being associated with Wooler, and Charles Dickens with Carrock Fell in Cumbria.
Vertebrate Publishing always do fantastic walking guides but I like this one for the unique theme and the route choices. Rather than taking in the classic walks of the area, the routes are more thoughtful and cover a great range of beautiful locations.
So if you’re looking for inspiration for walks and have time to combine a trip with a good book then I’d highly recommend combining a walk from this guide with something by the author – perhaps a trip to Daresbury with a bit of Lewis Carroll?