The hardest bit about writing a walk book is not what to put in but what to leave out. There are so many ways up the mountain or routes down the valley that sometimes it's hard to know which ones to choose.
Our latest guide book is a collection of walks that can all be done from stations on the Settle-Carlisle line. Walking the fells, selecting the routes and creating the maps took most of last year. Inevitably there were artistic differences - disagreements about what went in and what was left out.
I'm a bit of a fan of a tea shop and any walk that includes the possibilty of a scone gets my vote.
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| The path to Crummackdale - not far from Elaine's tearoom at Feizor |
My co-author likes the open fells, the wilder the better, so long as there's a pint at the finish.
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| Looking south from Great Knoutberry - only the sheep for company |
We got there in the end and Dales Rail Trails is finally ready to face the world - 18 circular, 14 linear walks and one long distance trail through the western Dales. There are easy routes through Ribblesdale and strenuous climbs over Wild Boar Fell, classic ascents of Ingleborough and secluded paths to Crummackdale. Together they give a comprehensive coverage of the area between Settle and Kirkby Stephen. There are loads of routes we left out though so we've decided to put them on the Dales Rail Trails website as Out-takes - the ones that got away!
4 comments:
Congratulations on the achievement.
I will check it out when we get back to UK.
Hi Chris and Tony - looks great. Jim says that there are quite a few walks here in New Zealand that could use mapping and a guidebook. Perhaps you could do a "work trip" and come visit!
Oh yes please Sarah - do you think you could give me a guided tour?
Do you recommend NZ Mr R??
Out-takes! You’ll be doing a remastered version later I reckon ;-) Sounds great Chris.
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