More walks in more places than any other walking magazine
Enjoy every step with Britain's best-selling walking magazine
We scour the length and breadth of Britain to bring you walking inspiration wherever you may be - from the Scottish Highlands right down to the southern tip of Cornwall. We have reviews of the latest kit and heaps of advice to help you get more from your walking, as well as a range of features and interviews with fellow walkers and outdoor enthusiasts to inspire you.
š Explore the Historic WWI Battle Sites of Flanders Fields! š
This summer, immerse yourself in history with 9 special exhibitions, events, and tours that reveal the profound significance of this iconic landscape.
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Donāt miss out on this unforgettable experience!
The World War I battle sites of Flanders Fields in Belgium are some of the most inspirational war landscapes in the world ā discover them in 2024 through these 9 exhibitions, events and tours
Just wow. En route to a day at and , CW spent a fabulous night at in Settle. It looks like Wayne Manor, has the warmest welcome, a beef and blue cheese pie that should have a blue plaque to commemorate its deliciousness, and a freestanding bath in a bay window. It is STUNNING. And perfectly placed for Malhamdale and the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
WARNING: This montage contains an image which the Victorians would probably have considered scandalous.
Thanks for the hospitality Falcon Manor. Weāll be back.
Lovely new feature in OS Maps lets you share your precise location instantly, and features a bonus in-camera compass we love.
OS Mapsā new Locate Me feature gives you an instant, shareable location and a gorgeous in-camera compass.
Don't miss our summer deal š
Subscribe today and get your first 3 issues for only Ā£5!
https://bit.ly/4bx1Ikd
I donāt know about you but I like it when I hear Britain referred to as an āisland nationā. It makes me feel exotic. For those of us who donāt live in sight of the sea of course, the island-ness of this country is rather theoretical. If you really want to embrace your islander identity, youāve got to visit a few of our more islandy islands, and experience the sea in surround sound ā and there are plenty to choose from. An astonishing 6289 in fact, depending on where the tide is. No setting is more flattering for a hill than the sea, nor for the walker who aspires to bestride a whole world.
And if islands are the British landscape at its best, our Mountain Rescue Teams (whose fascinating training is also brilliantly explored this edition) surely represent the human landscape at its best.
In a memorable 1967 episode of Star Trek Captain Kirk posits that the three most beautiful words in the language are not āI love youā, but āLet me helpā ā sometimes misremembered as āPlease help meā. I think either is a beautiful expression of the human condition ā all of us a combination of vulnerability and capability in so many ways, all in need of help and in a position to give it at different times; all elevated by our impulse to empathy, and to give freely as those incredible volunteers do. To be a walker is to be made glad, made grateful, made accepting, and feel the warp and weft of the world of which we are each a part ā and that while weāre each an individual, precious and distinct, none of us is an island. And there arenāt many more wonderful realisations than that.
Guy, editor
Summer deal š
Try a subscription to Country Walking and pay only Ā£5 for the first 3 issues!
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šŗļø Rediscover Your Sense of Adventure with OS Maps! š Here are 3 of the best ways to use OS Maps to explore new trails and hidden gems. Get ready to embark on your next great adventure!
https://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/outdoor-features/discover/rediscover-your-sense-of-adventure-with-os-maps/
šāØ Rediscover Your Sense of Adventure with OS Maps! āØš
Feeling the itch for a new adventure? Look no further! Click here to find out 3 of the BEST ways OS Maps can help you explore like never before.
https://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/outdoor-features/discover/rediscover-your-sense-of-adventure-with-os-maps/
Fantastic to spend a day training with as part of
Partnerships are vital to UK Mountain Rescue Teams as they are ENTIRELY VOLUNTARY and receive no funding from central government. Helly Hansen has partnered with the North of Tyne team to provide a full suite of outdoor clothing for all members and to help tell the story of this and other mountain-facing teams and communities around the world.
Training with the team was an absolute eye-opener - and you can find out more in a forthcoming issue of
For now, hereās to heroes.
Everyday life can be so cataract-forming ā the routine, our responsibilities, the great attention-hog of the information superhighway. It can all so easily blind us to the wonder and fortune of our situation ā the cleverest-known creatures in the universe, alive in this endlessly amazing world, at a time remote from dinosaurs AND scurvy, each piloting the most wonderful flesh-and-blood exploratory device ever devised. But it takes just a walk and a wonder to see it all so much clearer. Your boots and your curiosity are your soulās survival kit!
Nothing gives as generously or asks as little. Walking doesnāt monopolise your attention, time or budget, or drive a wedge between you and friends, family and responsibilities. The joy it generates isnāt confined to itself, but overspills into all the other aspects of your life. It repays more energy in the long term than it requires in the short, and the benefits it brings are both selfish and societal ā happier, healthier, more curious, clear-sighted, open-minded people, replacing the fog of anxious thought with rich and rewarding wonderings. Isn't it wonderful?
No wonder it has a fanzine!
Experience the Authentic Charm of Carmarthenshire: Real People, Stunning Trails, Unforgettable Adventures.
Click here to find out more: https://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/outdoor-features/discover/real-people-real-places-amazing-hiking/
Win a pair of Bridgedale socks!
In celebration of the new routes explored throughout National Walking Month 2024, we've teamed up with Bridgedale to give you the chance to win one of 20 pairs of Hike Midweight Socks - a staple in any outdoors wardrobe.
Enter here: https://bit.ly/4bLJvQK
Get ready for an adventure with Mammut! š Lace up those hiking boots and step into the great outdoors! š²
Mammut are giving away four sleek Lithium 15L Backpacks, 2 for men and 2 for women, to gear up for your next journey. šļø
Click the link below to enter for your chance to win! Hurry, the prize draw ends at midnight on June 25th.
https://www.walk1000miles.co.uk/mammut-may-comp-24
You rarely go wrong in life trying to simplify it ā to see through all the complexity to the solid ground of things we can all agree are true and good. Like the fact weāre lucky, on the whole, to find ourselves here in this obscure but highly livable corner of the universe, when the odds were stacked sky-high against it; that you donāt have to understand how a piano works, babies grow or a bird knows what to sing to swoon at the sounds they make; that thereās good in all of us and beauty all around, and what you look for in life is what you tend to find.
And if these sound like the kind of sun-warmed ramblings that come with a post-walk pint in hand, well they are. Because those are the times I think the quest for simple truths comes closest to a kernel of contentment. Walking is good and we should do more of it. Thereās no prize greater than the well-earned reward. And thereās never been a happier coupling of words than ābeer gardenā. So while I wonāt pretend that everything in life can be solved by the twin propositions: āLetās go for a walkā and āYou grab a table, Iāll get them inā, I caution the sceptic to consider we have but a finite number of footsteps and heartbeats, and this is an awfully good way to invest them.
Guy, editor (left)
Country Walking, new (right)
In many ways a quintessential riverside village, Wargrave sits on the very tip of Berkshire, the Thames never quite washing it away into Oxfordshire.
Image credit: Andy Weeks
https://bit.ly/4bb6YKI
Join nearly half a million adventurers who trust Ordnance Survey's OS Maps, the UK's top mapping and navigation app. Whether you're hiking, biking, or just exploring, OS Maps gives you the freedom and confidence to get outside more often. Sign up today and start your next adventure! šŗļøš¶āāļøš“āāļø
https://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/outdoor-features/discover/get-outside-more-with-os-maps/
We understand the positive impact walking can have on both your physical and mental health. Discover the
benefits of walking for your overall well-being during National Walking Month and walk towards a healthier, happier you with our supportive community of like-minded people
https://bit.ly/3K5xr0E
The climber and writer whose love for Scottish mountains saved his life, then rescued some of our most treasured landscapes from destruction.
Image credit: Tom Bailey
https://bit.ly/3UdF75I
Get Outside More With OS Maps! š Discover the UK's leading mapping and navigation app by Ordnance Survey. Join nearly half a million users exploring the great outdoors every month. Sign up now for the freedom and confidence to adventure more! šŗļø
https://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/outdoor-features/discover/get-outside-more-with-os-maps/
St Anthony Head lies at the southernmost tip of Cornwall's beautiful Roseland Peninsula, and is the focal point for this attractive route.
Image credit: Fiona Barltrop
https://bit.ly/3UeO1Qf
FROM TOWN TO TRAIL WITH THE SCARPA MORAINE FAMILY
The SCARPA Moraine Family are designed to take you from town to trail in comfort.
Comfortable right from the first fit, they are versatile and functional, suitable for all walkers heading out from town to the trails.
Plus there is a Moraine for everyone, with low, mid and pro versions in the family.
https://www.scarpa.co.uk/collections/moraine-family
The mountain with everything: looks, personality; and an approach to satisfy every ambition.
Image credit: Tom Bailey
https://bit.ly/4b9aLbo
Bought to you by the UKās best-selling walking magazine, Country Walking, National Walking Moth is the perfect time to join the challenge that changes lives one step at a time.
Sign up to Walk 1000 Miles: https://bit.ly/3WiMdZn
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We understand the positive impact walking can have on both your physical and mental health. Discover the benefits of walking for your overall well-being during National Walking Month and walk towards a healthier, happier you with our supportive community of like-minded people https://bit.ly/3K5xr0E
For those passionate about exploring the world on foot, adding a long-distance trail to your bucket list is a must! If you want to take the hassle out of planning your next adventure, check out Macs Adventure. Find out more here: https://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/outdoor-features/discover/explore-with-macs-adventure/ #ad
What can mere WALKING do for you? Wait, let's look at this another way... #NationalWalkingMonth #WalkMore #GetOutside #HealthyLiving #StayActive #WalkingChallenge #FitnessMotivation #naturewalk #Walk1000Miles #WalkingChallenge #WalkingForHealth #FitnessGoals #GetActive #OutdoorExercise #WalkingCommunity #AchievementUnlocked #WalkingAdventure #findmeoutside #walkinginnature #explorebritain #walkingismytherapy #getoutandexplore
This voicemail hit us hard. (We love to hear from readers for any reason. You can write to us about your walking, the magazine or anything you like at [email protected])
It was a complete joy squishing over 110 video clips from the first few months of #walk1000miles into this 5 minute compilation, a film which proves beyond any doubt ā¢ Life is much better on foot ā¢ The world is full of lovely people and lovely things ā¢ Sheep can be hella quirky Any and all kinds of people are united in doing something incredible this year ā walking 1000 miles. You can start any time. It WILL change your life. It feels amazing making every day count. Watch...
Walk 1000 miles in 12 months? It's an absolutely crazy idea. Yet over 125,000 people have discovered they can do it. People with jobs, responsibilities, pressures on their time ā and now the conviction it's the strongest possible foundation for everything else they want to do and be in life. Want to make every day count in 2023? #walk1000miles is Britain's biggest self improvement movement ā and 99.8% of participants recommend to a friend. This is why.
Something momentous and (if you're a map lover) rather geekily wonderful is occurring: the three ānorthsā combine over Great Britain for the first time in history. Three norths you say? That'll be grid north, magnetic north and true north. Allow our friends and partners from Ordnance Survey to explain... Early November 2022 will see geospatial history being made when true north, magnetic north and grid north combine at a single point in Great Britain for the first time ever. According to calculations made by Ordnance Survey (OS), Great Britainās national mapping service, the historic triple alignment will make landfall at the little village of Langton Matravers just west of Swanage in early November and will stay converged on Great Britain for three and a half years as it slowly travels up the country. The three ānorthsā As expert map readers will know, when youāre navigating with a compass there is a difference between magnetic north (where the compass points) and grid north (the vertical blue grid lines shown on OS maps). Grid north is the blue lines on an OS map that either points directly to, or near to the North Pole, whereas true north is the direction of the lines of longitude that all converge at the North Pole. Across OS maps true north varies from grid north since it reflects the curve of the earth, except on one grid north line, which aligns with longitude 2 degrees west of the zero Greenwich meridian line. Anywhere on this āspecial lineā grid north and true north align. Magnetic north marks the northward line to the magnetic North Pole. The position of the magnetic North Pole and the direction of magnetic north moves continually due to natural changes in the Earthās magnetic field. After always being to the west of grid north in Great Britain the last few years have seen magnetic north move to the other side of grid north. The change started in 2014 at the very tip of Cornwall and is slowly moving west to east across the
There are a few things people get WRONG about walking ā dead wrong. Like who it's for and what difference it can make in your day and in your life. Discover the most underrated sport / hobby / pastime / whatever this #NationalWalkingMonth.
Abuzz with whirring machines and staff who are quite plainly potty about socks, our visit to Bridgedaleās factory in Newtownards, Northern Ireland left our ears ringing in the best way. If you thought socks mean a lot to you as a walker, youāll marvel at what goes into every pair...
You can rely on walking and the weather to let you see the world through constantly fresh eyes!
We humbly present the amphibian choir of Buckden Pike, recorded earlier this week in a blustery ponditorium at 690 metres above sea level. Paul McCartney, eat your heart outšø
In 2022, start an adventure the world can't stop. Turn dead time into purpose. Turn worry into a better perspective. Do something amazing whatever else happens.
The best bits from this month in #walk1000miles ā the challenge that changes lives one step at a time.
'Be kind to yourself.' Alright, but how? Oft-quoted, but easier to say than do. A thought for the day from editor Guy.
Calloo, callay, it's new Country Walking in the shops day! It's all about walking the landscapes on our best-loved authors (from Wainwright to Winnie-the-Pooh) but more importantly it's about the next chapter in the greatest and most important work of all: YOUR life story. Which if you're walking (if the latest exploits of participants in our #walk1000miler challange are anything to go by) is surely going swimmingly!
Hello and Hallelujah from Cathedral Cave in the Lake District! #cathedralcave #littlelangdale #beatrixpotter #countrywalking #walk1000miles #incredibleplaces
Ordnance Survey has today launched a new and improved version of its OSmaps online mapping service. Lots of new stuff try at https://explore.osmaps.com/en (the old service is still up at osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk) but a quick and obvious win is for anyone who wants to get better at visualising what contours on a map look like in 3D, and the real world. As our very quick play (no sound) reveals...
Kittens, explosions, a very hungry hedgehog ā it's all in a month's walking for the participants in Britain's biggest self-improvement movement! #walk1000miles
Soppy sentimentality alert! Country Walking has a weekly spot on Scala Radio with Penny Smith, and this week the theme was Fatherās Day so I told a little story about my Dad, whoās 90 and has been writing about his life and times as a way of getting through lockdown. Itās the story of three kids going on an adventure, and how I think it shaped Dadās love of walking (and thus mine). Hereās an illustrated video version I had fun putting together. Fatherās Day may not be the easiest time for many people for all sorts of reasons, but hopefully everyone knows a Dad or a Fatherly Figure who will be walking this Sunday, wherever they may be. So this is for them. ā¤ļøš„¾š¾š
Have you ever been to an air show? If you have youāll probably have had a go in a flight simulator. Itās basically a small room mounted on hydraulic rams, with a small cinema screen in the front showing the view out of a fighter-pilotās cockpit. Whatās extraordinary about it is how effective it is at creating a realistic feeling of speed ā really captivating forward motion ā from just small movements from the hydraulic pumps. Our new issue is called The Big Walks, and itās trying to do the same thing. Letās not forget after all āBigā is a relative term. Weāre not suggesting you set your sights on Everest, or that big mountains are better than small ones. Weāre just saying that as spring beckons, and the days lengthen, and lockdown loosens itās good to set your sights a little higher, a little further, and... stretch. Because even the act of setting a mildly ambitious target ā a new area, a first-time hill, a longer walk ā is like the rams pumping on that flight simulator. They donāt have to move far to give you a thrilling sensation of moving forward. Thatās really important to human beings ā partly because our long-evolved bias towards efficiency means our muscles and flexibility are use-them-or-lose-them, but also because something about our big brains and questing spirit needs to feel like they're moving forward, to really feel alive at all. As weāve seen through lockdown, a daily walk is brilliant at providing that direction and that impetus in even the deepest doldrums. What we do with that accumulated fitness, that resilience, that nurtured flame of ambition will determine whether itās another year we endured and tried to forget, or enjoyed and remembered forever. Guy, editor
Enjoy every step with Britainās best-selling walking magazine ā and download a free, no-strings āTop 10 of Everythingā edition by downloading the Country Walking app in your app store now. We scour the length and breadth of Britain to bring you walking inspiration wherever you may be ā from the Scottish Highlands right down to the southern tip of Cornwall. We review the latest kit and offer heaps of advice to help you get more from your walking, and inspire you with award-winning features and photography.
#walk1000miles challenges you to walk 2.74 miles a day every day for 12 months. You donāt need to change your life to do it; you do need to stick at it; you will feel an amazing difference.
The challenge attracts over 50,000 participants a year with 99.9% of those surveyed saying they'd recommend it to a friend: āChanged my life completely for the betterā says Claire Louise from Surrey; āIncredible, empowering, I can't believe I completed it!ā says Lori from Alberta; āI lost 3.5 stone and five inches!ā Jeff Hopkins from Durham told us. The youngest completer in 2017 was six, the oldest 82; nine stone was the biggest weight loss and over 20 million miles were walked!
You donāt have to do your daily mileage all in one go and you can choose whether to count every step, just walks you wouldn't have done anyway or just āboots onā miles in the countryside. Itās your challenge and the only other person youāre competing against is the old you.
It takes about an hour a day to hit the required mileage ā the same time an increasing number of scientific studies conclude it takes to cut your risk of obesity, depression, heart attack, Type 2 diabetes, hip fracture and stroke by up to two-thirds. It even reduces your risk of dying of the commonest forms of cancer by 40-50% according to the The World Cancer Research Fund.
Perhaps best of all it's free, fun and flexible, and there's a community of fellow-challengers online that has repeatedly been hailed 'the friendliest group on the internet'. You can keep track of your miles with a new feature on your OS Maps app too (and a subscription to Country Walking brings you free access to every Ordnance Survey map on your mobile, tablet and PC). Find out more about the challenge ā and make sure you watch the 2-minute video by completers at the homepage now (scroll down!): www.walk1000miles.co.uk
