Lockdown Blues? Get ready to travel.

With vaccinations well under way in many parts of the world, there’s real belief that travel restrictions will gradually ease in the next few months. We make no apology for offering the information about our free digital maps once again; last time we posted this information we were pleased and surprised at how many people enjoyed them and started planning ahead to travel.

We’d like to help you get planning. Where to next? Why not start by getting your hands on our Free Digital Maps.

Read all about it HERE.

There are free maps to 19 tempting walking destinations to check out, including :

CANARY ISLANDS

La Gomera & El Hierro, Lanzarote, La Palma, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria

Las Canadas, Tenerife, Canary Islands
La Palma, Mirador del Time, Canary Islands

BALEARIC ISLANDS

Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera

Dragonera, from La Trapa, Mallorca, Balearic Islands (Spain)

GREEK ISLANDS

Zakynthos (Zante), Corfu

SPANISH MAINLAND

Costa Blanca Mountains, Costa del Sol (Axarquia), Alpujarras, Sierra de Aracena

The ancient bell-tower, Aracena Castle

– and also:

Malta & Gozo

Madeira

Azores

Levada Nova, Madeira

To see more details about the free digital maps and how to get them, LOOK HERE

Plan Your Next Walking Adventure With our FREE Digital Maps

With the real hope of vaccines within reach, we can look forward to planning walking adventures again. Once travel freedom returns, there’s going to be a lot of pent-up desire to get away, so this could be the best time to make some plans.

We’d like to help you get planning. Where to next? Why not start by getting your hands on our Free Digital Maps.

Read all about it HERE.

There are free maps to 19 tempting walking destinations to check out, including :

CANARY ISLANDS

La Gomera & El Hierro, Lanzarote, La Palma, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria

La Palma, Mirador del Time, Canary Islands

BALEARIC ISLANDS

Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera

Dragonera, from La Trapa, Mallorca, Balearic Islands (Spain)

GREEK ISLANDS

Zakynthos (Zante), Corfu

SPANISH MAINLAND

Costa Blanca Mountains, Costa del Sol (Axarquia), Alpujarras, Sierra de Aracena

The ancient bell-tower, Aracena Castle

– and also:

Malta & Gozo

Madeira

Azores

Levada Nova, Madeira

To see more details about the free digital maps and how to get them, LOOK HERE

Canary Islands – Here We Come!

At last the Canary Islands are back on the British Government’s unrestricted travel list. The Canaries offer so much variety, each island unique and unforgettable, and with a warm, welcoming climate, the perfect choice as northern hemispheres feel the first shivers of winter.

Gran Canaria (photo by Joel Rohland on Unsplash)

Gran Canaria – the miniature continent, a roughly circular island of ravines and 60 kilometres of beaches, winding forest roads and criss-crossed with walking routes. Plenty to discover, day and night.

Wooden balconies, Gran Canaria (photo by Joel Rohland on Unsplash)

For more information click here.

Want the Gran Canaria Tour & Trail Super-Durable Map? Look here.

La Gomera, just west of Tenerife and easily reached via a short ferry crossing – plunging barrancos and soaring forest-topped mountains sprinkled with hamlets and farmsteads clinging to the slopes. Walk, bike, swim, explore – enjoy.

On La Gomera – Tenerife’s Teide visible

El Hierro, small, fascinating, the most remote and westerly Canary Island promises rugged terrain, narrow winding roads and great walking. A world-class marine reserve, free island-wide wifi and electric car charge ports contrast with the traditional feel of the island. Yet, there are very few tourists – for now.

El Hierro

There’s more information on La Gomera and El Hierro here.

La Gomera and El Hierro Tour & Trail Super-Durable Maps can be bought onlime including HERE.

Lanzarote – the Fire Island; volcanic, mysterious and mesmerising terrain, lava seas and alpine meadows. Other-worldly. Once visited, never forgotten.

Montaňa Corona, Lanzarote
Lanzarote coastal adventure

Find out more about Lanzarote here.

Buys the map from online selllers including HERE.

Fuerteventura, known for beautiful beaches and great water sports, also offers a surprising variety of fascinating walking adventures. Wild coastlines contrast with traditional towns and views across pristine seas.

Established in 1405, Fuerteventura’s original capital of Betancuria is a step back in time.
Aloe Vera thriving in Fuerteventura’s desert conditions.

See more information about Fuerteventura here.

Maps can be foundfrom online sellers including here.

La Palma – La Isla Bonita; dramatic landscapes; a breathtaking mountain spine splits this volcanic island. Black beaches, Lush vegetation and 1080 kilometres of waymarked walking paths.

La Palma – walking on volcanoes

There’s more information about walking on La Palma here.

Buy La Palma maps online including here.

Tenerife – a Walker’s Island There’s so much to Tenerife. 2034 square kilometres offer coastal adventures, mountain hikes, pine and laurel forest trails, strolls and strenuous challenges including Spain’s highest peak (Mount Teide).The choice is almost endless.

Tajinastes – wonderful endemic flora in Tenerife.
Tenerife – unspoilt rugged coastline in the island’s north-east (Walk 41)

See all the information here.

You can buy the walking guide, walking maps and bus map online.

Greece? You’re welcome!

Zakynthos (Zante) is one of the Greek islands that’s back on the green travel list for Travellers in the UK England, Wales, Northern Ireland (not Scotland). As the UK autumn takes hold, how does the idea of warm sunshine and beautiful islands appeal?

Zante (Zakynthos), Greek Islands (photo by Mihail Minkov on Unsplash)
Sample section from Zante (Zakynthos) Tour & Trail Super-Durable Map published by Discovery Walking Guides Ltd

Other Greek islands that were already on the British Government’s ‘green’ good to go travel list include Kefalonia and Corfu.

Kefalonia (photo by Victor Malyushev on Unsplash)
Sample section from
Kefalonia Tour & Trail Super-Durable Map published by Discovery Walking Guides Ltd

Updated lists of countries exempted from quarantine on return to the UK can be found HERE.

If you plan to go overseas, it’s a good idea to also check your destination country’s regulations for arriving visitors.

Just one of Corfu’s beautiful bays. (photo by Ros Brawn, DWG Ltd)
Sample section from
Corfu Tour & Trail Super-Durable Map published by Discovery Walking Guides Ltd

For information about each of these three beautiful islands and how to get the detailed maps to enhance your adventures, take a look at Zante Kefalonia and Corfu.

The South Pennines – a Little-Known Walker’s Delight

Gentle, green hills of the South Pennines

Several well-known walking areas of Britain have been almost overwhelmed by visitor numbers in 2020. Why not take a look at somewhere less crowded, offering a unique experience?

England’s South Pennines are not usually on most walkers’ ‘top ten’ lists. Well, those walkers are missing out on a fascinating region combining beautiful countryside with history.

Piethorne & Kitcliffe Reservoirs, South Pennines

Old paths and trails dating back generations beckon, revealing the unique character of a region shaped by hundreds of years of human toil and creativity. Canals, railways, mills, bridges, viaducts and reservoirs are testaments to humankind’s work.

Roman Bridge at Roman Lakes, South Pennines

Many of the walks can be reached by train, making for a varied day out, punctuated with refreshment breaks in pubs or cafes, while making the area feasible even for those not living in the area. For example, within 20 minutes of leaving the hustle and bustle of central Manchester you can be in the wildest and most lovely countryside. Most of the walks lie within a rough rectangle contained by Walsden in the north, Bollington in the south, Oldham and Stockport in the west and Glossop in the east.

St Chad’s CHurch, South Pennines

Anyone who has a mental image of soot-blackened towns and dull countryside is mistaken. Many of the old industrial buildings that remain have been converted into heritage centres or living accommodation. Farms dot the countryside where flora and fauna flourish; bird watchers will find plenty to discover.

The Hall, Lyme Park, South Pennines
Longdendale, South Pennines

For more information on wonderful walks in the South Pennines, take a look HERE.

Madeira – good to go!

Levada Nova, Madeira

Although many parts of the UK enjoyed some warm sunny September days, the switch seems to have suddenly flipped to full Autumn. Chilly, windy and rain that sets in for hours on end. Overseas travel is still tricky to plan, though Madeira remains one of the Government’s ‘green list’ destinations.

Approaching Ribeira Funda, Madeira

How does the weather in Madeira compare to London’s at this time of year? A quick check of BBC weather services for October 03 2020 has London’s temperature range as 10C – 15C, heavy rain, zero sun. Madeira should enjoy 19C to 25C, little chance of a shower and plenty of sunny intervals. Madeira gets plenty of rain too; look at those beautiful forests, trees and flowers. But the island’s sunshine and temperature figures look tempting as winter beckons.

The harbour, Paúl do Mar, Madeira

Madeira is a classic destination for keen walkers, though you don’t need to be an expert. There are plenty of lovely strolls as well as high end challenges for experts, with plenty of variety in between. Or, why not explore by bus, a pocket-money way to experience the island. For plenty more information on discovering Madeira, take a look HERE.

Câmara de Lobos, Madeira

Thanks to author-researcher Shirley Whitehead for these beautiful photos of her home island.

Take a Walk around Fuerteventura

Is Fuerteventura a good choice for a walking holiday? While it may lack the mountains or forests of some more conventional walkers’ favourites, it offers a unique experience for those discovering the island on foot.

Looking across to Corralejo, Fuerteventura

Located in the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern Canary Islands, Fuerteventura may be Spanish, yet it owes its geology and geography to Africa’s west coast, the closest significant land mass.

If you want perfect beaches and water sports, it’s an ideal choice. But there’s far more to the island, best discovered on foot.

Established in 1405, Fuerteventura’s original capital of Betancuria is a step back in time.
High above the resorts

The key to a walking adventure is setting out with the right kit, and that includes a detailed, up to date map such as Discovery Walking Guides’ Fuerteventura Tour & Trail Super-Durable Map.

Take a virtual walk and get inspired by watching this video:

Travel Gets The Green Light

The British Government has published the list of countries you can travel from, into England, with no quarantine needed. At last, the brakes are off and all of us who want to get away have a tempting array of countries to choose from.

Plenty of fresh air and views, Las Canadas, Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain)

Of course, keeping safe is important, so what better than getting out and about on airy mountain walks or breezy coastal trails, well away from the crowds.

Palaiokastritsa Bay, Corfu (Greece)

Greece and its lovely islands is on the ‘good to go’ list, along with all of Spain including the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.

Dragonera, from La Trapa, Mallorca, Balearic Islands (Spain)

How about the quiet beauty of Brittany (France), or fascinating Malta and Gozo?

Pointe de Landunvez, Brittany (France)
Malta

There’s plenty of information to help you choose your getaway destination here.

Have a look at our free digital maps, fully detailed and just what you need for adventuring away from the crowds. Take a look at our printed maps and walking guidebooks too.

We can offer maps (many also available as free digital downloads) and guidebooks for most of the following destinations which are all on the UK Governments ‘free to travel‘ list:

Our maps and/or guides:

FRANCE
Brittany

SPAIN
Canary Islands: Gran Canaria
La Palma
Tenerife
Lanzarote
La Gomera & El Hierro
Fuerteventura

Mainland Spain: Costa Blanca Mountains
Sierra de Aracena
Costa del Sol
Alpujarras

Balearic Islands: Mallorca
Ibiza
Formentera
Menorca

GREECE

Zakynthos (Zante)
Corfu

Malta & Gozo

Lanzarote’s north, Canary Islands (Spain)
Costa Blanca Mountains – Puig Campana (Spain)

Lanzarote, the Alpujarras and Cape Verde

Until these strange days are over, we can think about places we would like to visit once we have the freedom to travel. Here at Discovery Walking Guides, we’re working on new maps and walking guidebooks that will be ready to go when travel becomes possible again.

One destination that has its own unique attraction is Lanzarote (Canary Islands). There’s plenty of walking to keep you busy for a couple of weeks’ visit.

Lanzarote, Canary Islands

For somewhere more mountainous, with white Moorish villages, how about the Alpujarras (Spain)? It’s a rugged area with a timeless quality, with marvellous landscapes and history.

One of the White Villages of Spain’s Alpujarras.

We’ve just released our latest Enewsletter which includes information about Lanzarote, the Alpujarras and Cape Verde. The Enews also includes links to free digital maps, which are highly detailed especially for walkers, hikers and mountain bikers. Once you’ve chosen your destinations you can see the area and the walking routes in Google Maps, for a ‘virtual tour’.

There’s a bit of fun too, with a walking destinations crossword puzzle.

Take a look here to see the ENewsletter.

A Little Good News – Free Digital Maps For Everyone

We may not be able to go adventuring for a while yet. However, we can plan ahead for when we can travel again. Have a look at our digital maps, clear and fully detailed for adventure planning of all kinds, including walking, climbing, biking or maybe daydreaming about your next big trip.

Mirador Del Time, La Palma, Canary Islands
Here’s the map section of the area shown in the photo (above).

There’s a whole hatful of exciting free maps to be had. Take a look at this list of adventure destinations.

Balearic Islands

Mallorca

Menorca

Ibiza

Formentera

Menorca’s rugged north-east coast

Madeira

Madeira – approaching Ribeira Funda

Azores

Greek Islands

Corfu

Zante (aka Zakynthos)

Malta, Gozo & Comino

Spanish Mainland

Axarquia / Costa del Sol

Costa Blanca

Alpujarras

Sierra de Aracena

Axarquia

Canary Islands

Gran Canaria

La Palma

Tenerife

La Gomera & El Hierro

Lanzarote

Fuerteventura

La Gomera, Canary Islands

We hope that we’ve inspired you to think about your next big adventure. To get your free digital maps, please look here https://www.dwgwalking.co.uk

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