Walk Around The Malverns – a change to Walk 25
Author/researcher Bob Greaves has re-walked a section of Walk 25 ‘Old Storridge Green’ to resolve an access issue:-
From: Bob Greaves, researcher and author of Walk around the Malverns.
Old Storridge Common
The gate at Wp.14 now has a sign ‘Private No Public Right of Way’ so the route is blocked. This is such a shame as this has been a through route for decades, maybe even centuries; you will see that I actually describe it as ‘an ancient way’ in the text. However that doesn’t guarantee that it’s a public right of way!
There is a straightforward alternative which is to follow the ‘Geopark Way’ from Wp.12 to Wp.16,
unfortunately not so attractive and missing out on the ‘North Hill from Birchwood’ view. An alternative description might be:-
“….up a beautiful, sun-dappled track through woodland. Where a footpath crosses ours we turn right and follow the frequent signposts for the ‘Geopark Way’, out of woodland and up the left hand side of a couple of fields. With orchards and the courtyard development we passed earlier down to our right we turn left up a track back into woodland.
Out of the woods the path, smaller now, is through long grass to an updated black and white farmhouse. We skirt this anti-clockwise following yellow paint daubs then head straight on between fences to a lane. Here we have a brief opportunity to look across Birchwood Common before turning right. Finishing our dalliance with the ‘Geopark Way’, where the lane swings left and a track goes straight on……”
Bob
More information on Walk! Around The Malverns can be found here: http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/malverns.htm
Isle Of Wight OSlike Mapping for Garmin Ready Now
Just completed – OSlike mapping, Isle Of Wight, for Garmin users.
Find more information about OSlike Maps take a look at http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/garminOSlikemaps.htm
Treat yourself to quality OSlike Custom Maps for your Walk! UK adventures with Garmin gps units
25k scale OSlike detail with all Walk routes highlighted, numbered and arrowed. £3.99.
Easy to load onto a microSD card to clip into your Garmin* so you have OSlike mapping on your gps.
The mapping works with any guide book though we recommend ‘Walk! The Isle Of Wight which details 40 varied routes. More information here http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/isleofwight.htm
On the island’s south coast
Here’s your glorious view (right) while on Walk 19 Chale Bay.
The Isle Of Wight Walking Festival (3-18 May 2014) gets more popular every year.
If you want to be part of it, their official brochure can be viewed here:- http://tinyurl.com/ow6mp3s
But if you want to avoid big crowds of walkers and visitors, it might be better to go outside these dates.
7 Hours of sun a day in February? That’s Lanzarote For You
The Haria region, Lanzarote
It’s little wonder that Lazarote, part of Spain’s Canary Islands, is so popular as a winter escape. Even in February, there’s an average of seven hours of sunshine a day.
The image (right) was taken on a walking route in Haria, in the island’s north.This region receives the lion’s share of rainfall which, added to the rich volcanic soil, makes for an area rich in wild and endemic plant life.
Want to see a sample route? Click here for a pdf download of http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/lanzsamplewalk26.pdf
Walk! Lanzarote as a pdf download.
And if you like that, there’s an entire book-full of 39 walks complete with full descriptions, maps and images for £4.99 to download http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/lanzWalkSpec.htm
Andorra? Winter sports? No – walking, of course!
Andorra? Winter sports? No – walking, of course!
As the Winter Olympics fills the news, you’d be forgiven for thinking we’d caught the skiing bug; after all, isn’t that why you’d take an adventure holiday to the tiny yet mountainous Principality of Andorra?
With plenty of snow most winters, it’s easy to see the attraction for skiers. But when they’ve all gone home and Spring arrives, the ski lifts are quiet and so are the mountains. Now it’s the walker’s turn to enjoy some of those 300 per year sunny days. Use those ski lifts to gain altitude and walk on top of the world.
Take a look at Walk! Andorra, available as a pdf download for £4.99.
http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/andorra.htm
There’s also a sample route here to download for free:-
La Palma Updates 11 Feb 2014 – thanks to Chris S
Our thanks go to Chris S who has just sent us his observations after using Walk! La Palma on the island:- 
From: Chris S
Date: Tue, Feb 11, 2014 at 1:56 PM
Walk 1 : Coming from the west, there is now a turn-off just before the tunnel, which leads to the LP301 (presently in a very poor state of repair, like most of the island’s roads).
Walk 6 : The walk starts just west of Centro de Visitantes de El Paso (Caldera de Taburiente also prominently displayed on the building).
Walk 7 : Descent from Birigoyo now starts with some tight, but easy zig-zags where there is insufficient grit or steepness to skitter. It’s not until you get down to the crater that you encounter a few inches of grit underfoot.
Walk 10 : Walking the rim of San Antonio crater now 5 euros pp. You might be able to sneak past the ticket office if you ignore the sign forbidding pedestrian access to the car park from the Fuencaliente side, but you have to present tickets to the young lady at the entrance to the visitor centre : the only realistic gateway onto the path. There is now chain fencing along the rim and on the narrower bit, it’s on both sides of you.
Walk 14 : The road up to El Pinar was surprisingly the best surface we drove on and the tarmac now extends further than the start point.
Walk 20 : Where the narrow tarmac lane taken at wp2 bends to the right in less than a minute, a waymarked path heads off to the left, rejoining the lane just above wp3. According to the signpost at wp2, the distance to Don Pedro is 6.n km.
Walk 30 : There are 2 signs to Pico de la Nieve on the track by the start of the walk, but they don’t indicate distance.
Walk 32 : The track leading to the car park at start of walk is now only suitable for 4WD, imo. Most of the hire cars which attempt it ,don’t make it all the way. The alternative signposted, but not waymarked, route to/from the ridge is very worthwhile. It involves a little bit more ascent and is a bit longer, but there are several points where different aspects of the peak and caldera are seen. Shortly after the last signpost : ‘1400 metres to Pista de Valencia’, the track forks and it’s the left branch, which soon dwindles to a path that leads more directly to the tarmac.
I’m going to write a review on amazon to emphasise the practical superiority of your guide over *********. I will certainly be buying your guides to the other Canaries, rather than wasting money on “updated” versions of **** ********* efforts, good though they were at the time they were written.
Regards,
Chris
Madeira – the Garden Isle
If you were standing, right now, on the Pico do Ruivo, Madeira, and looked west, this is the view you’d be seeing. After one of the gloomiest, darkest northern European winters on record, wouldn’t this do your soul good, not to mention your fitness 🙂 ?
Madeira has long been an A-grade walking destination, offering levada walking along man-made water canals as well as trails for the most adventurous mountain hiker. Then there’s the wonderful endemic plant life too. The best thing is – simply go and see for yourself.
Here’s the map that goes with the photo.
There’s more information here :- http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/mad.htm
Get Away From Winter – there’s wall-to wall sunshine now in La Palma
If you’re in the UK or northern Europe you have most likely had enough of gales, floods and dark skies. On the teardrop-shaped volcanic island of La Palma, Canary Islands, the forecast ahead is for almost wall-to-wall sunshine with daily highs of 20-22C and not much less than 16C in the night.
Even better, it offers dramatic and wonderful walking. And you could be there within 5 hours’ flight time from UK and many European airports.
The image (right) was taken while following the Ruta de Los Volcanos.
And how about following the route of the southern volcanoes (left)? Much of the walk is along the volcanic ridge that bisects the island west-east, offering super views. Here’s how it looks on the La Palma Tour & Trail Map.
The image below shows a walker starting out on the Roque Palermo route; La Palma’s famous observatory can be glimpsed in the background.
There’s more information here:- http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/lap.htm
A Taste Of La Gomera’s beauty – a free walk to download
You’ve heard of Tenerife – but where’s La Gomera? It’s just a short ferry ride from Tenerife yet as different as chalk from cheese.
The island is almost circular and resembles a giant cake cut again and again by dramatic barrancos (ravines) running from centre to sea, topped by an ancient and mysterious laurel forest.
The taster route is Walk 26, ‘Las Mimbreras’, offering a tantalising sample of the island’s adventures. Here’s a map section of the route.
Find your free walk here:- http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/walkla.htm
Costa Blanca Mountains – how would you like a free walk?
Inland of the famous holiday coast of Spain’s Costa Blanca lies an unspoilt walker’s paradise.
Do you want a taste? Take a look at this free sample walk. Click on this link to access the download:-
http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/CBM.htm
Walk 7 ‘Castell de Confrides’ lies not far from Benidorm – here’s the objective, the remains of a stronghold hundreds of years old from which there are amazing views.
Tenerife – How About A Free Sample Walk?
Here’s a great idea – download a free sample walk taken from Walk! Tenerife. You’ll get the full walk description, mapping and images. There are 46 walks in the book, covering the island’s best walking areas.
Your free download is Walk 41 ‘Las Mercedes – Llano de Los Loros’. Our pic shows one of the great views from the route, over the Tahoido Dam and down to Tenerife’s north coast.
Here’s the link you need to access your free download; print it out on one sheet of A4 or save the pdf to your computer:- http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/ten35walks.htm
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