Spain’s Costa Del Sol: Sierra Almijara + Sierra Tejeda = La Axarquia
Dramatic coastlines on the Torre Caleta walk.
Author/researcher Charles Davis sums up this beautiful, unspoilt region thus:
Map segment for the Torre Caleta walk.
“The Axarquía is one of Spain’s great places, and among the greatest places within it are the Sierras Tejeda and Almijara, which form the backbone both of the region and the present publication. Blessed with high summits, dizzying pinnacles, dramatic crags, deep ravines, dozens of springs, delightful rivers and the best coves on the Costa del Sol, this is an area that has something for everyone. And the only prerequisites for benefitting from all this are a desire to get off the beaten track and a set of relatively, sometimes very, sturdy legs.
If you’ve not seen them already, you can get an idea of how dramatic these mountains are from one simple fact, that the high peaks, including Lucero (1775 metres), Navachica (1832 metres) and La Maroma (2070 metres), are all within ten kilometres of the coast, rising out of the sea like a succession of immense pedestals, just waiting for humankind to enthrone whoever or whatever we find most sacred or simply most lacking in our quotidian lives.”
Axarquia; Las Cuadrillas, Walk 24.
You can see a sample walk here:- http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/axarquiasamplewalk25.pdf
There’s information about the book Walk! The Axarquia (available as a printed book or as a pdf download book in A4 format) and the maps available for the region (printed, on paper and on Super-Durable material); there are also Custom Maps for Garmins for GPS users.
Walking the Yorkshire Dales – Just the Thing for Spring
Wharfedale – following Walk 5
The village of Gayle, visited on Walk 25
The Yorkshire Dales is deservedly well-loved for its history, the beauty of its landscapes and its many unspoilt little stone villages, most with tempting pubs.
The best way to appreciate the Dales is on foot – and one of the very best times of year to do so is Springtime – right now!
If you have a Garmin GPS you can download Yorkshire Dales Custom Maps (there are two to cover the area) and get going on the trails.
For more information about the digital mapping for the Yorkshire Dales, see:- http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/garminydalesnecustommap.htm
– and http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/garminydalesnwcustommap.htm
The spectacular River Strid (Walk 1)
We recommend the book Walk! The Yorkshire Dales (North and Central) for the best walks (and the best pubs on route too)
See:- http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/yorkshire%20dales%20N&C.htm
The Other South of France – The Cathar Way
On the Peyrepertuse Ridge, Cathar Way
“Threading its way through dramatic gorges carved out by tumbling mountain torrents and traversing a patchwork of oak mantled hills, Alpine pastures, dense pine forests, lush meadows, rocky plateaux, and regimented vineland, the Sentier Cathare stitches together drovers’ trails, logging tracks, smugglers’ paths, and winding country lanes to link some of the principal sites associated with the dissident Christian movement from which it takes its name.
Roquefixade Castle, Cathar Way
Above all, we visit a succession of castles, each perched more improbably than the last on craggy peaks, castles whose evocative ruins have proved so compelling that they have conspired with history to stimulate our collective appetite for quests, mysteries and quixotic exploits.
This is a protean path, offering something for everybody, from the lover of wild
places to the aficionado of old stones, from the hearty athlete looking for a challenge to the New Age mystic seeking enlightenment, but whatever your motive for embarking on such an adventure, walking the Sentier Cathare is a hugely rewarding experience, in the course of which petty cares slip away, replaced by a headful of mountains, meetings, and vistas, and walking becomes a way of being, so that come the end there is every chance that you will want only one thing, to turn round and do it all over again.”
Rue Principale, Ginoles, Cathar Way
~ these are the inspiring words of Charles Davis, author and researcher of wonderful walking, including The Cathar Way, a 250 kilometre trail crossing the Languedoc region of southern France from the foothills of the Pyrenees to the shores of the Mediterranean.
Want to know more? Take a look here: http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/catharway.htm
The Garden Isle of Madeira – Beautiful in Spring
Aloe aborescens
Springtime! The northern hemisphere’s Spring is well under way now. For those interested in flora, there’s nowhere quite like Madeira in the Springtime.
Echium candicans – popular with bees
Madeira is always green – now it bursts into colour and perfume. Many of the plants you’ll come across while walking its levadas and country paths are endemic and exclusive to the island.
Two of the many beauties to look out for are orchids and the rare Yellow Foxglove. If you enjoy seeing wonderful plants growing strong and free, Madeira is the place to visit.
For information about the Garden Island, including books and maps, see http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/mad.htm
(The plant images here were taken by Shirley & Mike Whitehead, authors and researchers resident on the island of Madeira.)
Yellow foxglove (Isoplexus sceptrum)
Orchis maderensis
Worth A Read – article on the Isle of Wight in the Weekend Telegraph
Expansive views on Week Down (walk 27, Walk! The Isle of Wight)
There’s a good article on the Isle Of Wight in ‘Coastal England’, a supplement with yesterday’s (15 March 2014) Weekend Telegraph.
Looking towards Whitecliff Bay from the clifftop path (Walk 40, Walk! The Isle of Wight)
The article homes in on the rich history of the island and offers plenty of ideas of things to do. For such a small place it has a wealth of festivals, including the Isle of Wight Walking Festival.
Find it here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/travel/visit-england/10676115/things-to-do-on-the-isle-of-wight.html
For details of walking there see http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/isleofwight.htm
For information on mapping look here: http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/garminisleofwightcustommap.htm
Costa Blanca Mountains – thank you Erik, for your valuable feedback.
A tour of Raco Roig (Walk 20)
We welcome all user feedback – and in particular for our new downloadable maps for Garmin GPS.
Erik is a Costa Blanca Mountains expert and guides walks in the region. https://www.walking-holiday-in-spain.com
See the maps he’s referring to here:-http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/CBM.htm
Here’s what he told us about his experiences using both our printed maps and our maps for Garmin GPS:-
“Over the last month my walking customers have been testing the Discovery Walking Guides sheet map (Costa Blanca Mountains Tour & Trail Map) and downloadable basemaps on the eTrek Garmin 20 GPS for the treks and walking holidays we organise in the Costa Blanca Mountains.
The sheet maps are useful, although the 1:40,000 scale in the Spanish countryside is at the limit for precise navigating, the roads on the map translate as 55 metres wide on the ground – easily enough to get misplaced for a while. Some of what appear as roads are overgrown dirt tracks that are now footpaths, you can still get through but it can be a bit confusing so if you want to go off the marked routes you will need to be patient.
The marking of existing official routes and recommended routes is very good, there are some minor omissions and in one case replicating an error found on the local 1:20,000 topo. Not perfect but a very good approximation and an improvement on the local maps. The problem here is still the abysmal way marking of routes on the ground.
The area covered is quite extensive, although some of my routes fall outside the eastern margin of the coverage.
The basemaps for the Garmin GPS are very good, despite an initial problem with the download (for some reason Windows 7 stripped off the filetype which you had to add manually) they are now installed on all my Garmins. The image is very clear, much better than my own 1:25,000 basemaps that blur on zooming in.
The maps load relatively quickly on start-up and as you are walking the change from one tile to another is very smooth, in fact it is barely perceptible.
View over the coastal plain from the Costa Blanca Mountains
All in all a great improvement for those of us who have been struggling with Spanish maps for years, My only reservation is the 1:40,000 scale, I would love it if you would considering publishing 1:20,000 or 1:25,000 maps as a future upgrade.”
Exmoor – wonderful walking and now OSlike Custom Maps too
Wonderful walking in Britain’s Exmoor!
Here’s just one splendid view overlooking Lynton and Lynmouth while following Walk 16 from ‘Walk! Exmoor’ with David and Carol Hitt. For more information about walks here, see : http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/exmoor.htm
And now – for Garmin users – download OSlike Custom maps for Exmoor, overlaid with the 40 varied routes from Walk! Exmoor.
OSlike Custom Maps can be used in Google Earth, Garmin Basecamp and Garmin gps units.
There’s east and west sections to download, (£3.99 each) which can be found here: http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/garminexmoorecustommap.htm
and here: http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/garminexmoorwcustommap.htm
Walk Spain’s Alpujarras: download the guide
One of the White VIllages
Walk! The Alpujarras is now also available in pdf format.
This beautiful region of southern Spain offers high peaks, long ridges, clear mountain streams, woodland, amazing views and picturesque white villages.
‘Walk! The Alpujarras’ takes you through 34 detailed routes with the expert guidance of author/researcher Charles Davis.
Try a free sample walk here: http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/178walkalpujarrassample.pdf
To see details of the printed book, the Alpujarras Tour & Trail Map and the book as a pdf, look here: http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/alp34walks.htm
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.
discoverywalking 