Corfu – an island in need of a good map
Old Perithia
Discovery Walking Guides cartographic survey team has just returned from Corfu, and boy, does Corfu need a good map.
It’s a tricky island for visitors wanting to travel around by hire car or bike, because road signage is confusing (or non-existent) and unusually, roads have not been allocated road numbers.
Lefkimis Bay, Corfu
A few stretches of tarmac do have kilometre markers though this information is patchy to say the least. We also discovered that car systems such as TomTom and similar don’t work here.
Palaiokastritsa Bay, Corfu
So, it tuned out to be an interesting and most productive visit. The new Corfu Tour & Trail Super-Durable Map design work will shortly be under way, with a scheduled publication date around December 2016.
The Kaiser’s Throne, Corfu
With a good, reliable and newly researched map, visitors can confidently go beyond the usual tourist spots and discover the heart of this beautiful island.
Some ‘main roads’ through Corfu’s mountain villages are a bit of a squeeze!
The ‘main road’ through Ano Korakiana, Corfu.
Rare Swallowtail, Corfu
Corfu’s flora and fauna are beautiful.
Wild Tortoise, Corfu
Madeira – getting out and about around the island
Madeira is a beautiful, rugged island. It takes a bit of nerve to drive there if you’re a visitor and unused to the steep, narrow mountain roads and the spirited driving of some of the residents. It’s far more relaxing to take a bus and let someone else take care of the driving for you.
If you still prefer to drive yourself, you need a clear and up to date map. Newly published is the 6th edition of Madeira Bus & Touring Map, the ideal travelling companion for drivers and bus users.
Madeira – so much wonderful walking
High above the world on Madeira’s peaks
Walking researcher/residents Shirley & Mike Whitehead know the island intimately and have followed up their Volume One book of 40 ‘Leisure Trails’ with a new Volume Two, tackling challenging trails and high altitude routes.
Pico Areeiro
If you’ve never visited this beautiful and dramatic island, you’re missing one of the world’s great walking destinations.
Mountains, levadas, tiny hamlets and towering cliffs; unique flora and ancient forests.
In around four hours by air from Europe you can escape the long cold tail of winter and revitalise yourself with strolls, walks and challenging hikes.
Levada Nova
Click HERE for more information.
Dartmoor – discover the magic
Devonport Leat
Dartmoor – a place of history, myths and legends.
Blackingstone Rock (Walk 22)
The best way to experience its wild and wonderful moors and ancient stone villages is on foot.
Dartmoor residents and author-researchers Kate & Alan Hobbs know the moors well and are your step-by-step guides through forty wonderful walks, strolls and adventures. They know the best places to call in for a pub lunch along the route too!
Detailed walk descriptions, Ordnance Survey mapping and waypoints at decisions points, along with frequent timings, ensure you’ll find your way.
Dartmoor Ponies
Each walk is illustrated with photos taken along the route. Walks are graded for difficulty, distance, time required, ascents and descents and refreshments.
Walk! Dartmoor (2nd edition) arrives on the planet 18 January 2016.
For more details look HERE.
Dartmeet Stepping Stones (Walk 36)
Formentera? Where’s that? UPDATE
You’d be forgiven for not knowing the location of this little gem of an island. It’s surprisingly easy to reach and has a delightful personality all its own.
Formentera is one of the Balearic Islands to the east of mainland Spain, in the Meditteranean. It’s the little sister island to Ibiza and is only a 30-minute ferry trip away.
Here’s a few facts and figures:
- Beaches, beaches – so many of them for such a small island and white, clean and beautiful.
- The island had been occupied by the Carthaginians, then the ancient Romans, the Visigoths, the Byzantines, the Vandals, and the Arabs.
- Eventually the island added to the Crown of Aragon and later became part of the medieval Kingdom of Majorca.
- The main island of Formentera is 19 kilometres (12 miles) long and is located about 6 kilometres (4 miles) south of Ibiza in the Mediterranean Sea.
San Francesc, Formentera
- The major villages are Sant Francesc Xavier, Sant Ferran de ses Roques, El Pilar de la Mola and La Savina.
- Formentera comprises one municipality, also called Formentera, and has a population of 9,962 (as at 1 January 2010).
- Its land area is 83.24 square kilometres (32.1 sq mi).
- Cars are easily hired in the port and there’s a good choice of conventional or electric vehicles. There are more electric vehicle charging points here than anywhere else in the world, given its land area.
- Mopeds and bicycles are available to hire; the terrain is mostly flat and there are dedicated cycle lanes in some areas.
- The island has four Martello towers.
- Ferries to Formentera from Ibiza operate every half hour in high season.
- A local Ibizan (eivissenc) variant of the Balearic dialect of the Catalan language is spoken in Formentera though English and other European languages are frequently heard too.
Discovery Walking Guides carried out an intensive cartographic survey on Formentera a few weeks back and design of the new Formentera Tour & Trail Super-Durable Map is well under way.
For full details about the new Formen
tera map, click here.
KICKSTARTER PROJECT
How would you like to be part of the launch of this exciting new map project? For a modest pledge you can help this project to fly – and receive free maps too.
There’s still time to be a part of this exciting project.
Take a look at DWG’s Kickstarter Project here.
Dartmoor News – New research shows Sittaford Tor as Old as Stonehenge
Did you see this interesting article in the Telegraph yesterday, 16 May 2015?
Dartmoor has a long and fascinating history; this new research suggests that some areas have an even longer history than was previously understood. See for yourself – take the walk.
The weather is perfect now for exploring British walking. If you want to take a look at the ancient stone circle of Sittaford Tor then follow Walk 9 in Walk! Dartmoor. The walk is a pleasant three and a half hour circular route which includes plenty of interest including the Tor.
For more information see:-
Madeira: The Garden Isle – a new walking guide
Enduring popular as a walking destination, Madeira remains a beautiful and breathtaking island.
Resident authors and researchers, Shirley and Mike Whitehead know it like the backs of their hands and have come up with 41 routes and trails ideal for the ‘leisure’ walker in this new publication Madeira Walks: Volume One.
Volume 2 of this series will follow later in 2015 which concentrates on more challenging and high altitude routes.
All the routes are carefully described and are beautifully illustrated with images taken along each route.
Every route has its own highly detailed ‘Tour and Trail’ map section showing the route and waypoints clearly marked; research is done while carrying GPS 
equipment to ensure accurate walking information.
For more information about the new book and Madeira Tour & Trail Maps and Madeira Bus Maps, take a look http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/mad.htm
Gran Canaria – wonderful walking
Thanks to Chris Kurton who has just had a wonderful walking holiday on the dramatic Canary Island of Gran Canaria.
Here’s one of Chris’ photos taken while walking; a view from a col towards Gui Gui.
See the GPS record of one of Chris’ routes, a circuit of Mount Tauro, http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/695801198/share/0?lang=en
See lots more images taken by Chris while walking the island in Walking The World group on Facebook; click https://www.facebook.com/groups/discovery.walking/
And for information on maps and walking on Gran Canaria see http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/gcan.htm
The Sierra de Aracena – walking in Spain
Uunspoiled, green countryside near Galaroza.
Having explored Spain’s Sierra de Aracena some years back for a walking guide and map, it was interesting to see a long and enticing piece in today’s Saturday Telegraph magazine about this little-visited region:-
Another green and beautiful walking route, near the little town of Fuenteheridos.
Spain offers so many wonderful walking regions, yet Sierra de Aracena remains little-known – which is of course, part of its charm. If you want dramatic mountains, look elsewhere. If you like wonderful green, natural walking interspersed with hamlets and little characterful towns, you’ll enjoy this area. It’s the perfect ‘get away from it all’ place.
The little town of Cortelazor.
If your interest has been sparked, take a look at map and walking information from DIscovery Walking Guides: http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/sierradearacena.htm
Lanzarote – walking the Caldera Blanca
Wow! The interior of the crater, Walk 39, Lanzarote.
Our thanks to Robert and Penny, recently returned from walking on Lanzarote. Here’s what they told us:-
Standing on the volcanic crater rim of Caldera Blanca, Lanzarote.
We have just returned from 10 days walking in Lanzarote. Your book was a great help as there is little in the way of signs or clear path markers. Without your book we would have frequently got on the wrong
route.
One comment, on walk 39, Caldera Blanca, We agree this was a
fantastic walk and the view from the crater rim were fantastic.
However, if we were to do this walk again we would have gone round the
other way (anti clockwise). The decent from the top was much steeper
and the path was full of small stones which required great care to
safely negotiate. We would have been much happier going up that way.
We walked in La Palma a few years ago and again found the guide great.
Thanks again for a great guide.
Robert and Jenny P
discoverywalking 