OSlike Brecon Beacons Custom Maps for Garmin
Ready now to download – Brecon Beacons West and Brecon Beacons East OSlike Custom Maps for Garmins.
For details and how to download, see here:- http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/garminOSlikemaps.htm
Mallorca (Balearic Islands) Author Update
From Charles Davis, author/researcher
20 February 2014 17:39
Bit of vital information for our updates pages:
Anybody planning on walking the Dry Stone Way, Mallorca (GR221) has a slightly surreal and stunningly irritating headache coming their way.
The refuge at Tossals Verds is closed on safety grounds and won’t be open before October if then. There is no comparable accommodation between Soller and Lluc. The ‘alternatives’ (such as they are) proposed by the authorities can be found here:
http://www.conselldemallorca.net/media/34483/alternatives_tossals_ANG.pdf
Taxiing back and forth between Cuber and Lluc rather spoils the point of doing a LDP*. Staying at Cuber would be lovely, though it might be a bit Spartan for some tastes and implies carrying extra weight. To get an idea of what this unmanned refuge is like, see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwweVJtw1fE or google ‘refugio cuber’ for photos.
*LDP = Long Distance Path
The map section above shows a section of Walk! Mallorca Tour & Trail Map to illustrate the relative locations of Tossals Verd and Cuber. For more information on Mallorca maps and walking see http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/mall.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.
NEW OSlike Maps For Your Garmin GPS – Don’t Miss This
Hot off the hard drive!
OSlike maps are a new concept in digital mapping for Garmin GPS users.
The latest maps, for the beautiful Lake District, UK cover the area’s north-west, north-east and south-east.
They’re not only detailed maps – walking routes are included.
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.
Easy to load onto a microSD card, to clip into your Garmin* so you have OSlike mapping on your gps.
Just £3.99 for each OSlike Custom Map for great value quality mapping.
Free Sample Map to Try before you Buy in Google Earth, Garmin Basecamp and in your Garmin. For ‘Try Before Your Buy’ look here http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/garminTryB4Buy.htm
Take a look here http://www.dwgwalking.co.uk/garminOSlikemaps.htm
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:-
Madeira – updates – official PR walking routes
From ‘Shirley Whitehead’s Madeira Walks’
If you’re off to Madeira, take a look at the island government’s website to check which routes are currently closed or undergoing work. Walking conditions can change quickly due to weather, landslides or other factors.
The Madeiran authorities recognise the importance of walking visitors to their lovely island and are quick to restore paths and levadas to good order.
From ‘Shirley Whitehead’s Madeira Walks’.
It’s a useful website and updated frequently.
Here’s the link to the English language version http://www.visitmadeira.pt/?s=menu&e=/madeira/trekking&i=eng
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
La Gomera Update – thanks to Terry
It’s in the nature of walking trails that they may become impassable (usually temporarily) due to landslides, flood damage or forest fires. The good news is that nature and/or man usually repair the route before long.
Terry M just sent us this update which affects Walk 13 on the island of La Gomera:-
On 10 February 2014 Terry M wrote:
Hi,
We tried Walk 13, La Gomera but had to abandon it. A forest fire has made it impossible to follow the directions between waypoints 7,8,9 and 10. The trees are unrecognisable and the path obliterated. Herbs, mostly Cistus, have grown over the whole area and the donkey trail is unrecognisable. Even with GPS we could not find the way and had to retreat to the road.
Regards,
Terry
discoverywalking 