Country Walking magazine April 2013

April 2013

25 new walks near you...

The Lake District l Yorkshire Dales l Peak District

MARK RADCLIFFE “Try my favourite island walk...”

www.livefortheoutdoors.com

Treasure islands

Escape to a whole new world of walking l Skye l Wight l Scilly l Arran l Lindisfarne ...and many more!

Hadrian's Wall

How to walk the best sections in a weekend

Castaway for a day

WIN!

A LUXURY TRIP TO THE LAKES See page 98

The desert island you can walk to

Soft shell jackets

Warm, windproof and water-resistant: Our experts tell you what to look for...

‘The Village’

Meet the real star of the BBC’s new drama

april 2013 £3.99

issue 314 britain's best islands for walkers | Hadrian's wall | lofoten islands | mark radcliffe on anglesey | sofT shell jackets tested

Britain’s best-selling walking magazine

theview Miles of ideas for a brilliant month outdoors

news

NEW BBC DRAMA MAKES A STAR OF THE PEAK DISTRICT Groundbreaking new series The Village takes place in a beautiful but nameless landscape – but we know exactly where it is…

S

Photos: BBC/Company Pictures/Brian Sweeney; Tom Bailey

ome are already calling it “Downton with mountains”.

The Village is an epic new drama which is topping the BBC’s spring schedules, and it tells the story of a rural community facing up to the seismic social changes of the early 20th-century.

The human stars are actors John Simm and Maxine Peake, but the real star is likely to be the setting. The series was filmed entirely on location in the Peak District, and we predict it’ll have you pulling your boots out and heading off to explore the series’ scenery properly.

“The village is never named because we wanted it to be an Everyman rural landscape,” says series producer John Griffin, who developed the show with writer Peter Moffat.

“But we were captivated by the Peak District as soon as we went to look at it, and it performs magnificently as our backdrop throughout the series. The landscape became a character in itself.”

The village itself is actually Hayfield in the Dark Peak, at the foot of Kinder Scout. The film crew descended over the winter and transformed the town into a British community on the eve of the First World War. The series covers the years 1914 to 1920 and the producers hope to make five more series, chronicling the life of the village right through to the 1970s, through the eyes of the show’s lead character Bert, who starts the series as a young boy.

Local pubs, tearooms and shops have major starring roles, and key scenes were also filmed in the hills above Hayfield. But the farmhouse owned by main characters John and Grace Middleton can be found a few miles away on the other side of Kinder: it’s an old barn at Tagsnaze Farm, on a hillside above Upper Booth in the Edale Valley, on a quiet footpath leading away from the Pennine Way towards Rushup Edge (grid reference SK100849).

Country Walking has been for a proper walking weekend through some of the scenery showcased in The Village and we’ll bring it to you next issue – but for now get ready to enjoy a gripping drama and some stunning locations. ◗The Village starts at 9pm on BBC1 on Easter Sunday,

Ready for my close-up: Maxine Peake, John Simm, Bill Jones and Nico Mirallegro at their farm in The Village, and (inset) our Nick looking exactly like John Simm at the real-life Tagsnaze Farm…

april 2013 Country Walking 7

Great British

Islands

Thousands of isles dot the seas around mainland Britain and they’re home to some of the nation’s most extraordinary landscapes. Discover the wonderful world of island life this summer and go walking on one of these...

Great island adventures: ten reasons to get out there...

The one with 500 miles of footpath. Page 28

The one you can drive to then walk round. Page 34

22 Country Walking APRIL 2013

The one with the big mountain views. Page 38

The one with all the saints. Page 45

The one that's two hours from London. Page 46

Spectacular island walking: the chiselled basalt pinnacle of Skye's Old Man of Storr.

Main image: Marcus McAdam/Alamy

The one that sees spring first. Page 48

The one that's Scotland in miniature. Page 54

The one that's a desert island. Page 56

The one that's its own kingdom. Page 60

The one that's above all the others. Page 63

APRIL 2013 Country Walking 23

Great British

Islands

isle of Anglesey

Going just a little bit abroad

The isle of Anglesey is a world in itself, says BBC radio broadcaster Mark Radcliffe – and its coastal trail might well be Britain’s most varied island walk…

M

y romance with Anglesey began about 20 years ago. My wife and I went to a fundraising auction for our local school in Cheshire; one of the lots was a weekend on Anglesey, and we put in the winning bid.

It was a little cottage in Cemaes (pronounce it “kem-ice”), and we loved it so much that we kept going back. Then about 15 years ago we got our own place – a little house overlooking the sea at Cemaes, not far from the place where we originally stayed. It’s been our family escape ever since, and we walk every time we stay there.

It’s great just driving there. The roads are busy as far as Llandudno, then it goes much quieter as you carry on to the Britannia Bridge. There’s a definite feeling of leaving the mainland. It feels like going just a little bit abroad. The locals think

of it as a nation in itself, but they’re very welcoming to newcomers. Welsh is the first language, but they’ll switch to English in a heartbeat, often mid-sentence.

Cemaes has great walks, but as my wife and I got more and more into our walking, it became clear we should try going the whole way round.

The coastal circuit is 132 miles, which is a perfect length – big enough to be a challenge you keep coming back to, but not so big it feels like you’ll never finish it.

The first time we did it, we took a week. It was quite hard – about 19 or 20 miles a day. You can easily break it up into smaller sections and take 10 or 12 days over it; you can take it at a more leisurely pace that way, and get really immersed in the place. » Right: Walk the Anglesey Coast Path and you too will be captivated by Terwyn Du lighthouse near Penmon, and the view of Puffin Island in the sea beyond.

Photos: Loop Images Ltd/Alamy; The Photolibrary Wales/Alamy

Left: Mark's favourite place on earth – the church at Llanbadrig, on the path from Cemaes to Amlwch.

34 Country Walking APRIL 2013

spring 2013 Country Walking 35

Great British

Islands

The immense landslip of the Quiraing – the tiny people (above) give you a sense of scale.

Photo: Henk Meijer/Alamy

ISLe of skye

Skye high

From the volcanic gnarl of the Black Cuillins to the flat tops of the Macleod’s Tables, from the rounded granite of the Red Hills to the turf-topped tilts of the Trotternish Ridge, no island does upland views like Skye, says Jenny Walters.

APRIL 2013 Country Walking 39

national trails | hadrian's wall

HADRIAN’S

WALL

Each issue, Country Walking will be looking in-depth at one of Britain’s great long distance footpaths and national trails. We kick off with a coast-to-coast trek through centuries of history…

T

Words: Nick Hallissey

he PROSPECT of walking Hadrian’s Wall is one that should fuel the dreams of any walker. It’s easy to sum up the allure: it’s short for a national trail, just 84 miles, so you can do it in three weekends at a push; four at more leisure. It crosses the breadth of England from the west coast of Cumbria to the shipyards of the Tyne, via wild upland country, thus offering the same sense of achievement as the Coast to Coast but at less than half the length. Oh, and then there’s the Romans. And that’s the clincher: every step of this path brings you into the presence of the most fascinating and sophisticated invaders to whom Britain ever bowed.

The wall was a stroke of genius. Troubled by uprisings elsewhere, Emperor Publius Hadrianus Augustus decided to renounce Britannica’s northern lands and focus on more profitable areas. But he also wanted to ensure that any trader wanting to enter his empire from the north would pay through the nose.

So he chose the most obvious natural feature he could find: the Whin Sill, a great crumple in the earth stretching right across the land, offering cliffs, lakes and other natural bastions to act as foundations. And he set about fortifying it.

Hadrian ordered his wall in 122AD; it was ready within six years. Over the next century it was widened, raised, upgraded from turf and timber to stone, shut down, reactivated and eventually plundered, as both wall and empire crumbled.

The Hadrian’s Wall Path opened formally in 2003 after years of preparation to ensure path and monument could co-exist happily. In the pages that follow, we’ll show you the greatest walking weekend on the trail, outline some unforgettable circular day-walks, and tell you how you can walk its entire length yourself.

Salve Callis Hadriani. Hail to the wall. It’s time to live the dream. » 66 Country Walking april 2013

Above: The man behind it all.

Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, to give him his proper name.

Top: Walking in his footsteps.

Main image: The moment every wall-walker dreams of – the famous view of Housesteads Crags from Hotbank Crags.

Photos: www.BibleLandPictures.com; Tom Bailey; Guy Edwardes;

gear no-nonsense reviews for real walkers

this just in...

Berghaus Expeditor AQ £100 With its new British-born waterproofing, is this the perfect boot for field and fell?

Berghaus already use their AQ waterproof technology on jackets, but now they've put it on a new range of boots aimed squarely at fellwalkers. The Expeditor range uses the AQ membrane for waterproofing and breathability, leaving the costlier, more technical Gore-Tex membrane for their more mountain-specific boots.

This has a nice knock-on for price; you'll pay just £100 for the leather Expeditor and £85 for the suede version. The boot comes in specific styles for men and women; this is the women's leather version. It's great to see a British brand thinking hard about the needs of walkers who spend most of their time below 3,000ft.

Look out for a full review in an upcoming issue. uberghaus.com

Photo: Tom Bailey

tested this month Soft shell jackets • shirts • brasher's new hillmaster april april2013 2013 Country Country Walking 77

GEAR The big test

Soft shell jackets Soft shell is all about compromise. It slots into the walkers' wardrobe somewhere between a waterproof and a fleece, being more breathable than the former yet more weatherproof than the latter. It's a jack of all trades that offers versatility in abundance and functions remarkably well in all but the most extreme conditions. On the right day, the waterproof will stay in your pack, and you’ll be much more comfortable than if you were wearing a fleece. But being an in-the-middle sort of product it does have its limitations. So should it earn its place in your pack? Let us help you decide…

our testers Tom Hutton is an awardwinning outdoors writer who has been testing gear for CW for more than ten years along with partner Steph Duits. Tom is author of several Welsh walking guides.

He and Steph have explored virtually every inch of the nation, but are especially fond of the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia – or as they know it, the back garden.

Illustration: Steven Hall

What to look for...

VENTING Versatility is the calling card of soft shell jackets so the ability to spill heat is as important as the means to trap it. Pockets with mesh linings do a good job but pit-zips may be useful if you run hot. Drawcords at the hem can be loosened to spill a little heat and sleeves should roll up.

FABRIC Although soft shell fabric comes in a variety of guises, the wish list for walking is windproof, water resistant and very, very breathable. It’s usually stretchy and synthetic in construction. Most are treated with a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) coating. Some fabrics have a waterproof membrane, which increases the water resistance of the jacket but this is at the expense of breathability. And remember that unless the seams are taped – which is unusual – it won’t actually be totally waterproof. Some soft shell fabrics provide a little insulation, which obviously makes them warmer; others are more shell-like.

pockets

FIT Snug is good. But it shouldn’t hinder movement at all, and you should be able to wear a layer or two beneath it if needed. Check the collar seals reasonably well around your neck/chin as this makes a world of difference if you’re trying to stay warm. And also that the sleeves cover the wrists.

These jackets are at their best as an outer layer so pockets will definitely be useful. Hip pockets can be used to keep hands warm and store small items, and a decent-sized chest pocket that will take a map can be useful.

read the full test: Fourteen men's and women's soft shell jackets tested and rated over the page...

april 2013 Country Walking 79

Clockwise from top: The view over Torsfjorden to the northern tip of Moskensøya; sand, sea and soaring cliffs at Kvalvika; fishermen's cabins perch on the waterfront at Nusfjord; gulls nest in the village of Å.

total guide | lofoten islands

The sublime Lofoten landscape of mountain and fjord at Reine.

Photos: Johan Berge:Visit Norway; Rachel Broomhead; ©Sónia Arrepia Photography

total guide: lofoten islands

Shock & awe in the Arctic Circle

Norway’s Lofoten Islands are characterised by jagged peaks and serrated ridgelines, but Rachel Broomhead discovers their softer side.

I

f landscapes were listed by adjective, I would file the Lofoten Islands somewhere between ‘sublime’ and ‘terrifying’. The Norwegians, though, aren’t quite so dramatic about it. I’m driving west following signs for Å – the last letter in the Norwegian alphabet (aptly pronounced 'awe') and the village which brings the road and the island chain to a full stop. In its simple, understated way, Å is the perfect name to round off a place which feels like Earth’s final frontier.

The Lofoten Islands, lying 200km inside the Arctic Circle off the north-west coast of Norway, is where nature lost all restraint. An armoury of dagger peaks and seductive lakes makes the Scandinavian outpost a fearsome sight. As I creep further west, I’m stalked all the while by monolithic spectres of rock which erupt straight out of the sea and crowd the skies with smooth and sinister peaks.

Lofoten itself translates as lynx’s foot: a name partly inspired by the footprint of peninsulas which form the archipelago’s central island, Vestvågøy, and partly by its wildcat nature. The Lofoten Islands are fierce, and they grab first-time visitors by the scruff of the neck.

White-knuckled and dumbstruck, I stop short of Å to

meet my guide, Ole Christian Fredriksen, at the north eastern end of Moskensøya. He’s promised to turn my fear of these islands to admiration. “This walk has everything,” he tells me. “You’ll see across the whole island, and then you will see its true beauty.” We boot up by the waters of Selfjorden, a lake-like inlet whose surface is brightening from industrial grey to sky blue as the clouds hurry silently away. In the space cleared by the fjord, I can see now that not all of Lofoten’s mountains are hair-raising, bayonet-like shards – there are scores of gentler, shapely hills hugging the shores of the lake, coloured golden from the new sunlight and begging to be walked.

Sure enough, Ole Christian leads me straight onto a footpath that’s the stuff of walkers’ dreams. Bouncing over wet, spongy grass along a narrow hill-lined corridor, we land slap bang in the middle of gorgeous green foothills where rainwater has collected to form a string of tiny, peaceful lakes. “I moved to Lofoten from Oslo four years ago for a quieter, slower way of life,” Ole Christian tells me. “I used to visit my grandparents in Lofoten as a child and I knew this was the right place for me. It’s so beautiful and remote, and yet there’s so much to see in an incredibly small space.” » APRIL 2013 Country Walking 91