I recently bought a couple of these guide books - Bowland and South Pennines - from Amazon and was instantly impressed by the amount of thought that has gone into them. So much so, that I've just ordered a couple more and look forward to the publication of the Yorks Dales books.
The aim of the series is to encourage walkers to take advantage of the recent (2000) legislation whereby previously inaccessible land has been opened up to hillgoers. While there are routes to follow on given walks, the reader is able to plan his or her own route. The maps are direct OS 1;25000 copies, without any thick dotted lines painted across the map. All that's added are points of interest. How you get to them is up to you.For those that prefer to follow routes, there are descriptions following paths and tracks, but the author does hope that the routes whet the appetite of walkers to explore the area further with the appropriate OS map.
The walks vary in length (one route being a marathon 26 miler) but most are around 7 - 10 miles. The author points out where the going underfoot may be a bit rough as wandering over the moors ignoring footpaths can be harder than a well established trail twice its length.
I was also impressed by the amount of historical information in the guides, some of which is in the form of little essays. I didn't know, for instance, that Tom Stephenson originally had Boulsworth Hill in mind as a highlight of the Pennine Way. For years it has been impossible to approach Boulsworth from the east or south without trespassing. All that has changed now, and these books celebrate that.
The books' weight and size makes them ideal for taking onto the hills, but with enough about them to make excellent armchair reading too. Highly recommended.
