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INTRODUCTION

Walking is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things. It is the one way of freedom. If you go to a place on anything but your own feet you are taken there too fast and miss a thousand delicate joys that were waiting for you by the wayside.

Elizabeth von Arnim (1866–1941)

A classic leafy walk in the Ardennes (Walk 27)

Consider a region of extensive and beautiful oak and beech forests, of rolling green hills dividing the sometimes steep-sided and deep river valleys, often with castles perched on improbable heights. Add to that a wide choice of activities including vast opportunities for good, straightforward walks, kayaking, biking, horse riding and fishing, all within a four-hour drive of the Channel coast, and you have the Ardennes.

Situated primarily in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg but extending into France, the Ardennes has a great deal to offer the active visitor, especially given its attractive villages (often at the water’s edge), good range of accommodation, excellent food and internationally renowned beer.

The military history of the end of World War II in this area – the so-called Battle of the Bulge – is a bonus for many visitors. There are some excellent museums, as well as memorabilia including tanks and artillery pieces popping up all over the place.

Geography

Typical Ardennes upland near Trois Points (Walk 21)

The Ardennes lies within the Belgian region of Wallonia and its constituent provinces of Liège, Namur and Luxembourg. This latter province is easily confused with the country of the same name, so for clarification the country will be referred to in this book as the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (or simply Grand Duchy) – its formal title. Except for two brief incursions, the walks in this guidebook do not include the French département of Ardennes just to the south.

Belgium is one and a half times larger than Wales and about the size of Maryland in the United States. It is very much a country with two principal identities, although it is politically divided into three autonomous regions with four languages. The densely populated northern half of the country is Flanders, where the majority of people are Flemish and speak a language very similar to Dutch, albeit in a number of dialects. (Although Flemish is closely related to Dutch it is distinct enough for some Dutch films to have Flemish subtitles – although that may be more political statement than linguistic necessity.) This region is urban Belgium with some beautiful towns but a rather bland landscape, and little in the way of hills.

The southern half of Belgium is Wallonia where, in the main, French is spoken. The people refer to themselves as Belgian rather than Walloon. Walloon, a language similar to French, was the norm until the mid-20th century, but fewer and fewer young people speak it now, preferring French. A survey in 1989 suggested only 17 per cent of people in the region spoke the language well and only 10 per cent used it exclusively. The only other places where it’s possible to hear Walloon spoken are around the French town of Givet (close to the Belgian border) and, extraordinarily, in some villages in the US state of Wisconsin.

Belgium’s third region is the so-called and very small Brussels Capital Region, which is officially bilingual but where French predominates. Finally, there are German-speaking communities in the part of Wallonia known as the Cantons de l’Est – an area ceded to Belgium from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, including the towns of Malmedy, Sankt Vith and Eupen. Outside the main cities it is uncommon to find much English spoken, although larger hotels are an exception.

Geology

Stunning stalactite, Grotte de Lorette at Rochefort (Walk 27)

Many areas of the Ardennes consist of karst, porous limestone, often tunnelled by streams and dissolved by rain and any acidic components it may contain. This has created large cavern systems that often contain lakes, underground streams and extraordinary formations of stalagmites and stalactites – which have become major tourist attractions throughout the area. Perhaps the most famous is the one at Han-sur-Lesse which, together with its close neighbour the Grotte de Lorette at Rochefort, attracts vast numbers of visitors, particularly at peak holiday times (see Walk 27).

The Hautes Fagnes is an elevated marsh and bog-covered area in the northeast of Belgium. It’s beyond the scope of this book to discuss at length the origins of this incredible ecosystem and its almost lunar appearance when seen from the air, but its many circular depressions known as lithalsas, originally thought to be the result of human activity over 2000 years ago, are now accepted as a natural phenomenon caused by a geological process about 12,000 years ago at the end of the last glaciation. They are very unusual in Belgium – or anywhere else at this latitude – and are best seen on Malchamps Fagne, south of Spa (see Walk 14).

World War II and the Ardennes

A Sherman tank outside the military museum in Diekirch (Sentier du Nord, Stage 6)

All was peaceful; farmers in the fields along the road were ploughing for the winter fallow, and some were taking in the winter harvest, cattle were grazing lazily…

So wrote Robert E Merriam in December 1944, just before the Battle of the Bulge (in The Battle of the Ardennes, Souvenir Press, 1958). No account of the Ardennes would be complete without some discussion of the events of December 1944 and January 1945.

German forces attacked through the Ardennes in World War I and again during the 1940 invasion of France. But the wholesale destruction of villages and towns in parts of the Ardennes belonged almost exclusively to the time of the German offensive of December 1944, and the operation named Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein (Operation Guard on the Rhine, suggesting a defensive posture and used to mislead Allied intelligence) – a name that was changed just before the start date of 16 December to Unternehmen Herbstnebel (Operation Autumn Mist). To most British and US readers it is known as the Battle of the Bulge.

At that point of the war the Ardennes was considered a backwater by Allied commanders at all levels; a place to rest exhausted US combat units and to provide untried US recruits with a relatively gentle introduction to the Western Front. After all, Germany was on its last legs, with apparently insufficient troops for further offensive operations; Allied air support was overwhelming and the thickly forested and hilly Ardennes was considered an outrageously unlikely place for an attack. Historically this was poor thinking: in 1914, and again in 1940, the German army had attacked through the ‘impenetrable’ Ardennes.

The aim of the German counteroffensive was to drive a wedge between the largely British forces to the north and US forces to the south, cross the river Meuse at Huy and Andenne and ultimately capture the pivotal port of Antwerp. This might also have had the effect of encircling and capturing large numbers of Allied troops. However, besides delaying the inevitable and regaining the initiative for a while, it was totally implausible to expect that the operation would radically change the outcome of the war. In the event, even with temporary local manpower and tank superiority – as well as complete surprise – the attack never achieved its objectives. Partly this was due, in some places, to truly heroic resistance by elements of the US forces, on whom the might of the attack fell, but it was also down to significant resupply problems (notably of fuel for the armour), the Allied air superiority that came with improving weather and the awful condition of the snow-covered tracks and roads for non-tracked vehicles.

RAF war grave and remains of a Lockheed Hudson near Maulusmühle (Sentier du Nord, Stage 2)

By mid-January the German forces were retiring in disarray, almost back to their start points. The Ardennes had been fought over twice in about four weeks and the devastation, as well as loss of life both civilian and military, was considerable. So in most cases the villages and towns you see today are post-war in origin, although in many cases restored in an attractive and faithful manner.

Many places – notably La Roche-en-Ardenne, Bastogne and Diekirch (in Luxembourg) – have well-developed and informative military museums dedicated to the events of the winter campaign of 1944–45, and all over the region there are tanks, smaller museums and other memorabilia to supplement the all-too inevitable and poignant war memorials. La Gleize is a good example with a museum that is very focussed on the events leading up to the pitched battle in and around the village – the furthest penetration of the Kampfgruppe commanded by Lt Col Joachim Peiper, part of the 1st SS Panzer Division.

Plants and wildlife

Purple marshlocks (Comarum palustre) with a small pearl-bordered fritillary

The Ardennes is rightly famous for its forests. The majority are deciduous, primarily of beech and oak with a sprinkling of birch. Inevitably there are spruce plantations too, although the largest concentration of these is in the Hautes Fagnes area where there are also oak, alder, hazel and large numbers of birch. Those of a botanical persuasion will find the Hautes Fagnes area particularly rewarding with its specialised marsh and bog plants. Plants to look out for are bog asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum), moss orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata), bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) and, in particular, round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundiflora) – the tiny carnivorous plant that enhances its diet with captured insects.

Although there are wild boar, red deer, fallow deer and pine marten in the forests of the region they are rarely seen by tourists. Occasional reports of wild lynx have not been substantiated, although it is possible that escapees and released animals exist. Roe deer are more common and red squirrels ubiquitous.

Birdlife is splendid. In spring the beech and oak woods are full of birdsong – mostly the same species as seen in the UK, although it is a delight to hear wood warblers singing every 50m. However, there are some ‘specials’ including grey-headed, black and middle-spotted woodpeckers; Tengmalm’s owl and, up on the Hautes Fagnes, giant eagle owl, a few black grouse and nutcrackers.

Food and drink

Orval Abbey Trappist beer sign with the abbey emblem (Walk 7)

Belgium is generally famous for its food. Unfortunately, technical details of waffles and chocolate and recommendations of eating establishments are beyond the scope of this guide. However, given that Walk 7 includes a visit to a monastery where beer is brewed, a specific note on Trappist beers is warranted.

The Trappist order originated from the Cistercian monastery of La Trappe in Normandy. Although the brewing of beer in monasteries has existed in Europe over many centuries, there are strict criteria governing the use of the label ‘Trappist beer’. Indeed it is confined to just eight monasteries in Europe, six of which are in Belgium, two of these (Rochefort and Orval) being in the Ardennes. The two most important criteria for qualification are that the brewing must be undertaken within the walls of the monastery, either by the monks or directly under their supervision, and that the proceeds must be used for the living expenses of the monks, maintenance of the buildings and grounds or given to charity.

A typical example is the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy 2km north of Rochefort, where only about 15 monks are in residence. It boasts the longest history of Trappist brewing, dating back to 1595, and the water used in the process is drawn from a well inside the abbey. There are three strengths of beer produced: 7.5 per cent ABV (alcohol by volume), 9.2 per cent ABV and 11.3 per cent ABV, misleadingly labelled ‘6’, ‘8’ and ‘10’ respectively. Considering that over 97 per cent of British ‘bitter’ beer sold in pubs is less than 4.2per cent ABV it would be wise to remember, when quaffing a couple of bottles of Rochefort 10, that it is likely to be about three times as strong as most people’s usual tipple. Be warned!

Early guides to the Ardennes

Pont de France (Bouillon) with train, date unknown. The tunnel is now a road (Walk 1)

The first English-language guide to the Ardennes was written by Percy Lindley, a prolific author whose books include Walks in Epping Forest (1885), Walks in Holland (1889) and The Great Eastern Railway Guide to the Continent (1902). Walks in the Ardennes – subtitled Cycling, driving, boating, by rail and on foot (with some fishing and shooting notes) – was published around 1890.

HOW TIMES CHANGE: AN EXCERPT FROM PERCY LINDLEY’S WALKS IN THE ARDENNES

Passport – In Belgium it is quite unnecessary but as some Ardennes tours cross and re-cross the French and German frontiers it may be as well to carry one. A passport is issued on application to the Foreign Office or your banker will save you the trouble.

Time – Antwerp and Brussels time is 18 minutes in advance of English.

Letters – Can be sent from home to care of ‘Poste Restante’ at any place and should be legibly addressed and the ‘Esquire’ omitted. Show your visiting card on applying for letters.

Inevitably, in the last 120 years much has changed in the landscape, as seen particularly in agricultural practices but most notably in the villages. Almost all were at the very least hugely damaged, and in some instances completely destroyed, during the fighting after the German army offensive of December 1944. But such is the rural nature of the Ardennes that I suspect if Percy Lindley had the opportunity of repeating his travels today, he would find much of it is recognisable (although the metalled roads and motorised transport would doubtless surprise and possibly dismay him). There is also a fascinating account of a journey through the Ardennes in 1880 written by Katharine Macquoid (In the Ardennes, Chatto & Windus, 1880) but this is not strictly a guidebook. From time to time observations from these earlier books are included in this guide to point up the contrast with the present day.

Scope of this guide

Horse riding in the forest above Poupehan near the Chaire à Prêcher (Walk 2)

This book can only give a flavour of the walking that is available in the Ardennes. Such is the number of possible routes it would be a near-impossible task to cover much more. Each town (and many villages) boasts a tourist office where it is possible to obtain an extensive list of walks suitable for all levels of ability and enthusiasm. For this reason the walks described in this guide are based around five centres in Belgium. In addition there is a long-distance path in the Grand Duchy – the Sentier du Nord – divided into six manageable walks that can all be accessed easily by train.

The selection of routes is always difficult and necessarily reflects the preferences of the writer. Wherever possible these are walks with a purpose, but there has also been a determined attempt to limit road-walking to an absolute minimum (although in some instances stretches of tar are unavoidable). There will be many, many walks in other centres, much-loved by others, that are not included here, but tough choices had to be made in order to keep the guide to a manageable size. The fact that over 50 per cent of the walks are in the areas of Bouillon and Spa/Hautes Fagnes reflects the quality of these walking centres.

The challenges of ascent are never too great, given that much of the high ground is between 350m and 500m – although it does rise to over 650m in the Hautes Fagnes.

If, rather than day walks, long-distance footpaths are more your cup of tea, the Ardennes is loaded with them, with a particularly high concentration in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. All have the prefix GR (Sentiers de Grande Randonnées in French; Grote Routepaden in Flemish/Dutch) and most have a Topo-guide that can be purchased in local shops. Special mention should be made of GR14 (Sentier de l’Ardenne), which traverses the area from northeast to southwest, starting in Malmedy and finishing in Sedan in France. It is 221km in length, quite well waymarked and passes through some key ‘must-visit’ towns in the Ardennes, notably La Roche en Ardenne and Bouillon. Walk 1 and Walk 32 in the book make use of sections of this GR.

Getting there

Crossing the river using the railway bridge (Walk 25)

One of the great attractions of Belgium for British visitors is its proximity to the UK. Almost any of the French or Belgian ports provide good and quite speedy access to the Ardennes, so seeking the sharpest fare in this competitive market is worthwhile. Although at the time of writing there are car ferries from Dover to Dunkirk and Ramsgate to Ostend it is usually quickest to travel via Calais, the crossing time being shorter and services more frequent (with three competing carriers in 2014). Precise directions from the channel ports depend on your destination.

You can fly to Brussels from most major UK airports and then either hire a car or continue by train. Rail connections from London to Brussels are also good and it is possible, though not straightforward, to tailor a walking holiday to an arrival by train with or without local buses. For rail access to the centres featured in this book there are stations at Dinant (for the lower Lesse valley) and Spa in Belgium as well as Clervaux in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. La Roche-en-Ardenne can be reached by bus from Marloie on the Brussels to Grand Duchy line. Malmedy (for the Hautes Fagnes) has a bus service via Stavelot from Trois Ponts station on the Liège to Grand Duchy line. Bouillon’s nearest railhead is Sedan in France but the bus service between the two only runs twice a day, two days a week. However, there is a fairly good connecting service to the station at Libramont on the main Brussels to Grand Duchy railway. See Appendix B for details of websites offering information about rail and bus travel in the region.

Rather predictably, most visitors use a car because it allows much better coverage of the area and is more flexible than using what is often poor local transport provision.

When to visit

You can walk in the Ardennes at almost any time of the year, although given that there are a few resorts boasting cross-country skiing – especially in the Hautes Fagnes – winter walking may prove challenging. In July and particularly August the area is extremely busy and early booking for hotels and campsites is highly recommended. For those who can travel outside school holidays, June and September are ideal months for the best chance of decent weather and more peaceful surroundings. By October many hotels, restaurants and activities are closed.

Generally the weather, rainfall and hours of sunshine are very similar to the Lake District region of the UK, although the Hautes Fagnes can have prolonged periods of mist and rain and the winters there are rather colder, with snow sufficient for cross-country skiing.

Accommodation

B&B in Lellingen (Sentier du Nord, Stage 4)

There is a wide choice of places to stay, ranging from quite big-ticket hotels to B&Bs and campsites. You have to search a bit more assiduously for rented accommodation (gîtes), but it is available. Trawling the internet is the most successful tactic, but many sites are in French or Dutch and, as with all internet searches, finding the right information can be challenging. All the towns in the Ardennes have tourist offices, variously called ‘Office/Bureau du Tourisme’, ‘Maison du Tourisme’ or ‘Syndicat d’Initiative’. All of these have websites and are a good alternative to DIY.

When staying in gîtes it is usually necessary to take your own bed linen and towels, and a travel kettle may be useful. See Appendix B for a list of websites that might help in finding accommodation.

Money

Belgian currency is the euro. Most gîtes, B&Bs and many small hotels do not accept credit cards, so to avoid the risks of carrying vast amounts of currency an alternative strategy is required. One option is to use a debit or credit card at an ATM, although withdrawal charges can make this expensive. A cheaper way is to organise a debit-type card (usually known as a ‘cash passport’) that can be pre-loaded with euros at a more advantageous rate than high street banks offer. This can be limited to euros, carries no transaction cost and is used through an ATM in the same way. A number of foreign exchange and travel companies offer this product and the card purchase in the first instance is free. In some places they can also be used as conventional debit cards, again without a transaction charge. The list of websites in Appendix B includes two companies offering cash passports, but it is an ever-increasing market and a general online search will yield plentiful results.

Health and safety

If you’re a European citizen, don’t forget your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). It is necessary to pay a doctor for treatment, but up to 75 per cent of the fee may be reclaimable on return to the UK, provided you have an official receipt (attestation de soins donnés). You can seek a consultation with a specialist hospital doctor by appointment without referral from a family doctor, but direct consultation at higher costs may be more difficult in terms of reimbursement. Accident and Emergency departments are run on the same lines as in the UK. Ambulance charges are non-refundable in Belgium but you may be able to claim reimbursement in the UK.

Remember to take your prescription with you if it’s possible that you may require a resupply of regular prescribed medication; most pharmacies will accept these but you will have to pay the whole cost, which may be considerable, and seek reimbursement back in the UK.

Citizens from other countries should check they are covered by their medical insurance before travelling.

Ixodes ricinus, the region’s most commonly encountered tick

Ticks are very small, eight-legged arachnids in the same class as spiders and scorpions. They can’t fly or jump but they ‘quest’. This tactic involves holding the first pair of legs outstretched, ready to cling on to a passing host (maybe a walker). Although responsible for a veritable raft of diseases, in Belgium the risk they pose is the same as in parts of the UK and the most frequently diagnosed transmitted problem is Lyme disease. In order to reduce this risk there are three recommendations: firstly, after walking in wooded areas you should examine all parts of the body (get a close friend to help if you can) to search for ticks. Secondly, take tick tweezers with you (easy to get in the UK and in pharmacies in the Ardennes) and finally, very importantly, if you have unexplained fevers, rashes, joint pains or any other unexplained symptoms in the weeks following an Ardennes walking holiday, consult your family doctor. The risks are very low – no higher than in the Scottish Highlands, the New Forest or Norfolk, for example – but the potential problem is important and well worth bearing in mind.

Unfortunately it is true that theft from cars (including ‘sac-jacking’, where a window is smashed and bags stolen from the car when stopped in traffic) and pickpocketing are not unknown in the larger Belgian towns and cities, so the standard precautions are required.

Hunting hides are common in forests around the region

Hunting is a very popular pastime in Belgium. It is highly regulated and tough tests in theory, weapon safety and marksmanship are strictly enforced. The species that can be hunted include deer and wild boar – typically forest animals – so there is a potential for walker-hunter conflict in terms of safety during the hunting season. In the Ardennes, for most species, the season is from 1 October to the end of December. At these times it is advisable check locally as to which walking areas should be avoided, although there are normally warning signs in place.

What to take

The same equipment for walking is required in the Ardennes as in the UK and should include a rucksack, waterproof top, appropriate footwear to cope with mud and water, adequate fluids and some food. A map is essential, ideally in a map case or waterproof bag, and a base-plate compass plus a first aid kit and a survival bag (for injuries rather than for an overnight stay) are strongly recommended. The use of a satellite navigation system en route is fun and informative but it is not vital to have such a device.

You won’t forget to take your passport, but remember that you must carry it with you at all times as your official ID. When driving you must also always be in possession of a current and valid licence as well as appropriate evidence of insurance.

Maps

The whole of Belgium is covered by the 1:50,000 Institut Géographique National (IGN) series which are, in principle, the same as the UK Ordnance Survey maps but of nothing like the same high-quality graphic representation and readability. Notably, footpaths are very difficult to distinguish and follow. The same organisation produces maps at 1:25,000 and 1:20,000 scale, of similar quality.

For basic holiday planning or for multi-day walks these maps are adequate, but for detailed walking routes the best – indeed the only satisfactory – answer is to purchase local maps at local tourist offices or shops. Given the often limited opening hours of the former, this can throw up interesting situations. For example, in 2012 it was possible to purchase a map of the Ourthe Superieure in Nadrin tourist office, open only from 10.00am at the weekend. However, according to a local lady it was worth trying ‘chez le pâtissier’ (at the baker’s) where, sure enough, a copy was produced with a flourish from under the counter. It is usually impossible to source these local maps in the UK prior to departure.

Generally these local maps are at 1:25,000 scale, although there are variations (1:20,000 being quite common). They vary in size and format from place to place. But even these maps are not without problems for walkers: local walking routes are numbered, and in many instances these numbers obliterate the map’s detail. Also, these routes are overprinted on existing paths, tracks and roads, and it is often impossible to determine beforehand which surface you will be walking on. Those who abhor surfaced roads may find this particularly trying. It is also worth bearing in mind that some of the maps do not have a legend, and finally it should be remembered that many of the local maps are 15 years or more out of date. However, it needs to be said that the maps of the Grand Duchy at 1:20,000 scale are good.

On the plus side, details of these walking routes, including length, a severity grading and suggested timings, are sometimes included on the reverse of the map.

The maps contained in this guide are derived from open-source materials and adjusted to reflect the author’s experience on the ground. They are not designed as a substitute for a decent map or the ability to interpret it; they are adjunctive particularly to give a speedy visual cue to area and terrain. A compass is a useful tool to add to navigational equipment, being particularly helpful to confirm the direction in which a path or track is running when there is some uncertainty about your precise position.

Finally, active forestry management, necessary though it may be, is the bane of guidebook writers and wayfarers alike. Readers should bear in mind that yesterday’s walk through a spruce forest rich with the insistent high-pitched song of goldcrests may be tomorrow’s amble through open scrubland or new plantation, filled with the scratchy utterances of common whitethroat.

Waymarking

Typical path sign (but shapes and colours vary)

The systems used for marking the very laudable number of maintained paths in the Ardennes are bewilderingly variable. The most frequent methods, though there may be many more, are as follows:

 Path numbers printed on a white plastic background and nailed to a tree or any alternative inanimate object

 Path numbers painted in white or black on a tree

 No path number but a symbol such as a red rectangle or green diamond and so on

 Wooden signposts featuring the name of the next feature on the walk

On occasion the sheer volume of numbers and symbols in one site can be overwhelming.

Fortunately, the traditional red and white GR (Grande Randonnée) signs are maintained in the Ardennes, although paradoxically GR routes are often omitted from local maps. A useful and fairly reliable rule is that if there is no GR sign at a junction of paths then one will appear within about 20m. It may be the conventional red/white or the same covered with the ‘not this way’ cross.

GR signs: (top) turn left; (bottom) ‘not this way’

Communications

There are few public telephones in the Ardennes compared with UK and most of them only take credit cards. Although there is good mobile phone network coverage, 3G is much less widespread. Some hotels provide wi-fi facilities but private accommodation rarely does so. Internet cafés are uncommon and most tourist offices have no such provision. Those who need to keep in touch with the office, the stockbroker or even the children need to make alternative provision.

The international dialling code for Belgium is 0032.

The telephone number for emergency services is 112.

The RAVeL network

In Belgium about 1200km of old railway track and towpath has been upgraded to create a track for non-motorised wayfarers ranging from cyclists (by far the biggest users) to equestrians. This is known as the RAVeL network (Réseau Autonome de Voies Lentes). Walkers also use the facility but the flatness of the terrain and the number of bikes discourages large numbers. There are fun features such as tunnels and viaducts, but given the origins of the network, walking routes would be a there-and-back affair, which generally is unattractive. However, there are two routes in this book that incorporate a short section of RAVeL (Walk 8 and Walk 9).

Using this guide

The first taste of caillebotis, the wooden walkway (Walk 17)

The walks are grouped around five centres in Belgium and one in Luxembourg. It is perfectly feasible to do a walk listed under one centre from another area, such are the small distances involved in the Ardennes, although this would inevitably increase motoring costs.

The information box at the beginning of each walk includes details of the length of the outing, an estimate of the basic time it takes, the expected height gain, which map to take and notes on getting to the start, where best to park a car and what facilities to expect en route.

An estimate of the time required for a walk is the trickiest aspect of the description. Different people move at different speeds and indeed these speeds will vary from day to day depending on the weight of backpack, weather conditions, time spent studying surroundings or taking photographs, and many other variables. In this book the stated time is simply how long it took the author to walk the route including all stops for writing notes, taking photographs, slaking thirst and for ‘comfort breaks’. But it excludes, for example, picnics, sleeping under hedgerows after liquid lunches, prolonged photographic composition experimentation and birdwatching. These timings will be on the fast side for some walkers and a little slow for others. Comparing your own time for one walk, and extrapolating that for the next, may improve predictive accuracy.

The length and ascent of each walk were measured on a global positioning system (GPS) device and rounded to the nearest half-kilometre. GPS instruments have inevitable inaccuracies but give a much better estimate than measuring on a map.

No system of grading is used in this book because the walks are essentially straightforward, differing only in distance and ascent. Where there are special situations, such as a river crossing or ladders, these are clearly described.

Routes are accompanied by clear, contoured colour maps, and the features shown on these maps are highlighted in bold in the route description to help you read the two together. The route summary table in Appendix A will help you choose a route to suit your location, time slot and ambitions.