Walks and walkers

  • 551 signs … and counting!

    An early sign being restored Have you ever found your footpath ploughed up, or a stile that would challenge a mountain goat? Help is available, thanks to one of Britain’s oldest societies for the protection of walkers’ rights. The Peak and Northern Footpaths Society was formed in 1894, but has its roots in an even…

  • Afoot with Karl Moritz

    Karl Moritz was a prolific German writer who, in 1782, spent two months touring England, reaching as far north as Derbyshire. Clearly an adventurous character, what is especially striking is that he traveled on foot, when all but the poorest went on horseback. This gives his writings an unusual perspective, and his experiences, at a…

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  • Too many ways?

    It took 30 years for the first national long-distance trail, the Pennine Way, to be opened. In 1935 an article by Tom Stephenson suggested the creation of the route, inspired by American models such as the Appalachian Trail, but it was not opened until 1965, after years of haggling with landowners such as the water…

  • Dalesway

    I’ve just walked the Dalesway, an 80-mile route from Ilkley in Yorkshire to Bowness-on-Windermere in Cumbria. It took Rene and me seven days to walk the Way, averaging about 11 miles per day. Such a lengthy journey takes some organisation, because of the need to arrange overnight accommodation at the right intervals – not easy…

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  • Love in the slow lane

    Before the mid-twentieth century many homes were overcrowded, with a lack of privacy that would surprise younger people today. Furthermore, parents were often inclined to supervise their children’s indoor behaviour, so that most ‘courting’ took place out of doors, away from adult eyes. This applied equally to middle-class people: in the Hughes’ painting above a…

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