El Teide on Tenerife. Photo: Christine McIntosh CC-BY-ND-2.0
As autumnal gloom and early darkness envelop Britain, and the Met Office dashes hopes of widespread early snowfall, walkers could be forgiven for letting their thoughts wander to sunnier destinations.
Tenerife is the bolthole for thousands of Britons seeking winter sunshine and warmth, and the beaches of Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos are the usual haunt, but for walkers the island offers plenty of chances of escape from sunbeds and cocktails.
Guidebook author Paddy Dillon’s Walking on Tenerife details 45 outings, ranging from easy strolls to hands-on scrambling routes, including a tough Three Peaks of Tenerife challenge.
The island has the highest mountain on Spanish territory, the 3,718m (12,198ft) active volcano El Teide.
The book is split into seven sections and includes contour mapping and route descriptions, including that of the GR131 long-distance route linking all the Canary Islands.
Still on an insular theme, Dillon’s Walking in Sardinia has 50 routes for varying abilities, including newly waymarked trails in some of the Mediterranean island’s lesser known areas.
The guide covers the highest and wildest parts of the island, in an area once proposed for a national park, including the rugged Ogliastra coast, the barren Supramonte and the Gennergentu mountains further inland.
Walking in Sardinia also features route descriptions and detailed contour maps.
Both are published by Cumbria-based Cicerone and each costs £14.95 and is also available as an eBook.
Closer to home, Terry Marsh’s guide to the West Highland Way has been updated with its finishing point now moved into Fort William itself, rather than the unprepossessing roundabout a mile out of the town centre.
The Cicerone guide to the 155km (96-mile) route which runs from Milngavie to the Lochaber town features Ordnance Survey maps and also has an additional route description for walkers tackling the route north-to-south.
The third edition of the guide to Scotland’s most popular long-distance trail has suggested itineraries for six, seven and eight days and costs £12.95 and is again available as an eBook.
Full details of the guides are available on the Cicerone website.
