Lake District: High Level and Fell Walks
Outdoor guidebook specialist Cicerone has two new offerings for fans of the Lake District.
Vivienne Crow’s Lake District: High Level and Fell Walks contains details of 30 walks from three- to nine-hours long on the national park’s mountains, while The Cumbria Way by John Gillham charts the 117km (73-mile) linear route running from Ulverston to Carlisle.
Ms Crow’s book takes in routes on Scafell Pike, Great Gable, Helvellyn and the Langdale Pikes, ranging from 7 to 24km.
Cicerone said: “The routes in this guide provide a variety of options for exploring the Lakeland fells.
“From long rambles across the rugged ridges and high tops of the Lake District, to classic horseshoe routes and famous summits, this guidebook provides memorable mountain days for those who have wandered the Lakeland fells before, as well as those who are stepping onto the hills for the first time.”
The routes are clustered around starting areas of Keswick, Ambleside, Coniston and Langdale, the western Valleys, Borrowdale and Ullswater.
Ms Crow is described as a Londoner by birth, but Cumbrian. “Vivienne Crow is an award-winning writer and photographer,” Cicerone said. “Based near the Lake District, she has written more than a dozen guides to the national park and writes popular walking columns that appear in several north Cumbrian newspapers.
“In addition to route descriptions and annotated OS maps for every walk, the guidebook contains a range of advice on getting to and around the Lake District and the best ways to prepare for Lakeland walks, as well as information on the history, geology and points of interest of the highlands and fells you’ll be walking through.
“The result is an ideal collection of routes to find the most spectacular views and explore the best of the Lakeland fells.”
The Cumbria Way
John Gillham has been a professional writer, illustrator and photographer since 1989. He writes for several outdoors publications, and two of his books have won the Outdoor Writers & Photographers Guild Award for Excellence.
His new book The Cumbria Way details a coast-to-coast walk through the Lake District.
“A 73-mile trek, which can be walked in five to eight days, stretches northwards from Ulverston to Carlisle,” Cicerone said.
“For the most part, the trail stays low-level, with options for higher walking. Along the way, the route visits Coniston, Tarn Hows, Great Langdale, Borrowdale, Keswick and Caldbeck, and takes in some of the most spectacular scenery in the country.
“The guide divides the trek into five stages of 12 to 16 miles, with three stages including high-level options, so there is a great deal of choice in how the Cumbria Way is walked.
“Alongside detailed route descriptions and annotated OS maps, the guidebook provides useful information for every stage, from accommodation to facilities and supplies en route, as well as details on the history, geology and points of interest along the way.
“The result is a guidebook that enhances any walk on the Cumbria Way, as well as providing the tools to complete the trek.”
The Cumbria Way has five stage descriptions, with three mountain stages and the official foul-weather route avoiding the fells north of Skiddaw, itinerary planning tools, including accommodation stage-by stage, and a list of en-route facilities along with large-scale town maps for Ulverston, Keswick and Carlisle.
Both books are published this month, with Vivienne Crow’s 208-page offering costing £9.99 and John Gillham’s retailing at £12.95 with 144 pages.
More details are on the Cicerone website.
