With bad weather ravaging much of Britain, it might not seem the ideal time to head for the great outdoors. But if you’re stuck inside waiting for the outlook to improve you can still experience our walks from the comfort of your armchair. All of our walks can be downloaded either as a podcast or an illustrated guidebook.
And if you look closely, there are hints of spring in the air. Daffodils and crocuses are braving the elements, the days are getting longer and birds are beginning their tuneful courtships. Online or on foot we hope you enjoy this selection of new walks.
Crossing point
The Pennines form a natural barrier between Northwest and Northeast England but throughout history people have developed ways to cross from one side to the other.
This six-mile walk takes you on a journey through the landscape to find evidence of the different routeways that have been developed over and under the South Pennines around Saddleworth near Oldham.
Discover fords and bridges, tunnels and cuttings, tracks and towpaths, locks and viaducts, coaching inns and toll houses. Peel back the layers and uncover two thousand years of history.
Working wilderness
Surrounded by bent, stunted trees and the eerie ruins of Cornwall’s once prosperous mining industry, Bodmin Moor appears a desolate and inhospitable place. But look a little closer and there’s much to discover.
This three-mile walk takes you through five thousand years of human activity.
Discover Bronze-Age ritual sites, Neolithic hilltop enclosures, medieval tin works, gravity-defying rock formations, the cave-home of an eighteenth-century philosopher and a huge granite quarry which supplied the stone for London’s Tower Bridge.
From water to wealth
Throughout its history this city has been influenced by two waterways - the River Lune and the Lancaster Canal. Traders made fortunes importing goods via the Lune while canal barges carried raw materials that fuelled the Industrial Revolution.
Lancaster’s water-borne affluence is still plain to see today in grand civic buildings, open spaces and elaborate houses. But true wealth is not just monetary.
Enjoy a three-mile walk that shows how people used Lancaster’s waterways to make a living then invested the profits to create real community wealth.
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