Trailblazer Guide Books

wonderful handbooks
 - The Bookseller

The route guide and maps have not been divided into rigid daily stages since people walk at different speeds and have different interests. The route summaries below describe the trail between significant places and are written as if walking the path from north to south.

To enable you to plan your own itinerary, practical information is presented clearly on each of the trail maps. This includes walking times and places to stay and eat, as well as shops where you can buy supplies.

Further service details are given in the text under the entry for each place: note that the hours stated for pubs relate, for the most part, to the hours food is served; most venues serve drinks outside these hours. For an overview of this information, see pp13-19.

TRAIL MAPS

Scale and walking times
The trail maps are to a scale of 1:20,000 (1cm = 200m; 3-1/8 inches = one mile). Walking times (see box below) are given along the side of each map and the arrow shows the direction to which the time refers. Black triangles indicate the points between which the times have been taken.

The time-bars are a tool and are not there to judge your walking ability. There are so many variables that affect walking speed, from the weather conditions to how many beers you drank the previous evening. After the first hour or two of walking you will be able to see how your speed relates to the timings on the maps.

Up or down?
The trail is shown as a dotted line – – –. An arrow across the trail indicates the slope; two arrows show that it is steep. Note that the arrow points towards the higher part of the trail.

If, for example, you are walking from A (at 80m) to B (at 200m) and the trail between the two is short and steep it would be shown thus: A– – – >> – – – B. Reversed arrow heads indicate a downward gradient.

Accommodation
Accommodation marked on the map is usually either on or within easy reach of the trail. Where accommodation is scarce, however, some of the places listed are a little further away. If that is the case, many B&B proprietors will collect walkers from the nearest point on the trail and deliver them back again next morning, if requested. Details of each place are given in the accompanying text.

Unless otherwise specified, the rates quoted are for the summer high season and are for two people sharing a room. Most places deduct between £5 and £15 for single occupancy, although there are considerable variations: in tourist towns, particularly, you can expect to pay extra at weekends (whereas in the odd business establishment the rate is likely to be higher in the week).

The number of rooms of each type is given after each entry: S = single room, T = twin room, D = double room, F = family room (sleeping at least three people). Note that some places accept only a two-night stay, particularly at weekends.

Other features
Generally, other features are marked on the map when pertinent to navigation. In order to avoid cluttering the maps and making them unusable, not all features have been marked each time they occur.