I am wishfully thinking about my next vacation, and I am considering a 2 week stint in England, with a few days of walking somewhere in there.
I’d love to hike on the Wiltshire downs, as there are apparently a bunch of iron age sights there, and white horses and things like that.
I am looking for good books about walking in England. I am intrigued by the Automobile Association Pub Walks and Cycle Rides series, but am not sure which volume would contain walks in Wiltshire. I have looked on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk and neither offers “Look inside the book” for this series. I’d love to be able to follow walks that include pubs along the way.
Does anyone have suggestions for good books about walking in England, especially geared toward a foreigner who does not fully understand how the “rights of way” work, trail etiquette, etc.
I am interested specifically in Wiltshire, but northern England, Scotland or Wales are areas I might consider instead.
You could start on the AA’s website, where you can search for walks in Wiltshire (or be more specific if you want). (‘PH’ on a map indicates a pub.) The Good Pub Guide is another vital tool in planning such a holiday
There’s some pleasant countryside with market towns and Rutland Water near moi:
Rutland is well known for being the smallest County in England covering an area 16 miles wide and 11 miles long.
Perhaps its most famous feature is Rutland Water, which attracts visitors from across the UK. This giant reservoir is popular for fishing, walking, cycling and sailing.
Away from the tourist trail, Rutland has many hidden treasures and is often compared to the more famous Cotswolds for its natural beauty.
Two market towns, Oakham and Uppingham, sit alongside 54 traditional rural villages.
Thanks for all the links so far - they’re quite helpful. I’m still not sure how I failed to make the leap from looking at the Aa’s books to looking for their website, but I did.
Rutland is your traditional English countryside.
The County only has two towns of any size (Oakham is about 12,000 people) and there are some picturesque walks:
In particular, you can walk or cycle round round Rutland water (26 miles if you do the whole thing). You will see nature projects, country mansions, churches and pubs.
Of course England can be cold and wet, so do choose your time of year carefully!