This guidebook describes Offa's Dyke Path National Trail, a 177 mile (283km) long-distance walk along the English-Welsh border between Sedbury (near Chepstow) and Prestatyn. The guidebook is split into 12 stages with suggestions for planning alternative itineraries. With OS 1:25,000 map booklet.
This is the first comprehensive book on Offa's Dyke for over 50 years. It is attractively produced with lots of colour illustrations and maps, and will be of great interest to a wide range of historians, archaeologists and general readers. The author Keith Ray is a highly experienced archaeologist, specialising in Prehistory.
'I am already planning the next adventure. The wanderlust that infected me has no cure.' It all started in Fishguard in the mid-1970s when, aged fifteen, Martyn Howe and a friend set off on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path armed with big rucksacks, borrowed boots, a Primus stove and a pint of paraffin, and a thirst for adventure. After repeating the route almost thirty years later, Martyn was inspired to walk every National Trail in England and Wales, plus the four Long-Distance Routes (now among the Great Trails) in Scotland. His 3,000-mile journey included treks along the South West Coast Path, the Pennine Way, the Cotswold Way and the West Highland Way. He finally achieved his ambition in 2016 when he arrived in Cromer in Norfolk, only to set a new goal of walking the England and Wales Coast Paths and the Scottish National Trail. In Tales from the Big Trails, Martyn vividly describes the diverse landscapes, wildlife, culture and heritage he encounters around the British Isles, and the physical and mental health benefits he derives from walking. He also celebrates the people who enrich his travels, including fellow long-distance hikers, tourists discovering Britain's charm, farmers working the land, and the friendly and eccentric owners of hostels, campsites and B&Bs. And when he is asked 'Why do you do it?', the answer is as simple as placing one foot in front of the other: 'It makes me happy.'
Dubbed 'the mountain connoisseurs' walk', the Cambrian Way stretches 479km between the mighty castles of Cardiff in the south and Conwy on the north coast. Traversing the heartland of Wales, the challenging route crosses the Brecon Beacons, the Cambrian Mountains and Snowdonia, passing through two national parks and visiting many of the country's iconic summits, including Pen y Fan, Pumlumon, Cadair Idris and Snowdon itself. It can be walked in three weeks (or in shorter sections) and is suitable for experienced hillwalkers with sound navigational skills. The guide presents the route in 21 stages, offering comprehensive route description illustrated with OS 1:50,000 mapping and elevation profiles. Details of accommodation and facilities are provided, along with a helpful trek planner showing their distribution along the route: although the trail passes through remote areas, it is possible to stay under a roof every night - though camping is also a possibility, should you prefer. There are background notes on Wales's history and geology and local points of interest, and a glossary of Welsh place-names, useful contacts and accommodation listings can be found in the appendices. From the Black Mountains to the Rhinogau, Glyderau and Carneddau, the route takes in lofty ridges, striking peaks and picturesque lakes. There are also fascinating glimpses into the country's ancient and more recent past: Iron Age hillforts, Norman castles, a Cistercian abbey, the Chartist Cave and relics from the mining industry. Offering superlative scenery, the Cambrian Way is a celebration of some of the best mountain walking Wales has to offer and promises a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in these celebrated landscapes.
The Palladian Way is the brainchild of Cotswold walker Guy Vowles. It was born out of a previous idea for a long distance walk between Oxford and Bath but was extended northwards to Buckingham where the author was educated nearby. The realization that there was a Palladian bridge at Prior Park outside Bath to match the one at Stowe suggested
Presents a detailed description and analysis of Offa's Dyke that is set against the background of the political and social context of the kingdom of Mercia, over which King Offa ruled from 757 to 796. This book offers a fresh interpretation of the Dyke's line, length and purpose. It is suitable for academics, amateur historians and archaeologists.
This official guide tonbsp;Glyndwr's Way in Walesnbsp;contains precise route descriptions and Ordnance Survey maps marked with points of special interest; walks to and from sites off the main route; background information on archaeology, history, wildlife, and geology; details on public transportation and villages on or near the route with facilities for walkers, including accommodations; and a superb selection of color photos.
The massive ancient linear earthwork that provides the sole commemoration of an extraordinary Anglo-Saxon king and that gives its name to one of our most popular contemporary walking trails remains an enigma. Despite over a century of study, we still do not fully understand how or when Britain's largest linear monument was built, and in recent years the views of those who have studied the Dyke have diverged even about such basic questions as its physical extent and purpose. This book offers a fresh perspective on Offa's Dyke arising from over a decade of study and of conservation practice by its two authors. It explores the specifically Mercian and English context for its creation, and identifies 'political places' along its route that may have pre-existed it. As well as reviewing past studies of the Dyke and debates about its character, the authors identify build practices not previously noted. They demonstrate the fundamental uniformity of the design of the earthwork, including in Gloucestershire, and show how it facilitated surveillance of the landscape at key locations. Offa's Dyke is explained as the most dramatic among several devices of hegemony deployed by the Mercian regime of the late eighth/early ninth century, and as the key element in an early Welsh Marches frontier paralleled in Charlemagne's contemporary European empire.