Tales from the Big Trails, in print on 2nd September 2021, available now for pre-order from Vertebrate Publishing. Featuring all 15 National Trails in England and Wales, and the 4 designated long-distance Scotland’s Great Trails. This is the story of the people I meet, the landscapes and coastal scenery and the sheer joy of walking these iconic long-distance routes in the UK. Click on a link below for a copy.
Tales from the Big Trails – Vertebrate Publishing
Tales from the Big Trails – Amazon
The England Coast Path is due to be completed in 2023 (was 2020). Sections are open and work is progressing. The map below from the www.gov.uk website, dated 30th June 2021.
More detailed regional maps can be found using the link below, New leaflets are available too, which are very good indeed.
I plan to start walking the path from Cromer in September 2021, (where I completed the National Trails is 2016) and keep going, unless work or other circumstances call me home. I like ferries, so will cross estuaries using any public service where possible, unless the inland route seems pleasant enough. The services in Suffolk and Essex seem essential, and I may cross the Thames at Gravesend to avoid central London. Likewise a ferry to the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth, returning to Lymington or Hurst Castle and then on to Bournemouth and the start of the SWCP. On arrival at Aust, I may even walk the Wales Coast Path again, and on reaching Carlisle, I may walk to Berwick along the Pennine Way, Hadrian’s Wall, and even go mad and divert along the Scottish National Trail for a couple of months. I can dream.
Current status: Sections from Cromer to Felixstowe to Tilbury to Dover to Brighton to Chichester completed.
Trail Planner 