The Southern Upland Way is Scotland's coast-to-coast walk and the longest of the nation's Great Trails. 215 miles long, it links the pretty harbour village of Portpatrick on the west coast with Cockburnspath, a little south of Dunbar, in the east. The walk is at times a strenuous one, crossing the remote high moorland of the Galloway Hills, Carsphairn range, Lowthers, Ettrick Hills and Lammermuirs, calling for competence, fitness and self-reliance. This guide presents advice on how best to plan and tackle this challenging but highly rewarding journey. The waymarked trail is presented in fourteen stages of 9-19 miles and suggestions for a rest day exploring Moffat and its environs are also included. It is possible either to backpack, taking advantage of five bothies and unlimited wild camping possibilities, or to stay in towns and hill villages, B&Bs and inns (facilitated by vehicle pick-up to avoid excessively long walking days). The guide covers all the practicalities, with tips on planning, transport, accommodation, luggage transfer and vehicle support services. Clear step-by-step route description is provided for each stage, accompanied by 1:50,000 OS mapping and notes on local history and points of interest. A trek planner and useful contacts can be found in the appendices. The Southern Upland Way showcases the wild beauty of southern Scotland, taking in rugged moorland, rolling hills, wooded river valleys, lochsides and coast, as well as some of the attractive border towns that scatter the region. There are also numerous historical sites, offering an insight into a fascinating past - from ancient cairns to bastles, Covenanters' memorials and literary connections - plus opportunities to visit local attractions, including Castle Kennedy Gardens, Wanlockhead Lead Mining Museum, Traquair House, Melrose Abbey and Thirlestane Castle.

The John Muir Trail (JMT) is one of the world's most spectacular treks and is North America's best known mid-distance walking trail. It runs for 216 miles through the high Sierra Nevada mountains of California, from Yosemite Valley (El Capitan and Half-Dome) to the summit of Mount Whitney (14,496ft), the highest peak in the US outside Alaska. The route is described in 21 day stages. All you need to know to plan and prepare for your trip is contained within this guide, from obtaining trekking permits to buying trek food and forwarding food caches along the trail. Abundant advice is given on such topics as dealing with inquisitive bears, coping with altitude, negotiating river crossings, as well as tips on booking transport to and from the trailheads and on what equipment to take. In addition, there is a detailed description of the flora and fauna of this remarkable region. The walking trail, which is named after the great 19th-century Scottish naturalist, conservationist and writer John Muir, is entirely through the unspoilt wilderness of the American West and passes through three national parks: Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.

An inspirational larger format guidebook to 20 summer treks in the Alps across Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France and Slovenia, including the classics such as the Tour of Mont Blanc and lesser-known routes like the Traverse of the Slovenian Alps. Perfect for planning, the treks included are: Tour of Mont Blanc, Tour of the Matterhorn, Tour of Monte Rosa, Walker's Haute Route, Tour of the Jungfrau Region, Tour of the Vanoise and Dolomites AV 1 & 2; (longer trans-Alpine routes) GR5 (Lake Geneva to Nice), Eastern Alps E5, Italian Alps GTA and the Traverse of the Slovenian Alps; and (for the Alpine adventurer) Alpine Pass Route, Tour of the Oisans, Tour of the Queyras, Tour of Mont Ruan, Stubai High Route, Zillertal High Route, Gran Paradiso AV2 and the Ratikon Hoehenweg. Outline schedules for each trek allow you compare the routes and become inspired to take up the challenge. Basic day-by-day route descriptions for each route are illustrated with maps and profiles, helping you choose the best routes to walk.

A guide to mountainbiking, cycling or walking the GTMC, Grande Traversee du Massif Central, in southern France, from Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne to Montpellier and Sete on the Mediterranean. The GTMC is a long-distance mountain biking trail that crosses the entire Massif Central in France visiting all of the major regions, including the Auvergne with its chain of volcanic puys in the Monts-Dome and Monts-Dore ranges, the Cezallier plateau and the remote Margeride, home of the French Resistance in the Second World War, the high forested hills of the Cevennes National Park, made famous by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, and finally the dry limestone hills bordering the coastal Mediterranean plain. Much of the route is off-road and uses many Grandes Randonnees, so it also makes an excellent walking route. Just over 700km in length it offers a challenge and a thorough exploration of one of southern France's most beautiful and historically interesting regions. The route is described in 17 stages, with maps for off-road and on-road routes, making it suitable for both expert and novice bikers, with full details of facilities and places of interest en route and other useful data for planning the trip.