This guidebook to walking along the Kennet & Avon Canal covers the 94 mile (152km) route from Reading to Bristol. The canal walk is split into 7 stages of fairly easy, level walking, of between 9¾ and 18½ miles, with advice on splitting or shortening the stages if needed. The book also includes 20 easy circular walks, ranging from 4¼ to 9 miles, taking in the best sections of the canal and visiting sites nearby, making this two guidebooks in one. Alongside OS map extracts and detailed route descriptions, there are plenty of details on the history, heritage and wildlife encountered along the way. An itinerary planner is included for walkers who want to create longer or shorter stages, and there is useful practical information including details on accessing the walks by public transport and a list of accommodation available along the route. The result is a highly useful and fascinating companion to exploring the canal and its surroundings. In the early 1800s the Kennet and Avon Canal provided an important direct trade route between London and Bristol. Today the waterway weaves its way through the rolling chalk contours of the North Wessex Downs to the southern edge of the Cotswolds, passing vibrant towns and cities as well as picture-postcard villages with thatched cottages, ancient churches and cosy pubs. Fascinating features - such as Crofton Pumping Station and Beam Engines, the impressive Caen Hill flight of locks at Devizes, the aqueducts at Avoncliff and Dundas, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Georgian Bath and Bristol's vibrant Floating Harbour - are explored as the canal makes its journey across southern England.

This guidebook presents 30 walks in the New Forest in Hampshire and Wiltshire, Britain's smallest National Park. Easily accessible from Southampton, Bournemouth, Salisbury and Winchester, the New Forest encompasses varied landscapes, from ancient woodlands to open heaths, rivers and coastline. Routes of between 5 and 16km (3 and 10 miles) explore the Forest, mainly on fairly flat terrain, often on well-defined tracks and paths. Most walks are suitable for all the family and many can be combined to make longer outings. Each walk is described in detail, highlighting the many points of interest in this area - ancient sites and castles, picture postcard villages with thatched cottages or historic churches - with fascinating background detail. An extract of 1:25,000 OS mapping makes each route easy to follow, and suggestions for refreshment stops like pubs and tea rooms are included. All walks offer a good chance of seeing wildlife, including the famous New Forest ponies. This area has been protected and nurtured by ancient laws for over 900 years, and is the largest remaining area of lowland heath in Europe. It is this sense of history and the unique patchwork of habitats that make walking in the New Forest National Park such a rewarding experience.

A guidebook to 39 day walks and one two-day Ten Tors challenge across the Dartmoor National Park and its surrounding area. The guide contains low-level shorter walks and higher level more strenuous and challenging routes, therefore there's a walk suitable for all abilities, allowing you to explore all of what Devon's national park has to offer. Each walk contains a detailed route description, 1:50,000 OS maps and colour photography, alongside practical information on public transport links and refreshment stops on each walk. Dartmoor, a National Park since 1951, is wild, and at times isolated. Its a land of blanket bogs and grass moors dotted with fascinating tors, old stone clapper bridges, tree-shaded river valleys and a diverse range of wildlife. Our ancestors have left behind a fascinating treasure trove from intriguing stone rows to fascinating stones circles and burial cairns to hut circles. There are also the stark ruins of Dartmoor's mining heritage, picturesque villages and hamlets that are home to interesting old churches and cosy pubs. You'll be able to stand on High Willhays which, at 621m (2039 ft), is not only a mountain, but also the highest point in Southern England. On a clear day from many of Dartmoor's summits there are great views out over Devon's rural landscape and west into Cornwall to Bodmin Moor.

Guidebook to 30 circular walks in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The routes, which range from 7 to 21km (4 to 13 miles), take in parts of four counties - Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. The North Wessex Downs are accessible hills rising above the towns and rural plains of southern England and rolling gently west from Reading and Basingstoke to Swindon and down past Marlborough to Andover. The walks allow you to explore parts of the Ridgeway National Trail, the Kennet and Avon Canal and stunning historic sites such as Avebury, the 3000-year-old Uffington White Horse, impressive Neolithic long barrows and Iron Age hill forts. Alongside clear route descriptions and OS maps are plenty of details about points of interest, as well as practical information on the area, from public transport links to ideal refreshment stops on each walk. The result is an ideal companion to exploring both the popular and untouched corners of the North Wessex Downs.

This guidebook to Walking in the Chilterns offers 35 of the best walks in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Chiltern Hills is a peaceful walking destination of chalk hills and ancient woodlands within easy reach of London. The walks in this guidebook range from 4 to 12 miles and are suitable for most walkers. The walks take you on a journey through this classic Chiltern landscape that has been shaped by human activity for thousands of years, visiting interesting historic sites, colourful gardens and picture-postcard villages with thatched cottages, fascinating churches and cosy pubs. Step-by-step route directions include lots of information about all these sites along the way, and are illustrated with clear OS mapping and vibrant photographs. GPX files are available to help with navigation. There is also information on the region's rich geology, history and plantlife, as well as advice on accommodation, transport and refreshments. The Chiltern Hills follow a line of chalk from the River Thames at Goring up to the Barton Hills just west of Hitchin, boasting great views from the north west edge and, on the south east side, a more intimate undulating landscape of rounded hills and valleys, covered in a mix of broadleaved woodland and open farmland. Despite its relative proximity to London, the region abounds in peace and tranquility, making it an idyllic destination for a day's walk in the countryside.

This guidebook - which includes both a guide to the route and a separate OS map booklet - describes the Ridgeway National Trail, an 87 mile (139km) route through southern England from Avebury in Wiltshire to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. Typically walked in 6 or 8 days, this is a low-level waymarked route suitable for all abilities and for year round walking. The guidebook details the trail in both directions, west to east and east to west (the main description is west to east). Step-by-step route descriptions are accompanied by 1:100,000 OS mapping and a separate OS 1:25,000 map booklet showing the entire route is included. Packed with details on points of interest and a trek planner giving at-a-glance information about facilities, public transport and accommodation available along the way, this book is an indispensable guide to walking this national trail. Following a ridge of chalk hills through the Chiltern Hills AONB and North Wessex Downs AONB, the Ridgeway takes walkers through five counties and five thousand years of history. It offers a scenic and fascinating journey through our ancient and more recent past, visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Avebury's Neolithic stone circle and the famous Uffington White Horse, and includes excursions to picturesque villages, thatched cottages and cosy pubs.

The Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty have been described as the jewels of the English landscape and the North Wessex Downs, the third largest AONB, is no exception. Its predominant feature is its underlying chalk geology and it covers one of the most continuous tracts of chalk downland in England. As well as its treasures in the form of chalk and ancient woodland, the North Wessex Downs also has a fascinating human history, stretching back some 5,000 years. The archaeology of the area is both rich and varied, with a number of impressive monuments, including the Neolithic stone circle at Avebury - which forms part of a World Heritage Site, the truly beautiful Uffington White Horse and the magical Wayland's Smithy, plus a myriad of Bronze Age barrows and Iron Age hill forts. Despite being located in southern England - a densely populated region - the North Wessex Downs is surprisingly unspoilt and sparsely populated, giving it a true sense of the idyllic England of old. Hidden amongst the folded contours of this chalk countryside are picture-postcard villages with thatched cottages, historic churches and magnificent stately houses, while out on the open downs breathtaking views stretch over rounded chalk hills, with wide open skies above.

Discover Dorset's lovely countryside with this guide to some of the best walks in the county. There are 20 circular routes here varying in length from 23/4 to 61/4 miles. At the heart of each walk is a great local pub. Explore the county's world-famous Jurassic coastline, including the chalk stack of Old Harry and the south coast's highest point at Golden Cap. Wander through rolling downland scenery with flower-rich meadows, visiting Iron Age hillforts with commanding defensive positions that offer great views. Take a walk along the former Saxon defences at Wareham or meander alongside peaceful rivers, follow paths through a patchwork of hedge-lined fields accompanied by birdsong, or explore picture-postcard villages and enjoy the tranquillity of their historic churches.

All the mapping you need to walk the Ridgeway National Trail an 87-mile (139km) route through southern England from Avebury in Wiltshire to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. Following a ridge of chalk hills through the Chiltern Hills AONB and North Wessex Downs AONB, the Ridgeway is usually completed over 6-8 days and can be walked all year round. NOTE An accompanying Cicerone guidebook - The Ridgeway - describes the full route with lots of other practical information. The Cicerone guidebook INCLUDES a copy of this map booklet. This booklet of Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer maps shows the full line of the National Trail, along with the relevant extract from the OS Explorer map legend. It can be used when walking the trail in either direction, and is just the right size for slipping into a jacket pocket or top of a rucksack.