Yorkshire Walking Books

Let's Walk

My first book on Teesdale in the Her Master's Walk series went out of print several years ago, and many people asked if I would be reprinting it. However, due to Covid 19, this had to be put on hold. During this period, I decided that Teesdale deserved two books, and here they are. Upper Teesdale covers the area between Cow Green Reservoir and Romaldkirk, and Lower Teesdale explores the region between Romaldkirk and Piercebridge and includes the Greta and Gaunless valleys. Furthermore, I have placed an abridged version of the first Teesdale book, Her Master's Walks in Teesdale, online as a free download.

Fellow walkers who purchased the books from the Her Master's Walks series asked about producing a long-distance guide for routes such as the Coast to Coast, Pennine Way and the Cleveland Way. Hence, Let's Walk the Cleveland Way, this guide has nine individual stages, and all of them finish in or within easy reach of a village where accommodation or transport is available. Each section has been split into three or four strip maps with grid references and arrow pointers, which follow in the style of the Her Master's Walks series. The maps and directions have been checked by the Cleveland Way's National Trail Officer for accuracy. The book is illustrated throughout with colour photographs.

The next book was Let's Walk the Yorkshire Coast. Once again, the routes follow the mapping style of Her Master's Walks, and the North York Moors National Park has checked the accuracy of the maps. Illustrated throughout with colour photographs that help to identify some of the prominent features seen during the walks.

Although my previous books in the Her Master’s Walks series have explored the moorland areas of the North York Moors National Park, they barely scratched the surface of the available footpaths. Therefore, I thought addressing the North York Moors again was essential. Initially, I had planned to write just one book covering the whole of the moors. However, due to my extensive list of previous walks, I soon realised that producing a trilogy of guides would be necessary to give the moors sufficient coverage and reflect their beauty and versatility.

The selected routes cover the North York Moors National Park’s northern, southern and western areas – Let’s Walk the Yorkshire Coast explored the eastern area. The western area embraces the Cleveland Hills and Hambleton Hills plateaux, bounded by Bilsdale and Ryedale to the east, with long-distance views westward across the Vales of York and Mowbray. In the other parts of this trilogy, we explore the northern area, which extends from Great Ayton in the west, north past Guisborough and east along the Esk Valley, with its southern perimeter hugging the main North York Moors watershed to Fylingdales Moor before veering north to Whitby. Meanwhile, the southern area consists of a line of parallel but quite individual valleys, penetrating deep into the moorland watershed. However, it has large-scale forestry plantations at Broxa, Cropton and Dalby, boundless expanses of heather-clad moorland dominate elsewhere.

The process of compiling and researching the walks for this trilogy of books was a source of immense joy for me. I hope that fellow walkers will find the contents equally delightful and fulfilling, and that this passion and dedication shines through in the pages.

Her Master's Walks

Her Master's Walks are a series of walking books covering the area of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the North York Moors National Park. The first four books explore Swaledale, Wensleydale and Wharfedale. The fifth book Her Master's Walks in the Hambleton Hills began an introduction to the North York Moors. Her Master's Walks in Teesdale introduced to the beautiful and distinctive landscape of the North Pennines National Landscape, which is the second largest of the designated National Landscapes in the UK. The last book in this series Her Master's Walks in the Howardian Hills visits the beautiful rolling countryside of the Howardian Hills National Landscape, which provides excellent prospects for walkers. A diverse network of footpaths and bridleways offer a superb selection of routes ranging from riverside rambles to scenic hill walks.

The Her Master's Walks series continues to be popular with walkers who require precise, easy-to-follow maps with clear directions, which provide excellent prospects for walkers. The routes utilise a diverse network of footpaths and bridleways and offer a superb selection of routes ranging from riverside rambles to scenic hill walks.