WALK BORROWDALE & KESWICK

WALK BORROWDALE & KESWICK with Bill Birkett

Perfect for walking, there is no more extensively beautiful valley than Borrowdale. Surrounded by shapely fells, it runs for some nine miles from its twin heads of Seathwaite and Langstrath, via meadow, broad-leaved woods and stone-built villages, to squeeze through The Jaws of Borrowdale to open over magnificent Derwentwater. By the foot of Derwentwater lake, it terminates in the historic town of Keswick. A town overlooked by mighty Skiddaw, the third-highest mountain massif in England.

In this guidebook, you will find a myriad world of fell, crag, wood, waterfall, tarn, quarry, mine, farm and lake. You could take many lifetimes to appreciate its complexities. It has a richness of detail, extreme of form and contrast of mood that is unequalled.  Yet, like few other places in the world of comparable quality, it is open and accessible. On the high tops, freedom to roam is unrestricted, on the lower heights and in the valleys, there are many paths, tracks and byways.

The walks selected offer a balanced range of difficulty and duration from easy valley and lakeside outings, with local cafes never far away, walks over moderate hills to very difficult routes over the high fells.  Each walk is presented on a double-page spread with a route summary, a walk description, a clear map outlining the walk, a Fact File box, and photographs illustrating the walk. The Fact File gives you an instant reference to what you need to know about the walk:  CLASS  (Valley, Low Fell, Intermediate Fell or High Fell), LENGTH, TIME (the expected time it will take for a walker of average fitness and ability), DIFFICULTY (Easy, Mildly Difficult, Difficult and Very Difficult), Start & Finish (the location with Ordnance Survey map reference), Maps (the numbers of the Ordnance Survey maps that cover the walk - L is at the scale of !:50,000 and OL is at the larger scale of 1:25,000), HOSTELRIES which detail inns and cafes to be found on or nearby the walk.

They say one photograph is worth a thousand words and within this book, there are a number of additional photographs, of or taken on, a featured walk. Each has been chosen to reflect the sublime beauty and variety of the walk and the area. All photographs are captioned and referenced on page [ii].
The ring-binding keeps the guidebook flat in your pocket and always allows it to open on the page of your chosen walk.

All web purchased books are individually signed by Bill Birkett. And they can also be individually endorsed - simply send an instruction on checkout.
Should you manage all the walks in this book then you can justifiably claim to know a little about this particular and special area. Should you manage all the walks in the whole range of Walk the Lakes guidebooks then you have done very well indeed. But remember this: in the Lake District every season is different, every day is different and each fleeting moment of light is different. On these walks, you will see many magical moments of light and form. Even if you should do a single walk a hundred times on each occasion it will be a separate and markedly different experience.

The CONTENTS page
There are two overall area maps included in this guidebook. One map will be seen on the BACK COVER and one on the CONTENTS page. Each map number references each individual walk. Additionally, on the CONTENTS page each walk is colour coded (Valley Walk, Low Fell Walk, Intermediate Fell Walk, High Fell Walk,) and its length, expected duration, and grade of difficulty are listed. So much information at one glance will help you choose a suitable walk to suit both your particular ambitions and the prevailing conditions.

CHANGES TO THE ILLUSTRATED BOOKS
Please note that these guidebooks are frequently reviewed and updated and you may find that both written and photographic content may vary to that illustrated.