Newsletter > Newsletter archive > March 2018
March 2018
'Walking Roots' - the Romans arrive!
This month our 'Walking Roots' project gets out of the prehistoric age and into the Roman era, with a riddle to solve with our own local Roman road.
Roman roads are regularly marked on Ordnance Survey maps and it's often tempting to think that any road or track that goes in a dead straight line 'must be Roman'. But without the tell-tale construction methods or at the very least some clues in local names, it is easy to be misled. Quite apart from anything else, Roman roads were not always straight, as the solution to our own Roman road puzzle amply demonstrates.
What is exciting are the opportunities opened up by the lower cost and consequently wider use of new technologies, particularly those deployed from the air. Aerial photography and LIDAR, a form of topological mapping using lasers, allows previously hidden features to reveal themselves much more clearly. They can be a great way of discovering lost Roman roads.
Read our latest Walking Roots blog to find out how these techniques were used recently to uncover the route of a Roman road through our own parish. Time, perhaps, to find where your local Roman roads really went?
Walkingworld app update
After a hiatus in January and February which lasted for longer than we would have hoped, the iOS version of the Walkingworld app is available once again. As with the Android version you can find it in the app store by searching for 'Walkingworld' (all one word).
In the iOS version you can now make an in-app purchase of your subscription if you haven't already subscribed. This subscription automatically renews each year unless you cancel it, which you may find more convenient. If you would like just a single year's subscription without automatic renewal then you should subscribe on the website as before.
The Walkingworld app allows you to download and follow all the walks in the library on your mobile device. If you are a subscriber the waymarks appear on 'proper' Ordnance Survey Landranger and Explorer maps, so it's the ideal companion to your conventional walk print-outs.
HF Holidays summer breaks
HF Holidays have been creating walking and activity holidays since 1913 and have some fabulous summer breaks on offer. You can choose from eighteen picturesque UK locations and stay in award-winning 3 and 4-star country houses, with a wealth of walks on your doorstep. Breaks are for 3, 4 or 7 nights' full board accommodation, with all meals from dinner on arrival to breakfast on departure day.
HF Holidays walk leaders will make sure you get the most out of your holiday, visiting iconic locations, discovering wildlife, history, geology, heritage and more and revealing their own favourite hidden gems. There's transport to and from the walks and a choice of up to three guided walks each day of differing grades and lengths. Or, if you want, you can take your time and explore on your own, on a self-guided holiday.
Top picks this summer include discovering the Isle of Wight's glorious 85-mile coastline, staying at Freshwater Bay. To experience more remote fells and moorlands there's Malhamdale, with the Yorkshire Dales on your doorstep, or Sedbergh, at the foot of the Howgill Fells, a hidden gem just outside the Lake District. For heritage why not explore the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution while staying at Church Stretton in the Shropshire Hills. Or in a more rugged mountain environment you can stay at the foot of Snowdon and follow more challenging paths, perhaps to the summit of Wales' highest mountain itself.
For further information on HF Holidays' Self-guided and Guided Walking holidays, call 0345 470 7558 or visit www.hfholidays.co.uk
Special offer from Original Cottages
Original Cottages has hundreds of great walking destinations and more than 4,000 properties to choose from, from Cornwall and Snowdonia to the Yorkshire Dales. Staffed by local people with local expertise in all their destinations, they can help you find the perfect escape.
Original Cottages is offering Walkingworld members 10% off* any property booking made between 26th March - 24th December 2018. Simply enter code WALKINGW10 into the 'promo code' box when making your booking online, or mention this code when calling their team.
You can talk to their friendly and knowledgable team today on 0333 2020 899, or go to originalcottages.co.uk
*On holidays starting on or before 31st December 2018. Standard booking terms and conditions apply. Discount not valid in conjunction with any other promotional code or offers.
Events
The largest mechanical puppet ever constructed in Britain, the Man Engine, is coming to Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Ironbridge, Shropshire on Saturday, 14th April when it will be the 'star' of spectacular daytime and evening events. Weighing nearly 40 tonnes, it crawls at 4.5m high and 'transforms' to stand at nearly 12m. Sounds fun. It's a ticketed event, more at www.ironbridge.org.uk
The Peak District Challenge is taking place on 21-22 September and has multiple events of different lengths for runners and walkers, right up to the Gold Challenge which is 100km in 24 hours. You don't need to do that one! The Challenge is in aid of multiple charities.
Walkingworld contributor Tina Irving is organising two guided walks at the very northernmost tip of the British mainland. Both walks are for groups of four with a qualified walk leader, Friday to Sunday 1-3 June and 14-16 September, staying 3 nights at a 3 star hotel and visiting sections of the North Highland Way. More information
The LifeCycles and Landscapes project will place large-scale outdoor artistic and heritage works on sites along the ancient 400-mile Icknield Way from Dorset to the Norfolk Coast AONB, culminating with events at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival (22 - 27 May). This year will also see the third part of the coastal route open within the Norfolk Coast AONB, from Weybourne to Hunstanton, making most of Norfolk's coast accessible on foot.
Science and industry meet art and design for the Great Exhibition of The North, a one-off celebration of everything that's great about the north of England. The 80-day exhibition (22 June - 9 September) is claimed to be the biggest cultural event in England this year. It is free to attend and will tell the inspiring story of the North of England and how its innovators, businesses, artists and designers have shaped our present and are inspiring our future.
Nestled in 26 acres of Dorset countryside lies Sculpture by the Lakes, created by renowned sculptor Simon Gudgeon, with lots of outdoor artworks. Admission to the sculpture park costs £10 per person. Summer opening hours 10am - 5pm, Wednesday to Sunday.