Friday, May 25, 2007

The Inn Way... to the Peak District is finally complete!

I've walked over 650 miles of paths and visited over 100 pubs over two years... the result: an 84-mile circular walk divided into 6 day stages and passing 51 pubs along the way.

There's about 2 weeks work left to do proof-reading, editing, maps etc and then it will be published during late June (it takes about 4 weeks to print and bind it).

I've been re-walking the entire route over the last week or so and I stayed at the Little John at Hathersage on Tuesday- what a great pub! The food portions were enormous, the beer was great and it was full of walkers/climbers. The walk from Baslow to Youlgrave was particularly memorable as it was a hot, sunny day and there was hardly anyone about. I had Nine Ladies stone circle, Robin Hood's Stride and Rowtor Rocks all to myself; the solitude only added to their mystical appeal. I then sat outside the Red Lion at Birchover for about an hour in the sunshine - another great pub with a traditional tap room and a friendly chef who brought my dog two bowls of water and some biscuits.

Here's the cover: