Country Walking

Country Walking Magazine shows you the best of British walks: the biggest views, the hidden gems, the sea cliffs and the mountain summits. All our features come complete with superb writing, inspiring photography and step-by-step instructions so you can follow every footpath yourself. In every issue, you’ll find: - In-depth stories of amazing walks - A booklet of 25 pull-out walks every issue - with OS maps! - Information about hotels, pubs, cafes, tearooms. - Clear, jargon-free tests of walking kit And... every issue our readers tell their walking stories, help us devise new walks and shape the places we go to. If you love walking, this is the magazine for you.

This month I've been…

Welcome

IN THIS ISSUE…

Masters of the air

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS MONTH

SHOULD BE FAMOUS

CAUGHT OUR EYE

‘Clouds are nature's poetry. Invitations to the imagination. And they are cool.’ • Meet the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, and discover why the sky has something to tell you on every walk…

PONTYPRIDD • Combine a walking trip to this heritage-rich market town with one of the iconic cultural events of the year.

YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A FUJIFILM CAMERA!

MEET THE JUDGES

The summer OF LOVE! • The summer's the perfect time to take stock of what we have in walking and membership of the world's greatest gym. What do you love most about walking?

‘I'm still alive – and positive!’ • To be on 1100 miles by this stage is amazing – to do it having recently had your second shock cancer diagnosis in as many years defies belief. Catherine Nanette Duggan, 52, from Chichester is a model of mile-munching resilience!

The ones with the Midas touch • Spice up your miles with one of our mini-challenges and you could win a money-can't-buy Golden Badger* – this lot have just discovered they have!

5 new ways to win gold • Take part in one of our mini-challenges this month, and if we publish your entry you'll win a money-can't-buy Golden Badger! This month's entry deadline: 15 August. Good luck!

The course of true love

Stuart Maconie • We should all take the road less travelled once in a while. It leads to tranquillity, great views… and quiet smugness.

Isles of WONDER • Britain has over 6200 islands – a dizzying and diverse collection of little worlds to make the feet itch and mind wander. Here's a taste of their bounty…

Island highs • Islands make spectacular settings for mountains, and there's no greater outlook from which to claim mastery of all you survey.

Walk on water • There are few feelings mire miraculous than the one walking across the sea to an island can give you…

HALLOWED ISLETS • Lindisfarne isn't the only island to have a long history of spiritual contemplation…

The inland islands • Is there a more storybook-sounding adventure than marooning yourself on an island in Loch Lomond?

WORLDS OF INSPIRATION

THE ALMOST ISLES

The wild isles • Islands invite wildlife to luxuriate in peace, and nowhere is the offer taken up with more alacrity than on Skomer.

All the way round • Circumnavigate an entire island for the greatest sense of world-conquering completion – whether you've got a day, weekend, week or even longer…

Islands at the end of the world • Getting away from it all is part of the pleasure of islands – but to get away from it ALL, you need one of these…

Sunken treaure • Holloways are magical paths to walk – tunnelled by thousands of years of footfall, portals through time, steeped in story and folklore.

FINDING HOLLOWAYS

Plan your trip

We Could BE HEROES • Pretty much any of us might be grateful for the help of a Mountain Rescue Team someday. But what's it...