A Review of Britain's Best Small Hills
Britain's Best Small Hills by Phoebe SmithPosted by Mark Armstrong 11th December 2017Phoebe Smith's guidebook to Britain's Best Small Hills contains details of 60 walks across sections of England, Scotland and Wales. These are some of the authors favourites small hills, so 'best' in the book title, apart from being a usual marketing tool to highlight a selection, is really a personal choice and every walker will have a favourite that's not been included. But the great thing about how that is covered in the book, is to encourage you to plan your own 'Small Hill Walk' and also to explain the hill selection: "The 60 specific hills found in this book have been chosen for three reasons. The first is that they represent a good geographical spread around the UK...The second is that they all offer a little added incentive to climb them - from hillforts, to ...local wildlife - and all offer superlative vistas without excessive ascents. The final reason is that this is my list of personal favourites, which I truly wanted to share with you." I really like the premise of the book; that is providing easy walks with interest to encourage people to get outdoors and mobile. And not only that, it fits with what I quite often do when on holiday in the UK; it's nice to do a walk in the morning and still have time and energy to visit somewhere else in the afternoon. And in the book it is nice to see both one of my favourites Tre'r Ceiri on the Llyn Peninsula, which has great views all round as well as one of my most recent small hill walks, Sugar Loaf in Monmouthshire, although on both walks I have taken different routes to Phoebe. The other good thing about choosing some of the small hill walks in the UK is that, particularly in the more touristy places, like the Lake District, alot of people head for the more well known high peaks, but there are wealth of fells where you can still find yourself walking alone with no one in sight. The Bradt guidebook layout is also very appealing, with clear instructions and useful maps. But the stand out element is probably the photographs which definitely add encouragement to get out and enjoy the landscapes on view. Plus with Phoebe Smith featuring in a lot of the photos, it will give anyone confidence that she has personally walked and selected these hills. The book is a great companion for anyone that regularly travels in the UK and would rather fit in a walk into a few hours rather than a full day, but still get great views into the bargain. With regard to some of our own choices for Britain's Best Small Hills, there are great views to be had from Win Green Hill on our Wonders of Wessex walking holiday in Dorset and Wiltshire and also from Bulbarrow Hill on our Heart of Hardy's Dorset self guided walking holiday. Bradt Travel Guides is offering High Point Holidays subscribers a special 20% discount on copies of Britain’s Best Small Hills. To claim your discount, please purchase via the Bradt website (https://www.bradtguides.com/shop) and enter code SMALLHILLS at checkout. Explore our full list of Independent Walking Holidays |
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