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.

Welcome

'The spell of Lakeland'

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS MONTH

'The Salt Path has changed from my story to our story' • With the film adaptation of The Salt Path about to open, author Raynor Winn and director Marianne Elliott reveal how and why the cherished book has made the journey to the big screen.

THE STORY OF RAYNOR & MOTH

ABERGAVENNY • Surrounded by satisfyingly manageable peaks, with easy access to the Brecon Beacons and with great food and oodles of history, you could stay in Abergavenny a lot longer than a weekend.

Going for GOLD! • Tackle one of our mini-challenges and you could win yourself one of these glittering badgers* – as these walkers just have!

Win a precious badger! • Add some extra interest to your miles with one of these quests, post your photos and stories in the Walk 1000 Miles Facebook group and our favourite 20 will win a money-can’t-buy Golden Badgers. You have until 29 May for this crop.

Tracks and dogs and rock 'n' roll • Walk1000Miles and Planet Rock sounds an unlikely alliance – but just add dogs and it makes perfect sense…

HELP US FIND THE TOP 10

Tea break

PRIZE CROSSWORD

Your View

Where's Kes? • Every month our favourite spaniel Kes goes walkies somewhere in the issue, and we want him back! Can you help find Kes?

Stuart Maconie • A hedge is so much more than an organic fence. It captures carbon, provides a home for thousands of critters… and it makes a fine work of art.

Phoebe Taplin • Kim Taplin - my mum - wrote a book treading the footpaths of authors from Shakespeare to Orwell. Now I’m re-walking them to remember her.

Britain's favourite MAPS • We’ve tracked down the top 10 hottest sellers and the walks that make them famous, but also their hidden gems too. Hotspot or hideaway? You decide.

Clyde and Prejudice • Can there be a great walk even on the worst-selling OS Explorer map? That’s a challenge CW was only too happy to rise to (especially as one of our writers lives nearby).

A fine ART • From a chalk line on the Wessex downs to the Sistine Chapel: the story of Britain’s maps is one of dedication, dung-heaps, dislocated shoulders and a lot of measuring.

On the map vs On the ground • How do we translate those blobs and squiggles on the map to what’s actually happening beneath our feet? Country Walking went to a place that literally has all the answers to unlock the mysteries of every map.

Luck of the draw • Alone in a forest with no map, no compass, and no clue where we’re going. There’s only one thing for it – ask strangers to draw us a map. What could possibly go wrong?

Walks you CAN do without a map… • Worried about getting lost? The countryside can provide a helping handrail or two…

WALKING SHOES • Expert advice on the kit that makes a difference

Country Walking

Adventure calls • Climb England’s most southerly fell | Explore a seaside castle in Scotland | Meet the most famous cat in the West Midlands and more great walks…

Footnotes • Meanderings we couldn’t...