National Geographic Traveller UK - 04.2020

The England Coast Path is rumbling towards

completion (it’s scheduled to fully open in

the latter half of this year) and to celebrate,

we can expect a bevy of books exploring

the new route, which will be the world’s

longest managed coastal path when inished.

Journalist Stephen Neale worked as a path

surveyor for the project in 2018, spending

months seeking out more than 1,000 of the

best places to wild swim, hunt for fossils

and eat seafood in 16 coastal counties. The

resultant guidebook, The England Coast

Path, pairs practical information with a real

passion for this section of Britain’s coastline.

Heading north, hikers can now plot a route

between Scotland’s network of free-to-use

cabins and shelters by referencing Scottish

Bothy Walks. Author Geof Allan expands

on his bestselling The Scottish Bothy Bible

by ofering up day walks and weekend

adventures in some of the country’s most

dramatic landscapes, with plenty of titbits

on wildlife, geology and history en route.

In the country’s most southwesterly

corner, meanwhile, Dark, Salt, Clear: Life

in a Cornish Fishing Town sees author

Lamorna Ash return to the town of Newlyn,

Britain’s largest working ishing port. Here,

she explores the seascapes and beaches of

her childhood summers, takes trips with

trawlermen, learns how to gut ish and gets

to grips with other aspects of a coastal

lifestyle that’s under threat.

The England Coast Path by Stephen Neale

is published by Bloomsbury, in association

with National Trails (£18.99).

Scottish Bothy Walks: 28 Walks to Scotland’s

Best Bothies by Geof Allan is published by

Wild Things Publishing (£16.99).

Dark, Salt, Clear: Life in a Cornish Fishing

Town by Lamorna Ash is published by

Bloomsbury (£16.99). SARAH BARRELL

GREENERY: JOURNEYS

IN SPRINGTIME

Tim Dee follows the season

as it blooms, travelling from

the Cape of Good Hope to

Scandinavia, encountering

swallows, storks and other

wildlife along the way.

(Jonathan Cape, £18.99)

THE LITTLE BOOK OF

NATURE BLESSINGS

This guidebook by

Teresa Dellbridge

brings together wildlife

legends, botanical facts

and green-minded

festivals. (Watkins

Media Ltd, £10)

THE ACCIDENTAL

COUNTRYSIDE:

HIDDEN HAVENS FOR

BRITAIN’S WILDLIFE

Stephen Moss seeks

out Britain’s hidden

corners where wildlife

survives against the

odds. (Faber, £16.99)

SPRING READS

We celebrate books that embrace the great

outdoors, with all its buds and blooms

STEP OUTSIDE

IMAGE: GETTY

April 2020 39

SMART TRAVELLER