Our Walking Journal

View of rolling green landscape with a pretty stone village nestled between the hills and trees.

Slow travel: Discovering the slow beauty of Somerset

By its very nature, walking forces us to slow down and connect with our surroundings; to experience life at two miles an hour. And there’s nowhere that quite embodies this slower pace of life quite like rural Somerset. In this laid back, unhurried corner of England, time seems to slow. It’s a place where you

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Close up of a pair of hands holding a Foot Trails trail guide in the countryside

How to find your way hiking in the English countryside

In England, we’re blessed with over 116,000 miles of public rights of way, giving us remarkable access to the countryside. Although much of this network crosses private land, the public have had the right to use the paths since time immemorial. It’s one of the (many) joys of hiking in England — you’ll likely be

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David and Alison Howell sit on bent over tree trunk looking at a map.

Why we hike without screens

“I’ve always loved being able to step away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the countryside. Even as a child, I relished the freedom I had to wander the fields and lanes around the Cotswolds village where I grew up. There’s something about immersing yourself in nature that lets all other cares

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A rolling green landscape with a line of trees on the brow of the hill.

Where we walked in March

March was another fabulous month of walking & hiking for the Foot Trails team. We were treated to some beautiful spring weather – wandering quiet country lanes past bobbing daffodils and under bright pink and white tree blossoms. We were out checking a existing route in Dorset at the start of the month as well

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A beautiful yellow stone cottage partially covered by a tree in full spring blossom.

Hiking in the footsteps of an exiled king

In 1651, Charles II undertook an epic six-week journey to flee England after being defeated by Oliver Cromwell in the Battle of Worcester. Our journey on this bright spring day in March would be much shorter, but we would be following some of the same paths that Charles took nearly 400 years ago. Getting to

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View of a classic Cotswolds wool church next to a grand country house. In the foreground are green fields and sheep.

Why the Cotswolds matter

Ultimately, the Cotswolds are important to David and I because they are synonymous with home and family. They are the setting for countless treasured memories throughout my life: long summer days spent in the English garden at my grandparents’ house in Cirencester, cosy winter evenings by a log fire in a traditional pub, time spent

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