National Trail

England Coast Path: Isle of Sheppey- day two

Despite the route of the England Coast Path on Kent's Isle of Sheppey not quite being signed off, Three Points of the Compass continues to knock off the coastline of the 'isle of sheep' on the second of two very different days.

National Trail

England Coast Path: Isle of Sheppey- day one

Despite the route of the England Coast Path on Kent's Isle of Sheppey not quite being signed off, Three Points of the Compass takes a best guess and knocks off the coastline of the 'isle of sheep' over two very different days.

Trail talk

Trail talk: The Thames Path- Tower Bridge to Woolwich Foot Tunnel

Tower Bridge to Woolwich Foot Tunnel. 12.0 miles (19.0km) Our […]

Trail talk

Trail talk: The Thames Path- Putney to Tower Bridge

Putney to Tower Bridge. 9.5 miles (15.0km) This was a […]

Trail talk

Trail talk: The Thames Path- Hampton Wick/Kingston-on-Thames to Putney

Hampton Wick/Kingston-on-Thames to Putney. 13.5 miles (21.5km) We slept well. […]

Trail talk

Trail talk: The Thames Path- Chertsey to Hampton Wick/Kingston-on-Thames

Chertsey to Hampton Wick/Kingston-on-Thames. 12.5 miles (20.0km) Leaving our overnight […]

Trail talk

Trail talk: The Thames Path- Windsor to Chertsey

Windsor to Chertsey. 12.0 miles (19.5km) Oh dear! another hot […]

Trail talk

Trail talk: The Thames Path- Marlow to Windsor

Marlow to Windsor. 14.5 miles (23.0km) Despite a fair amount […]

Trail talk

Trail talk: The Thames Path- Sonning to Marlow

Sonning to Marlow. 15.0 miles (24.0km) It was a hot […]

Trail talk

Trail talk: The Thames Path- Goring to Sonning

For the remaining eight days and 105 miles of this national trail, Three Points of the Compass is joined by Mission Control, who has stipulated good accommodation and good food. We hold out hope of a few decent pints of beer too...

Trail talk

Trail talk: A-Z Adventure Series ‘for walkers’ maps

For those that like to venture out on a long distance path in the UK, be it National Trail or some other route, a physical map, with the trail highlighted through it's centre, is a useful resource. And if that resource comes with Ordnance Survey mapping, it is a match made in heaven, well, almost!

Planning

Trail talk: the Pembrokeshire Coast Path: a backpacking itinerary

There are many ways to tackle the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Section-hike, thru-hike, bed & breakfast or backpacking. If camping, which to choose- campsites or wildcamping? What follows is simply how Three Points of the Compass tackled it in September 2022.

Gear

Gear talk: the Pembrokeshire Coast Path- post-hike gear review

Three Points of the Compass has just returned from backpacking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Two September weeks in Wales threw at me varied weather conditions- from strong wind and horizontal rain, to hot sunny days and cold nights. This is a post-hike look at the lightweight backpacking gear I carried.

Trail talk

Trail talk: Pennine Bridleway. Settle to The Street, Ravenstonedale

My final days on the Pennine Bridleway. The walking steadily improved but the rain continued to laugh at the concept of summer. However, I had Kirkby Stephen in my sights, and nothing was going to stop me

Trail talk

Trail talk: Pennine Bridleway. The Mary Towneley Loop to Settle

My Pennine Bridleway continued. I had walked the 72 miles from Middleton Top in Derbyshire to the Mary Towneley Loop. Having walked all of that 47 mile loop, I was now continuing to trail's end in Cumbria. But before then, I had to get to Settle for yet another optional loop.

Trail talk

Trail talk: Pennine Bridleway. The Mary Towneley Loop

Three Points of the Compass walked the 205 mile Pennine Bridleway during the summer of 2022. Hot weather had given way to frequent days of rain. I had already walked some seventy miles from the start of the trail at Middleton Top. I now had the forty-seven mile Mary Towneley Loop to complete before I could continue my trail northward.

Trail talk

Trail talk: Wainwright’s Coast to Coast- a new National Trail

Three Points of the Compass recently walked the Pennine Bridleway. My last night was spent at the Pennine View Campsite at Kirkby Stephen. This is also a popular halt for those walking the Coast to Coast and I spent some time chatting with a handful of backpackers following that route. What was all too apparent was the daftness of my having just completed a National Trail that (in my opinion) shouldn't be one, while they were following an 'unofficial' trail that should be a National Trail. Well, at least part of that is to change.

Trail talk

Trail talk: dry stone walls on the Pennine Bridleway

An image heavy look at dry stone walls of the Pennine Bridleway

Trail talk

Trail talk: Pennine Bridleway. Middleton Top to the Mary Towneley Loop

The Pennine Bridleway doesn't get a lot of attention from backpackers. Cyclists will tackle much of it over a couple of days, horse-riders will go out for a day's hack along parts of it, however few people walk the complete path. Three Points of the Compass ventured out in the summer of 2022 to walk the 205 mile National Trail from south to north.

navigation

Trail talk: Maps and guidebooks for the Pennine Bridleway

The Pennine Bridleway is a peculiar trail. Not only is it multi-user, it has a couple of add-on loops and link routes, and... years after it opened, it still isn't complete! Finding maps and guidebooks for both planning and use on trail can be a challenge in itself. I know, as I searched them down in advance of my own hike in summer 2022

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