Vivienne Crow’s field guide to walks in the Eden Valley area, first published in 2011, was recently released as a second edition.
Regular TGO readers will recognise the author; Vivienne Crow has contributed numerous features and Wild Walks over the years, and the knowledge and attention to detail we’ve come to expect are abundant to see in this guidebook as well.
Eden Valley is sandwiched between the popular Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, and is therefore rarely as busy as these honeypot areas – but there are some classics mapped and described here too. The 30 mapped walks begin with Wild Boar Fell in the south and extend throughout the area, mostly on the eastern side of the valley (which includes much of the higher ground) to Campfield Marsh and Bowness Common in the north. There’s a huge amount of variety between the different walks. Some, such as route 16, through Flakebridge Wood and along Dufton Ghyll, are short and fairly easy; others are far more challenging, taking in remote moorland and summits, including Cross Fell, the highest in the Pennines.
Vivienne Crow’s guidebook is illustrated with clear mapping and excellent photography. Interesting notes on history, geography and wildlife accompany the route descriptions too. Highly recommended for walkers in the Eden Valley area looking for new ideas!
Keen to read more? You can read an extract from this book, depicting a mapped walk to Nine Standards, here.
Walking in Cumbria’s Eden Valley by Vivienne Crow is published by Cicerone Press (£12.95, October 2018)
