On Foot Through History and Place
A blog by Nick Burton, walking guide, author of Wainwright’s Way & other walking books
All Routes North provides unique guided walks and walking adventures across Northern England. With a passion for the great outdoors, a love of history and an exceptional knowledge of the North’s varied landscapes we aim to provide unforgettable walking experiences for people of all ages and abilities.
The Blog
Moomins in Salford Land
Moomintroll peered at me from behind a lamp post. He winked one of his large round eyes and stuck out his hippo hand, beckoning me over with a slow curl of his fat finger. I gripped my mam’s hand a bit tighter as we walked down the street for home. I was too young for...
An Accountant’s Night Out
September 2019. Driving up to the Lakes with the radio on, I had the misfortune of hearing the BBC news reporting ‘revelations’ from David Cameron’s memoirs. I switched off and within a few hours I was standing on a grassy shelf below the rocky upper reaches of Dungeon Ghyll. It was almost instant relief from the atmosphere of a country going increasingly toxic through Brexit.
Wainwright aged 23 ½
Despite nearly four decades of walking in the Lake District I have never kept an accurate written log. Throughout this time I estimated, at a rough count, that I had walked up over half of the total number of 214 ‘Wainwright’ summits. The only records of this are the...
The Night Tommy Docherty Sipped Cocktails with Doris Speed
Manchester city centre. Monday 14th May 1973. Quarter past seven in the evening. The Odeon on Oxford Road. The stars are gathering. Manchester’s ‘Glitterati’ were out in their finest for a Gala World Film Premiere. Tommy Docherty, Paddy Crerand and Pat Phoenix. Joe...
Lament for the Ordnance Survey
Kids in bed and the prospect of the next day free to spend walking on the hills, I was in my element. I spread out the OS Explorer map of the Forest of Bowland across the living room floor. A better read than any book, this familiar map is not just a paper record of...
Journey to the Source of the Stream Behind Our House
I consider myself richer than a king when I can walk out of my house on a summer’s evening and climb Pendle Hill to watch the slow sunset over Bowland’s western fells. Then by the light of June’s strawberry moon I can drop down to the hedged back lanes of silent...
Pendle to Parliament: Visions on Pendle Hill
From Clitheroe to Pendle Hill Beyond Mearley Hall the softer Ribble Valley landscape of hedges and cows quickly gave way to drystone walls and sheep, the sign of a changing geology. Here is the transition, visible in the features on the ground, from the pastoral...
Unforgettable Walking Adventures in Northern England
