The Star Family Walks - The Peak District and South Yorkshire

Guidebook of 52 short circular walks in the Peak District and South Yorkshire. Adapted from the Sheffield 'Star' Weekend Walk column. Routes are 2-3 hours long, so ideal for families. Winner of the COLA/OWG Best Guidebook 1998. All within an hour of Sheffield.

It seems that rarely a week goes by without the launch of yet another walk book. Many try to aim their routes at the family, at small children even, but all parents know that what looks like a simple and easy outing can turn into a miserable route-march with a bored or tired child.

In this book we have tried hard to choose routes which are both family friendly and interesting. Almost all of them can be done in the company of young children. Those few which are unsuitable are specifically marked, yet will still provide some energy-sapping exercise for older youngsters who can be tempted away from the television and onto the hills. Testing them has involved carrying, cajoling and chasing my young son Tom – on many occasions only arming ourselves with plastic swords and turning the ramble into a Robin Hood style adventure has helped complete the round.

Although the text and maps should give you a feel of the route it must be emphasised that the diagrams are NOT intended as an accurate representation of the route on the ground. We have tried to give an impression of what will be encountered along the route, but one of the joys of walking is finding the way, with guidance from someone who has been there before, of course.

The best way to use this publication is to choose your outing and then carefully consult the map indicated and locate the route on the ground. This not only helps ensure the way will be followed accurately, it helps identify escape routes in the case of bad weather, orientates the walker to appreciate the surroundings, and helps you devise your own short cuts.

Maps listed are of the Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure and Pathfinder series, to a scale of 250m per cm – ideal for route finding of this kind. I can’t urge purchase of these too strongly, nor the need to know how to use a map and compass.

If this book helps just one more youngster appreciate the beauty on our doorstep it will have served its purpose.

Good Walking!

John Spencer