Best Pub Walks in the White Peak

30 circular walks in the limestone hills and dales of the lovely White Peak area of the Peak District. (Four walks are not in the Peak District, but they are all worthy additions). The walks of course all feature at least one pub either at the start or somewhere along the route. The book begins with some background pages on the Peak District, its ancient human history, industry, customs, caves and of course the great pubs.

The walks vary from 3 to 9 miles and cover the ground roughly between Tissington in the south of the area to Litton and Miller’s Dale to the north. They are graded according to the terrain and the climbs. They are illustrated with an outline type map, simple but effective. Details are given on how to get to the start by car, bus or rail (if applicable) and a lot of walks can be reached by public transport with a little planning, leaving you free to sample the pub wares in safety.

There is a lot of useful and interesting information given about each of the featured pubs. Details are given of its history, any relevant anecdotes, beers served, opening times, extra facilities and a phone number. (It’s best to check with some of the more remote pubs as they don’t always keep to the opening hours in slack periods). 

Interspersed with the walk instructions is generous information relevant to the history etc of items passed on the walk, and appropriate black and white photos. It would help clarity though if this was in a different type style or colour to differentiate it from the instructions. Another slight problem I feel is that the walk directions are not numbered and correlated to numbers on the maps. There is quite a chunk of text and it may be sometimes difficult to tell where you have reached on the map, in relation to the instructions.

A good book though, from which you may learn about the Peak District whilst at the same time sampling some of its best pubs.