1Walkers have a new best chum
Set deep in the Cheshire countryside, The Cholmondeley Arms has just won Pub of the Year at the Great British Pub Awards. Known fondly as The Chum, it sits in a Victorian schoolhouse with footpaths through local farmland, and the gorgeous Peckforton Hills and Beeston Castle (below) just a few miles away. Its large gardens are perfect for a summer G&T (choose from 366 kinds of gin); its open fires for warming up with a local ale after a winter walk. Food includes old school classics like jam roly-poly pudding, plus pies with steak and ale, or broccoli, leek and blue cheese. And you can stay too, with six rooms in the Headmaster’s House. See cholmondeleyarms.co.uk and for more top pubs visit greatbritishpubawards.co.uk
2You can chew the wrapper too
Expect puzzled looks from fellow walkers when you bite into your Banoffee Bar - wrapper, label and all. The team at One Good Thing has created a wholly chewable snack, replacing the usual plastic wrap with an eco-friendly edible coating so you just rinse the bar like an apple and tuck in. Available in 14 flavours at weareogt.com
DINGLE’S ON THE MAP
The west coast of Ireland is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and its Dingle Peninsula just got easier to walk thanks to a new map from Harvey. The lightweight, waterproof sheet covers the entire peninsula and all of the Dingle Way at Superwalker 1:30,000 scale, plus the Blasket Islands (at 1:50,000) in case you want to explore the most westerly point in Europe. harveymaps.co.uk
4 The mountains keep calling
It’s 20 years since Robert Macfarlane published his first book, The Mountains of the Mind, exploring the enduring human fascination with high places. To mark the anniversary he travelled to the Isle of Skye to tackle the ‘spiked, pinnacled, toothed, fanged ridge’ of the Black Cuillin. A traverse of its 22 peaks takes two days, and Macfarlane recorded the expedition for a two-part show on Radio 4 called Crossing the Cuillin Mountains. His journey is interwoven with music from Duncan Chisholm and Julie Fowlis - including a new single with lyrics by Macfarlane called Who is this? The show also features the words of poet Somhairle MacGill-Eain (Sorley MacLean), who was born on the neighbouring island of Raasay and knew the Cuillin intimately. Listen at BBC Sounds.
5There’s a new C2C record
Ollie Sainthouse is just five years old and this summer he became the youngest known person to walk the 200-mile Coast to Coast. With dad Paul, he trekked across England in 16 days, playing ‘daft little games’ if he got bored and raising over £10,000 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service. ‘The first three or four days were horrible weatherwise,’ says Paul. ‘There was Storm Betty,
