Review:
The book we were waiting for! Having recently moved to the Island and both being keen walkers, we searched in vain for a good walking book. Our wishes have been answered by this book, a revelation! We tried walk 27. Whitwell, Week Down and the Undercliff, what a cracking route, easy parking, good pub, all round excellent. If the rest of the walks are half as good as this we are on to a winner. Next walk 'The Long Stone'! Well done Martin Simons. Eileen and Patrick (Isle of Wight) Prepare for a treat! As a resident of the South Coast, "Walk! The Isle of Wight" seemed something of a natural progression for me, having been well and truly bitten by the walking 'bug' after acquiring Martin Simons' superb debut Guide, "Walk! The South Downs". Easily accessible, yet somehow pleasurably 'remote', the Island and its walks beckoned me across the Solent, from the moment I opened the book, and day trips will now fast become a regular feature of my leisure time. I have already been persuaded, against all my better instincts(!), to abandon the car, and sample life as a foot-passenger, taking advantage of the Island's bus services, the stops for which are incorporated into the walks. I would happily repeat the experience. The winning presentation of the Guide- the overview/summary of the walks, the symbols ratings for effort, distance, time, refreshments etc. - continues to prove invaluable. However, as a solitary, female walker, it is the detail and accuracy of the descriptions that matter most to me. I choose to walk without the support of GPS, yet I am able to set out, with confidence, secure in the knowledge that my walk will be both safe and memorable because the routes are so diligently researched and so clearly explained. Practical considerations aside, I have been both surprised and enthralled by the scenery that the Island has to offer. If, like me, your pleasure derives simply from the joy of being outside, and an uncomplicated appreciation of landscape/seascape, wildlife, flora and fauna, this book will guide you to the best the Island has to offer. If, however, you need the 'history' and the 'geology' to complete the experience, Martin will point you in the right direction! Unlike many of my friends and colleagues resident on the South Coast, I have no 'past history' with the Isle of Wight - no recollection of childhood outings; no burning desire to re-visit old haunts or bask in the nostalgia of lost youth, so its discovery has been an entirely new source of pleasure to me. Either way, pioneering or re-visiting, sampling the walks in this book comes highly recommended! Martin's first book transformed my leisure-time, so I had rather high expectations of his second! I have not been disappointed! S James
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