How to Write a Walking Guide
Whether it is a quick route around your own locality or a major route of many miles linking A to B there are some key points to think about. It’s not as easy as you might think and getting it wrong will not make you popular with your readers. This guide will assist you in getting your work fit for purpose.
- Decide your objective and determine your preferred route. You need to have a clear view on whether you will simply be producing a description of the route or whether it will be enhanced by background information such as local history or literary connections. You will also need to decide whether your objective can be achieved by creating a linear or circular walk.
- Consider why you are going to produce your guide and what you are going to do with it once it is completed. Is your walk for personal consumption or do you plan to get it published?
- Research and decide transport access to your route. Is public transport available? If not, a map reference to a nearby parking facility is advised. For a longer route a drop-out point could be included if possible for those not able to complete the full length.
- Do an initial survey by walking over the route noting terrain and obstacles. Use whatever method of recording you are most comfortable with be it a pen and notepad, voice recorder, camera or camcorder.
- If surveying a long distance route which is a long way from home some consideration needs to be given to the logistics and costs of exploring alternatives if the initial survey reveals significant route alterations.
- Rethink the route where necessary to get round obstacles or make the walk more attractive.
- Check distance several times utilising different methods, for example from OS maps, via GPS or using a pedometer.
- Write your route description avoiding references which will change over time. For example, “turn left at the third bush after crossing the footbridge” or “after one mile look for the pink painted house beside the river”. Both depend on descriptors which are not permanent. The bush could die or be removed while the owner of the house could get fed up with pink and try blue instead.
- Include descriptions of hazards and how to minimise any risks such as crossing busy roads.
- Once the route has been written up in detail, recruit volunteers to walk over your route to as a double or triple check of accuracy.
- Now your guide is complete, return to the second stage of this guide and broadcast it to your preferred audience.
This content was provided by one of our users, johnp
