Walking and Cycling in Scotland

Scotland is rightly famous for her mountain scenery, and it's no wonder that there are many excellent guides to walking in climbing in the Highlands. But if 'munro bagging' is not your thing, then there are plenty of beautiful walks in the lowlands too - the Galloway forests, or the Borders market towns, for instance.

There are too many guides to list here, but check out publishers such as Pocket Mountains, Rucksack Readers, Hallewell and Cicerone all specialise in walking and climbing books. For the serious munro bagger, the Scottish Mountaineering Club publish a number of comprehensive guides to help plan your route. We have also prepared a guide to Mountaineering books.

Most Scottish walking guides are arranged by region, with lots of guides to walking on the Scottish islands, or the west coast, or Highland Perthshire. Publishers such as Hallewell produce lots of highly local titles, each regularly rewalked and revised. Examples include:

• Walks, Angus & Dundee
• Walks. Isle of Mull, Coll & Tiree
• Walks, The Trossachs & East Loch Lomond

The books from Cicerone are larger, full-colour guides with protective plastic covers. Their recently updated guides include:

• The Isle of Mull
• The Speyside Way

The larger UK publishers have many more general walking guides, such as the AA's 100 Walks in Scotland or Mainstream's Walk Scotland: A Guidebook for All Seasons. Ralph Storer, the author of The Joy of Hillwalking, has written a number of popular walking guides, including 50 Best Routes on Skye and Raasay and 50 Classic Routes of Scottish Mountains. You don't need to head to the hills to enjoy a great day's walking; Andrew Dempster's 100 Classic Coastal Walks in Scotland showcases the diversity and beauty of Scotland's coastline.

The Jarrold/Pathfinder series of walking guides are very popular, but most have not been updated in recent years.

Wheelchair users need not miss out either; Eva McCracken has written Walking On Wheels: 50 Wheel-Friendly Trails in Scotland, the first guidebook of its kind. Zoë Sayer's All-Terrain Pushchair Walks covers Argyll and Lochaber, and is great for young families.

Some of Scotland's popular walking routes have spawned their own range of guidebooks and maps. We have a complete list of West Highland Way books, and will produce other lists for The Great Glen Way, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs and The Southern Upland Way.

City Walks

One of the great pleasures of Scotland is how quick and easy it is to get from the city centre to the quiet countryside. Derek Storey's 100 Countryside Walks Around Edinburgh is a case in point - coastal walks, wooded glens, hills and farmland, all within a short drive from Princes Street.

Edinburgh Walks

• 25 Walks in Edinburgh and Lothian
• Edinburgh and Lothians Walks
• Edinburgh Short Walks

Glasgow Walks

• 50 Walks in Glasgow & South West Scotland
• 25 Walks In and Around Glasgow
• Glasgow and the West Urban Walks
• Glasgow Short Walks

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  £6.79
  100 Countryside Walks Around Edinburgh
  Derek Storey - Paperback - Mainstream
  Covering a range of 30 miles around Edinburgh, the walks in this book are suitable for every ability, weather and season. Each route is fully described and accompanied by a sketch map, with details of how to get there by car and public transport.
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  £7.49
  50 Walks In Glasgow & South West Scotland: 50 Walks Of 2-10 Miles
  Hugh Taylor - Paperback - AA
  Discover the beauty of Glasgow and South West Scotland with the help of this slim-line pocket-sized walking guide. The guide offers 50 walks, containing useful information on footpath signs, countryside access, walking tips and safety guidelines.
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  £9.99
  Edinburgh & Lothian
  Roger Smith - Paperback - Mercat
  This text describes 25 walks in Edinburgh and Lothian. There is a wide variety, from the grandeur of the city itself to the outlying attractions at Roslin Glen, Musselburgh and the Union Canal.
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  £5.94
  Glasgow
  - Paperback - Jarrold
  Originally a small cathedral city, Glasgow has grown into a dynamic provincial city and centre of culture within easy reach of miles of unspoilt countryside. This guide features 20 colour-coded routes, suited to all ages. Questions and points of interest are included.
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  £8.49
  Glasgow And The West
  Roger Smith - Paperback - Mercat
  Scotland's towns and cities are packed with historical and scenic interest. This is a collection of 30 urban walks covering Glasgow and the West. It covers routes in many areas of Glasgow, as well in towns as diverse as Ayr, Biggar, Irvine, Rothesay and Dumfries.
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  In And Around Glasgow
  Alan Forbes - Paperback - Mercat
  This book describes 25 walks in the city of Glasgow. There is great variety in the city, from formal parks to less well-known nature trails and scenic walkways within the city boundaries.

Cycling in Scotland

Cyclists are well catered for. For a complete guide to the cycleways of Scotland, check out The National Cycle Network. Mountain biking is increasingly popular, with dedicated trails alongside established walking routes. Check out Paul McKane's Scotland Mountain Biking, Paul Lamarra's The Ultimate Scottish Cycling Book and the bikefax Southern Scotland and the 7stanes guidebooks.

If you like your cycling to be a little less rugged, then guides such as Erl Wilkie's 25 Cycle Routes In & Around Glasgow and 25 Cycle Routes Edinburgh and Lothian are great places to start. Fergal MacErlean's Bike Scotland features 40 routes, including half-day family outings and weekend adventures for experienced cyclists.

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  £5.99
  Bike Scotland
  Fergal MacErlean - Paperback - Pocket Mountains
  Featuring 40 great routes from Central Scotland - from half-day family outings to two-day adventures - this book is guaranteed to get you on your bike. Each route is accompanied by a full colour photograph, contoured map and additional facts about the history, geology and wildlife of the region.
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  £9.99
  Edinburgh And Lothian
  Derek Purdy; Erl B. Wilkie - Paperback - Mercat
  'Edinburgh and Lothian' describes 25 cycle rides in the vastly diverse region of Scotland's capital and its surrounding countryside. The trails take you from old railway routes and tiny traffic-free cycleways to wild, rocky shorelines, castles and forts.
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  £8.49
  In & Around Glasgow
  Erl B. Wilkie - Paperback - Mercat
  Scotland's largest city and its surrounding area have much to offer the cyclist, from the semi-rural charm of its canal paths to its parklands and forests, as well as the Edwardian grandeur of the city centre. This text includes 25 Glasgow cycle routes.
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  £15.95
  Scotland Mountain Biking: The Wild Trails
  Phil McKane - Paperback - Vertebrate
  This book showcases 25 routes in Scotland, between 6km and 290km in length, suitable for all levels of mountains bikers.
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  £11.04
  Scotland: The National Cycle Network
  Harry Henniker - Spiral - Mainstream
  This is a guide to the National Cycle Network in Scotland, providing detailed route instructions, background information and easy to understand maps.
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  £16.95
  Southern Scotland & The 7stanes: Selected Mountain Bike Rides
  Ali Chant; Sue Savege; Iain Withers - Paperback - Bikefax
  Southern Scotland offers the mountain biker miles of singletrack and acres of open hills with endless trail combinations. This guide provides detailed route descriptions, full colour maps and info on where to eat, sleep and mend your bike.
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  £12.74
  The Ultimate Scottish Cycling Book
  Paul Lamarra - Hardback - Mainstream
  This volume deals with cycle-touring in Scotland. Much more than just a set of directions, the author's own experience on each route is described in an entertaining narrative, and detailed route information is featured to allow readers to follow the routes for themselves.