The following books of walks, listed by publisher, include routes which are especially suitable for children and families. All of them contain shorter, easier walks with at least a few notes on points of interest to children along the way, and the best of them include all sorts of other ideas such as 'I-Spy' games and quizzes. Most have been published by commercial publishers and are available on order from bookshops or online retailers, such as Stanfords' Bookshop, or sometimes direct from the publisher.
- Family Walks in the Forest of Bowland by Jack Keighley, ISBN 1 85284 251 2, £5.99
- Family Walks in the Peak District and South Yorkshire by John Spencer and Ann Reedham, ISBN 1 85284 257 1, £5.99
52 short walks adapted from the Sheffield Star weekend walk column. Won Best Guidebook award 1998. - Rocky Rambler's Wild Walks (Lake District), ISBN 1 85284 347 0. £8
The most obviously child-friendly book listed here, with colourful illustrations and walks details laid out like a board game.
- Walking on Wheels: 50 Wheel-friendly Trails in Scotland. Aimed at wheelchair users, but also useful as a source of pushchair-friendly walks. See Scotland regional page for details.
Local family walking in Hampshire.
- Blackwater Valley, ISBN 0 9527363 3 7. £2.40
- Farnham and Hampshire Borders ISBN 0 9527363 6 5. £2.40
- Fleet, Crookham & Crondall, ISBN 0 9527363 7 3. £2.40
- Hook, Hartley Wintney & Rotherwick, ISBN 0 9527363 3 0. £2.40
- Odiham & Upton Grey, ISBN 0 9527363 1 4. £1.50
- Walks in North Wales with a Pushchair by Hilary Bradnam, ISBN 0 9533315 2 0. 22 walks across North Wales from Anglesey to the Clwydian Hills, graded easy, moderate and intrepid. From 2-17km (1.5-10.5 miles) and all accessible with a pushchair. Notes on number of stiles, path surface, ascent and need to pull or carry.
Short Walks for All the Family: 20 well-illustrated walks in each compact volume with OS mapping, questions and quizzes and interesting notes on wildlife and features. Notes on route and terrain but nothing on suitability for pushchairs. All ISBNs begin 0 7117 and all books are priced at £5.99 unless otherwise shown. [2004]
- 2423 7 Birmingham and the Heart of England
- 3857 2 Brecon Beacons
- 3005 9 Cardiff
- 2421 0 Cheshire and the Gritstone Edge
- 2087 8 Chilterns
- 2088 6 Cornwall
- 1602 1 Cotswolds
- 2089 4 Dartmoor
- 3003 2 South Devon
- 2429 6 Dorset
- 2427 X Edinburgh
- 2431 8 Exmoor
- 3006 7 Fort William
- 2426 1 Glasgow
- 3858 0 Herefordshire and the Wye Valley
- 3007 5 Isle of Wight
- 2420 2 Kent
- 1604 8 Lake District
- 2090 8 North London
- 2091 6 South London
- 2026 6 Merseyside and Wirral
- 2425 3 New Forest
- 2428 8 North York Moors
- 2086 X Nottingham and Sherwood Forest
- 2430 X Oxfordshire
- 1603 X Peak District
- 2422 9 Snowdonia
- 2085 1 Somerset from Bath to the Quantocks
- 2424 5 Sussex and the South Downs
- 3004 0 Vale of York
- 3002 4 Wiltshire from Salisbury to the Kennet
- 1601 3 Yorkshire Dales
Making Tracks: Fun Walks for Children series by Joanne Wright. Excellent packs of colourful leaflets with ten easy walks in each, written and illustrated in a format to appeal to 6-11 year olds, with much of historical and nature interest. £9.95 each.
- Lake District, ISBN 0 9519437 7 4
- Peak District, ISBN 0 9519437 4 X
- Yorkshire Dales, ISBN 0 9519437 8 2
Lengthy list of Family Walks books at £5.95 each unless shown. All ISBN numbers begin 0 907758
- 70 3 Bakewell and Castleton
- 37 1 Berkshire and North Hampshire
- 83 5 Bimingham/West Midlands (£6.95)
- 15 0 Cotswolds
- 61 4 South Derbyshire
- 86 X Dorset
- 46 0 Exmoor and Quantocks
- 63 0 Gower
- 87 8 Gwent
- 20 7 Hereford and Worcester
- 56 8 Isle of Wight
- 51 7 Weald of Kent and Sussex
- 93 2 Keswick and northern Lakeland
- 67 3 Lincolnshire
- 72 X West London
- 90 8 Norfolk Broads
- 89 4 North Wales Coast
- 81 9 Northamptonshire
- 50 9 North Wales Borderlands
- 38 X Oxfordshire
- 16 9 Dark Peak
- 09 6 White Peak
- 80 0 More in the White Peak
- 75 4 Pembrokeshire
- 49 5 Stratford and Banbury
- 71 1 East Sussex
- 62 2 Swansea
- 45 2 Teme Valley
All-Terrain Pushchair Walks series. 30 short routes (2km/1.5 miles to 6.5km/4 miles) free of obstacles and suitable for all-terrain pushchairs.
- Anglesey & Lleyn Peninsula by Zoë Sayer and Rebecca Terry, ISBN 1 85058 840 6. £7.95 [2006]
- North Lakeland by Ruth and Richard Irons, ISBN 1 85058 802 3. £6.95 [2003]
- Peak District by Alison Southern, ISBN 1 85058 818 X. £7.95 [2006]
- Snowdonia by Rebecca Terry, ISBN 1 85058 831 7. £7.95 [2006]
- South Lakeland by Norman Buckley, ISBN 1 85058 817 1. £6.95 [2004]
- West Yorkshire by Rebecca Chippindale and Rebecca Terry, ISBN 1 85058 830 9. £7.95 [2006]
Pushchair Paths series. 25 short routes suitable for all pushchairs.
- East Midlands by Melanie Ramet, ISBN 1 85058 826 0. £7.95 [2005]
Walks with Children series. 20 shorter walks in each, starting from playgrounds or recreation areas with observation games and recommended refreshment breaks along the way. All books are £6.95. All ISBN numbers begin 1 85058.
- 560 1 Cheshire
- 613 6 Derbyshire
- 601 2 North Lakeland
- 578 4 South Lakeland
- 685 3 Northampton
- 619 5 Northumbria
- 614 4 Snowdonia
- 771 X Suffolk
- 569 5 Yorkshire Dales
Tyne and Wear Metro
- Metro Walks: walks for all the family beginning and ending at Metro stations by Peter Donaghy and John Laidler. Six free leaflets: for more see Public transport: Northeast England.
Walk This Way
- Walk this Way: a young person's guide. Three short routes for younger walkers exploring the Thames in central London: Parliament to the National Theatre (25 mins), Somerset House to Tate Modern (30 mins), Shakespeare's Globe to the Tower of London (45 mins). Contains notes on places along the route and background information on sewers, lost rivers and wildlife. Free: see Thames Path for more information or www.southbanklondon.com/walk_this_way. [2004]
- Family Days in the Countryside around Portsmouth and South Downs, ISBN 0 9540163 0 0. £10.99
20 walks, each with OS mapping, are treated as treasure trails, and there's a chart to get stamped in pubs, as well as cycle rides, quizzes and ideas for wet days: overall an excellent book. Updates are on the publisher's website.
West Riding Ramblers
- The Ramblers' Association Book of Kiddiwalks: Thirty short family rambles in and near West Yorkshire 70th Jubilee Edition,by West Riding Ramblers, ISBN 0 900613 88 2. Easy walks 1.5km/1 mile to 6.5km/4 miles, devised principally with young families in mind, with lots of interest along the route, including some suitable for pushchairs. The book includes sketch maps, route descriptions, background notes and photos. All walks are accessible by public transport, with details included. Covers every part of West Yorkshire as well as the southern Yorkshire Dales [07/05]. How to order.
Wrexham Council Countryside Service
- The Clywedog Valley Family Trail. Free leaflet promoting two short walks (2.5km/1.5 miles) along the Clywedog Valley Trail especially for children: Nant Mill Centre to Bersham Heritage Centre (partly accessible to sturdy pushchairs) and Minera Lead Mines Country Park to Nant Mill Centre. [2004]
The French walkers' organisation produces an excellent series of family walks titles in their à pied en famille (on foot with the family) series, worth looking at if your French is good enough to read a simple guide book and follow a map. All the routes are short, some are accessible for pushchairs and wheelchairs, and features of interest to children are highlighted in cheerful style. 14 titles are available so far including several featuring areas within easy reach of Britain such as the Normandy coast, Nord-Pas de Calais, Île-de-France and Paris. [2004]
