The Doolough Famine Walk

Louisburgh, Co Mayo - Delphi Lodge, Co Galway

Irish Ordnance Survey map: Mayo (SW), Galway

The shortest walk of them all, and certainly the most evocative. I stayed at the West View Hotel in Louisburgh. From there it was just one road all the way to Doolough and the frankly wonderful Dephi Lodge. It's a real shame that such a tragic incident will always be associated with the Lodge as it's a fantastic place to stay in a beautiful location.

A fantastic walk in a beautiful part of the world, and a reminder of one of the great human tragedies of history into the bargain.

Bonnie Prince Charlie crosses The Minch, 1746

Benbecula - Uig - Portree

OS Landranger maps: 22, 18, 23

This was a fairly straightforward walk inasmuch as it didn't actually involve all that much walking. In fact there was a good deal of sitting around on a boat eating crisps, which made for a pleasant change and was happily reminiscent of Attention All Shipping.

Although Charlie was hopping around the west of Scotland and the Isles for a good few months, time and budget dictated that I could do only the most famous bit, crossing the Minch to Skye dressed as Flora MacDonald's maid. I flew to Benbecula and holed up at the Dark Island Hotel for a couple of days of tramping around the island in search of the bothy where Charlie holed up for a while.

When the time came to head across the Minch I took the CalMac ferry from Lochmaddy on South Uist to Uig on the Isle of Skye, where I stayed at the Uig Hotel. From there it was a very pleasant day's walk along the road to Portree, which was bathed in sunshine and full of accordion players. I'd booked into the Royal Hotel, on the site of the inn where Flora and Charlie said their farewells, but like an eejit had booked the wrong day and they were full. They were very helpful though, despite being faced with a total numbskull, and phoned around until they found me a room at the Portree Hotel. They were very nice too, and when I said I'd be catching a bus in the morning before breakfast began, they made me a packed lunch with a sandwich, banana and can of drink to take on the journey. I felt seven years old again.

In all I think I did this trip in about five days. The walking mileage was pretty negligible, probably about 25 in total, so it was a low maintenance trip with a scenic ferry ride and beautiful walk in Skye thrown in.

Mary, Queen of Scots, Escapes From Loch Leven, 1568

Loch Leven - Edinburgh - Glasgow - Dumfries - Kircudbright

OS Landranger maps: 58, 66, 65, 64, 71, 78, 77, 84

A fairly straightforward walk this one, taking in Scotland's two big cities before a long schlep south west to the coast.

For Loch Leven I based myself in Edinburgh, at the Premier Inn Lauriston Place . I can't remember where I stayed in between Edinburgh and Glasgow - I can't even remember which town it was - but in Glasgow it was back to the Premier Inns, this time just off George's Square.

I think I was so used to walking now, that I barely remember the journey south, other than the encounter with old Jim in Sanquhar. I must have been flying along. I paused for breath, and strong drink, in Dumfries but don't remember the name of the B&B I stayed in. In Kircudbright I stayed in the Selkirk Arms, which I thought was expensive for the kind of place it was, but the staff were friendly and hospitable and it is the place where Robert Burns wrote the Selkirk Grace.

On the Trail of Owain Glyndwr, 1403

Machynlleth - Llanidloes - Rhayader - Llanyrtwd Wells - Llandovery - Llandeilo - Carmarthen - Laugharne

OS Landranger maps: 135, 136, 147, 146, 159

Agan, winter probably wasn't the best time to be tramping around the mountains and valleys of mid and south Wales. I found this a difficult walk, not least because for most of it it never, ever stopped raining. There is definitely something about Welsh rain. Somehow it's wetter than anywhere else.

Anyway, I began in Machynlleth, a really pleasant wee town where I stayed in the Wynnstay Arms before heading off to Llanidloes, a day durng which I got hopelessly lost and had to rely on a stroke of luck in the form of a passing school bus to prevent me spending the night on the side of a mountain in a storm without a tent.

In Llanidloes I stayed in the Red Lion Hotel, before moving on to Rhayader where I can't remember the name of the guesthouse in which I stayed. Again it was dark, raining and the place was, as I recall, swathed in scaffolding. Newbridge-on-Wye was my next stop, and the frankly magnificent New Inn, where I had one of the most enjoyable stopovers of the whole book.

In Llanwyrtd Wells I stayed at the famous, historic and decidedly quirky Neuadd Arms,before moving on to the hugely friendly The Drovers bed and breakfast on the main square in Llandovery.

I can't for the life of me remember where I stayd in Llandeilo, but in Carmarthen I spent a couple of nights in the Drovers Arms before moving on to what is one of my favourite towns in Britain, Laugharne. The Boat House Inn is the former Corporation Arms, one of the regular haunts of Laugharne's most famous resident Dylan Thomas. Thomas's former home at the Boat House is now a museum.

So, a long, challenging but ultimately rewarding walk this one, which took about ten days to cover the 200 or so miles.

Olaf The Dwarf, King of Man c1150

Ramsey - Crosby - Castletown

Ordance Survey Landranger map: 95

In mileage terms this was one of the less taxing walks; however it does involve a lot of climbing, something I'd not really had to deal with on the previous two. It's around twenty-five miles from Ramsey in the north of the island to Castletown in the south. It's doable in a day if you're an experienced walker, but I chose to do it in two. Which was still hard work, but then I had chosen to do it in January. Sane people do it in the summer.

This route is actually a 'proper' waymarked trail called The Millennium Way.

I stayed in a wonderful guesthouse tucked away at the end of a lane in Ramsey called The River House. Alas I didn't get the chance to see it in daylight, but it's a lovely place to stay.

From Crosby, just over halfway, I caught the bus up to St John's, the ancient site of the Manx parliament the Tynwald, and then up to the Glen Helen Inn, a curious but comfy hotel that appears to be in the middle of nowhere, but again I only saw it under cover of darkness.

At the end of the walk I was relieved to fall into the George Hotel in the gorgeous little town of Castletown, in full view of the castle on the site of Olaf's own residence of a millennium earlier.

A challenging walk in lots of ways, this one, but again, early January probably wasn't the best time of year to do it.

Harold II from Stamford Bridge to the Battle of Hastings, 1066

Stamford Bridge - York - Doncaster - Lincoln - Peterborough - Waltham Abbey - London - Tunbridge Wells - Battle

OS Landranger maps: 105, 111, 121, 130, 142, 153, 166, 176, 177, 188, 199.

This was the longest of all the walks, and in many ways my favourite despite seeing a ghost and neraly being murdered by a psychotic Peterborough driving instructor.

I based myself in York for a few days. I can't remember the place where I stayed but York has loads of good places to stay. From there it was to Tadcaster and a pub whose name I've forgotten, then the Travelodge Pontefract Ferrybridge before moving on to Doncaster and the Metro Inn.

I stayed in a pub in Gainsborough whose name I've forgotten, then a B&B in Lincoln whose name I also can't remember. What I do remember about Lincoln is that the dastardly local tourist board tried to claim I'd booked an entirely separate hotel when I hadn't and charged me accordingly. They wouldn't accept that their website was highly dodgy and it took several stiff letters to sort the situation out. Anyway, from there it was on to Sleaford, where, after a terrifying walk in the dark along the A15 I was overjoyed to see the Sleaford Travelodge. Next it was Bourne, where I hobbled around for ages looking for a place to stay until coming up trumps with the Angel Hotel - one of the most luxurious places where I rested my head on the whole set of journeys.

I recovered from my attempted assassination at the White Hart in Ufford, a fabulous and friendly boozer, cracking restaurant and lovely place to stay. Needing a rest by this point I holed up at the Travel Inn Peterborough North before heading on to Huntingdon and the very comfortable George Inn. In Sandy I secured what was apparently the last bed in town, at the King's Arms, before moving on to Ware and the Roebuck Hotel, whose heating had broken down but was otherwise very comfy.

I flew through Waltham Abbey and went home and stayed with my mate Pete in south-east London the following night. The night after that I stayed in Sevenoaks with my oldest friend Paul and his lovely wife Emma, and then can't actually remember where I stayed in Tunbridge Wells. The Greyhound in Wadhurst was a great place to stay, before I ended up at the end of the journey in the Abbey Hotel at Battle, a twanged Norman arrow from the battlefield itself.

By my reckoning that's about 22 days including rest days, and my pedometer read some 330 miles by the end. Again this was easy going in terms of terrain, being largely flat other than the small mountain on which Lincoln appears to stand, but in terms of distance it was a bit of a behemoth. Some lovely countryside though, especially in Kent and Sussex.

Boudica rises up against the Romans, AD 60/1

Norwich - Ipswich - Colchester - London - St Albans

OS Landranger maps in order of use: 134, 144, 155, 169, 168, 167, 177,176, 166.

This is a pretty good introduction to long distance walking as the landscape is lovely and flat.

I started in Norwich, staying at the Norwich City Travelodge. From there I headed south to Caistor St Edmund, but eventually having grievously overestimated my physical capabilities I ended up taking a bus some of the way to Diss, where I stayed at the frankly lovely Cobwebs Bed and Breakfast. Next stop was the village of Debenham, and the very comfortable Angel Inn. If you are in Debenham, pop in to the Cherry Tree too and say hi to Zoe for me.

In Ipswich I struggled to find accommodation on a busy weekend, but landed on my feet with the wonderful Cranmoor House. This is without doubt one of the best guesthouses I have ever stayed in and is one I will actively recommend. From there it was on to Colchester. I stayed with relatives there, so while I can recommend their hospitality highly, alas you can't really stay there. Not least because they've since moved to Bexhill-on-Sea.

I can't remember where I stayed in Chelmsford, but in Brentwood it was the evocatively named Holiday Inn Brentwood M25 Jcn28. In London I stayed at what was then home, before a day's walk to St Alban's where I stayed in a place which I won't name as I wasn't very nice about it in the book. There was nothing wrong with it, mind, it just wasn't my sort of place. Suffice to say there are lots of highly agreeable pubs and guesthouses in what is a lovely town.

So, all in all it was a journey of around ten days and about 160 miles I think, including a rest day in Ipswich. The weather was unusually agreeable and this was a great start to the book.