There’s something magical about navigating breathtaking terrain on foot, before stopping for a well-earned bite to eat and glass of local wine or two. Andrew Eames shares some of his top trails, spanning the volcanic island of La Palma to the soft green hills of Ireland
The route more formally known as the Rota Vicentina was
inaugurated back in 2012. It threads through 120 kilometres of
wild, virgin landscape in Europe’s emptiest corner, from Porto
Covo (Alentejo) to the Cape of St Vincent in the Algarve. It’s a
world without roads, but instead it has silence, sun and a skinny
track always squiggling off round the next headland. Starting
from Zambujeira do Mar – one of the most scenic villages – the
trail heads first to the local beach and then towards the cliffs.
Ahead lies more golden sand at Carvalhal, Machados and
Amália. From Ponta em Branco are some of the best views of the
whole trip over Odeceixe Beach, which lies tucked between the
river and the ocean. Sample local delicacy percebes (goose
barnacles) in Zambujeira at A Barca Tranquitanas restaurant.
WALK IT Camino Ways’ six-or ten-night Rota Vicentina Fishermen’s Trail tour, from £517pp (B&B). caminoways.com
It is one of the most dramatic and delectable stretches of
European shoreline, and not just for the numerous vineyards,
vegetable gardens and precipitous footpaths that weave along
it. As the name suggests, Liguria’s Unesco-listed Cinque Terre
comprises five distinctive villages, each with its own steep
terraces and multicoloured houses that cascade down to the
sea like spilt paint. These villages are connected by train and
footpath, but not by car, so they have a serenity not found in
many other places. Vernazza is the prettiest. It offers a choice
of routes to neighbouring Monterosso, either on the coastal
path through woodland and lemon groves, or up past a series
of viewpoints to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Reggio
before descending. Your reward on arrival is the Ligurian fish
restaurant Ristorante Ciak, in the historic heart of Monterosso.
Feast on the mixed platter of prawns, anchovies and calamari.
WALK IT HF Holidays’ seven- or 14-night Guided Walking at Bonassola trip, from £879pp (half-board). hfholidays.co.uk
The most compelling of the Canary Islands for hiking has deeper
ravines than Gran Canaria, more endemic Canario living than
Tenerife and more recent volcanoes than Lanzarote. Shaped
like a tooth, La Palma has a huge cavity at the top in the crater
Caldera de Taburiente; its midriff is swathed in banana
plantations, and its southern tip is smothered in the rictus sea
of lava that erupted from Teneguía. The whole island is laced
with well-signed walking routes but this trail follows the spine
down through fragrant pine forests and hard-scrabble vineyards
via some of the most recent (1971) volcanic badlands. The last
section descends towards the salt works at Fuencaliente next to
where the lighthouse perches like a barber’s pole. Here the
El Jardín de la Sal restaurant is a fine setting in which to dine on
octopus, smoked cheese, and the island’s speciality – goat stew.
WALK IT Exodus’ seven-night Walking the Island of La Palma, itinerary, from £1,129pp (all-inclusive). exodus.co.uk
Back in the days of raider-danger, the only buildings on the
shore of the Spanish island of Menorca were watchtowers, with
a connecting pathway along which horsemen would ride. And
these are still the main ingredients of Cami de Cavalls – the Path
of the Horsemen – which reaches the parts of Menorca that few
visitors see. Walkers on this route enter a world of pine-fringed
beaches, carpets of delicate herbs, Moorish water wells, and
the remains of the occasional prehistoric village. It seems that
nothing has changed here for thousands of years. The section
from Cala Morell to Ciutadella follows the trail along low walls
and bizarrely shaped barracas (shepherd’s huts), where livestock
take refuge from the wild Tramuntana wind. Fortify yourself
with tapas at Cala Morell’s Troglodita’s restaurant, including
local favourites such as riñones al jerez (kidneys in sherry).
WALK IT Macs Adventure’s seven-night The Cami de Cavalls tour, from £715pp (B&B). macsadventure.com
Stitched together from village tracks, the Lycian Way covers
over 500 kilometres of Turkey’s most ruggedly beautiful
shoreline. It’s a place where structures from ancient dynasties
are still very much part of the landscape, and where goat herders
have eked out a meagre living for centuries. This section from
Hoyran combines upland plains, green valleys, old agricultural
lands, rocky coastline and a lot of history, starting on the ancient
tomb-littered site of Hoyran itself. Thence to Kapakli, a village
where the local ladies will prepare gözleme (stuffed flatbreads)
for hungry walkers, and afterwards down a paved mule path that
zig-zags across the fertile land with views over the coast as far
as Kekova. The old stone houses of Simena, the final destination,
are dotted among ancient graves, with a dreamy view over
a turquoise sea. Stop at the town’s I Am Here Café, which makes
its own ice cream, such as lemon and mint or carob and fig.
WALK IT Inntravel’s ten- or 12-night The Lycian Way tour, from £1,145pp (half-board). inntravel.co.uk
Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor is like a promised land. From the
sea, there’s little suggestion of what lies through the narrows,
in a land where mountains rise steeply from limpid waters.
Inside, it looks like a synthesis of Italy’s lakes and Norway’s
finest fjords, but with little stone harbours all along the
shoreline, where calamari fishermen prepare their gear. At
its furthest corner is Kotor itself, a walled mini-Dubrovnik.
The Bay of Kotor is screened off from the outside world by
the Vrmac Ridge, and this hiking trail, starting from Kotor,
meanders up the pine-clad slopes and on across it. At the top
there’s a ruined fort and panoramic views down to Kotor on one
side, and Tivat on the other. The path then descends to Donja
Lastva, a quiet seaside community just north of all the flashy
superyachts of Porto Montenegro. Finish the day with cevapi
(grilled meat) in Donja Lastva’s inviting Ponta Veranda café.
WALK IT Ramblers Holidays’ nine-night Adriatic Islands trip, from £1,325pp with flights (half-board). ramblersholidays.co.uk
The unspoilt Sheep’s Head peninsula is where Ireland
waggles the last of its bony fingers in the Atlantic. It’s an
elemental landscape – situated between Bantry Bay and
Dunmanus Bay in County Cork - described by poet Seamus
Heaney as ‘water and ground in their extremity’. The path
lassoes the rocky outcrop, with the village of Kilcrohane – two
pubs and a local shop which sells ‘everything from paintings
to potatoes’ – its key anchor point. Head northwest from
Kilcrohane up and over the jagged spine of the peninsula and
you’re in rugged territory, in the teeth of a westerly wind. But
stay on the southern Kilcrohane side heading for Durrus and
you’re in a softer, greener, more sheltered setting, with lush
gardens and stone circles and views across Dunmanus Bay to
Mizen Head. At Ahakista (which is around half-way), there’s
a chance to stop off for a bowl of home-made soup in the
art-lined Heron Gallery Café, set in a quirky, sculpture-rich
wildflower garden, where they also grow their own vegetables.
WALK IT Contours Walking Holidays’ six-night Sheep’s Head Way trip, from £645pp (B&B). contours.co.uk
Brittany’s coastal GR34 is the equivalent of our South West
Coast Path, and it even goes through its own Cornouaille. It has
cliffs and coves, sailboats and fishing harbours, offshore islands
and secret beaches, with its own mild microclimate and seafood
at every turn. For lovers of wild swimming, this is a fine route,
and a good start is Le Pouldu’s Plage de Ballangenêt. From here
to Doëlan, one of the prettiest ports in the whole of southern
Brittany, is easy walking, with wild flowers and soft-sand
beaches galore. Doëlan’s Le Rive Gauche is ideal for a lunch
stop, with local lobster or langoustines, and views of the port
and its two lighthouses. Afterwards, head onwards into wilder
Finistère, with its wooded rias, or creeks. Your destination,
Merrien, is swathed in sun-dappled forest, a splendid spot for
bird watchers, and for a dip in the cooling aquamarine waters.
WALK IT Sanssacàdos’ The South Coast of Finistère trip, from £89pp per night (campsites). sanssacados.fr
Visually, Guernsey’s southern coast could be the
Mediterranean, and you can see why Pierre-Auguste
Renoir found these seascapes inspiring. This shoreline is a
mix of high, flower-speckled sea cliffs bitten into by bays,
mostly with pebble beaches inaccessible by car. At the start
of the walk, where a verdant valley plunges down to the sea
at Petit Bot, there’s a tearoom in a suntrap of a courtyard.
Meanwhile, the path ribbons its way along the top, before
coming to the reminders of Guernsey’s tricky war years, with
a huge German artillery piece in a gun pit. The coast turns to
head north where Les Hanois Lighthouse stands proud out
of the sea, softening into a more family-friendly shore.
Locals go out collecting ormers, a variety of abalone,
and if you’re lucky, you may catch them on local menus.
WALK IT Sherpa Expeditions’ six-night Channel Island Way, itinerary, from £590pp (B&B). sherpaexpeditions.co.uk
Walking between heaven and hell may sound like a strange
kind of masochism, but on the remotest part of the Scottish
mainland it is an exhilarating place to be. For this is the
Knoydart Peninsula, isolated from the outside world to the
south by Loch Nevis (Gaelic for ‘heaven’) and to the north
by Loch Hourn (‘hell’). The peninsula is only reached by boat,
which adds to its exclusivity. It looks out over The Minch at the Isle of Skye, and further south to Rum, Eigg and Muck
islands, in serene dimples of light on the horizon. This is boggy
land, but one of the most reliable walks is to set out along the
track from the main settlement Inverie and make for the tiny
hamlet of Airor. Follow the sign to Doune, where a handmade
lodge right by the sea serves giant dinners of local prawns.
WALK IT Wilderness Scotland’s seven-night Knoydart Peninsula tour, from £1,495pp (full-board). wildernessscotland.com
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