A Love Affair with Winter Walks

There's something wonderfully British about making the most of a little winter sunshine, or pulling on your wellington boots, waxed jacket and favourite hat for a walk in the rain.

After all, we're a nation that refuses to let a spot of bad weather get in the way of a good walk. Sunshine, showers or something suspiciously close to a storm, there's always someone insisting it's a lovely day to get outside. Perhaps our national motto ought to be prepared for all weather.

But where did our love affair with the great British countryside walk begin?

Walking is woven into British culture, helped along by an extraordinary network of public footpaths and rights of way. Around 150,000 miles of public footpaths criss-cross England and Wales alone, winding through fields, forests and villages, with a remarkable number seeming to lead conveniently towards a country pub.

But a countryside walk is often a walk through history, too. Ancient Roman roads, centuries-old field boundaries and Iron Age hillforts are scattered across the landscape. You might begin in a woodland, emerge into an open meadow and find yourself climbing a rocky hillside, all within a few miles. Our affection for walking really found its feet during the Romantic period of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. As the Industrial Revolution transformed Britain's towns and cities, writers and poets increasingly turned to the countryside for inspiration and escape.

William Wordsworth famously wandered through the Lake District, finding poetry in its hills, lakes and daffodils. Samuel Taylor Coleridge explored the Somerset countryside, while Jane Austen's novels made good use of a country walk, often as an opportunity for an unexpected encounter or a little romantic misunderstanding.

The countryside became more than somewhere to travel through. It was somewhere to think, find inspiration and occasionally escape the demands of everyday life. And while we may no longer be composing poetry on our afternoon rambles, the appeal hasn't changed all that much. Fresh air, beautiful scenery and the promise of a pint at the end are still excellent reasons to put on your walking boots.

In fact, the country pub has become almost as much a part of the British walking tradition as the walk itself. After a few miles in the fresh air, there's something especially satisfying about arriving to find muddy boots by the door, a roaring fire in the hearth and the prospect of a Sunday roast or a well-earned pint. The countryside may be the official attraction, but we'd be lying if we said a good pub lunch wasn't part of the appeal.