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Covid-19 and Coronavirus - update - Feb 2021
21st Feb 2021We wholeheartedly thank you all for your continued support and patience over the last year. After the UK government ...
St Cuthberts Way - Guided trip - Sept 2019
1st Oct 2019For me this was a pilgrimage – and though boots, legs and feet held up well along the way, also still a challenge. Perhaps...
Author : Jon Monks
Covid-19 and Coronavirus - update - Feb 2021
21st Feb 2021:by Jon MonksWe wholeheartedly thank you all for your continued support and patience over the last year. After the UK government announcement last night, I am pleased to say we are now back to delivering walking ...
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St Cuthberts Way - Guided trip - Sept 2019
1st Oct 2019:by Jon MonksFor me this was a pilgrimage – and though boots, legs and feet held up well along the way, also still a challenge. Perhaps my first surprise was to find that only one other of the party had ...
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50th Anniversary - Cleveland Way
1st Nov 2018:by Jon MonksThe North York Moors National Park is home to the nation's favourite national trail, the Cleveland Way. The 109-mile-long route meanders through dramatic coastline and heather moorland, whilst ...
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Pilgrimage along St Cuthbert's Way, in the footsteps of St Cuthbert.
18th Oct 2018:by Jon MonksWhether walking a pilgrimage is on your list of things to do because of your religious, spiritual beliefs or that you want to feel like you are experiencing walking in history. Walking with Shepherds ...
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Coast to Coast, Yorkshire Dales - Photo diary
10th Oct 2018:by Jon MonksIn 2018 we ran our first guided trip along the Yorkshire Dales section of the coast to coast trail. We received great feedback and therefore we will again be running the same trip next year - more ...
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Dales Way - Photo diary
24th Sep 2018:by Jon MonksAndrew Johnson recently walked the Dales way with us, This is his third Shepherds walks holiday this year with us. He took some truly stunning pictures. I hope you enjoy them...
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Top 10 List for Walking Hadrians Wall
19th Sep 2018:by Jon MonksTake heart if you’ve considered walking Hadrian’s Wall and were concerned about the effort. I’m fifty-five years-old, slightly overweight and started in the gym only six weeks before the walk. ...
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Cumbria Way – Jonathan and April Cox
7th Apr 2018:by Jon MonksCox As the clocks changed we readied ourselves for the Cumbria Way over 5 days. Little did we know the weather would be mostly clear blue skies with so many lambs jumping around in the fields….....
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The Dales Way – BBC Ramblings
21st Dec 2017:by Jon MonksA few years ago Clare Balding walked the Dales Way for a series of Ramblings, it gave a great insight into this long distance trail.The Dales Way, Part One - listen hereRamblings, Episode 1 of 6Clare ...
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Berwickshire Coastal Path - Dodds group
13th Dec 2017:by Jon MonksIn 2007 Jean and I signed up with Shepherds Walks for their very first Hadrian’s Wall walk with 17 of our active friends. To celebrate our 10th anniversary of that walk (in addition to our 50th ...
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St. Cuthbert’s Way Highlights Walk, August 2017
5th Sep 2017:by Jon MonksWe approached this holiday with some trepidation as well as enthusiasm, as we had got very out of walking practice and were anticipating we might have to resort to taxis for part of it! However, no ...
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Northumberland Coast Path - photo diary - Aug 2017
24th Aug 2017:by Jon MonksAndrew Johnson recently walked the Northumberland Coastal Path with us, he took some truly stunning pictures. I hope you enjoy them...
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Hadrians Wall - guided trip - June 2017
29th Jun 2017:by Jon MonksSaturday 17 June We meet up with our Tour Leader Patrick Norris from Shepherds Walk and like minded Walkers. Four Americans, Blanca, Olga, John and Andrea Two Britons, Wendy and Pamela and of ...
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Dales Way, Solo walker - June 2017
13th Jun 2017:by Jon MonksYou will be delighted to know that I have returned from a successful trek in one piece, without any aches or pains. I am preparing a power point presentation The following is a brief summary of the ...
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Hadrian's Wall - highlights - May 2017
17th May 2017:by Jon MonksIt has always been a wish of mine to walk Hadrians Wall and this year I decided to try the Shepherds Guided Hadrians Highlights walk. Everything was perfect. I was joined by my sister and a lovely ...
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St Cuthbert's Way - highlights
19th Apr 2017:by Jon MonksSt Cuthbert's Way Day 1 - We set off with our 2 dogs on Dere Street - a Roman Road. The first day was a wonderful mix of tranquil woods, stunning views, quiet lanes and a super bit of Riever ...
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Sole Walkers
27th Mar 2017:by Jon MonksSole walkers – Shepherds Walks HolidaysOver recent years we have shied away from taking bookings from sole walkers on our self-guided walking holidays for a number of reasons. The main one of these ...
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Thanks for 2016 and a look forward to 2017
15th Dec 2016:by Jon MonksA very big thank you for all your support and positive feedback on our walking holidays you have taken with Shepherds Walks Holidays in 2016.We have had the best year ever and it’s great that people...
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But who was St Oswald?
20th Oct 2016:by Jon MonksIn the steps of St Oswald........possibly Oswald’s Way is a 97 mile trail in Northumberland which opened in 2006. It was originally an initiative of the church council at Embleton, though it is not...
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Northumberland Coast and Berwickshire Coastal Path
28th Sep 2016:by Jon MonksNine days of walking, 8 of which were dry and mostly brilliantly sunny, 11 nights away in 9 different b&bs or small hotels, 17 different kinds of fish eaten (including 6 kipper breakfasts), more ...
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Guided trip along St Cuthbert's Way - Yetholm to Wooler
21st Sep 2016:by Jon MonksJackie, who manages Shepherds Walks Holidays headed out with the guided St Cuthbert's Way group this week to experience at first hand what it is like on one of our guided trips. She had a superb day ...
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St Cuthbert's Way - Guided - July 2016
12th Sep 2016:by Jon MonksSome great pictures from our July guided walking holiday along St Cuthbert's Way...
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Coast Path Passport
1st Sep 2016:by Jon MonksNorthumberland Coast Path Passport. This year the Northumberland Coast Path Passport has been introduced for walkers. The passport will end up being a treasured possession, a great reminder of all ...
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Berwickshire Coastal Path - our holiday
31st Aug 2016:by Jon MonksBerwickshire Coastal Path: 14th to 18th July 2016While walking at St. Abbs Head, on a visit to a friend who lives in the Scottish Borders I picked up the leaflet on the coastal path, at the community ...
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St Cuthbert's Way - the pictures
21st Jul 2016:by Jon MonksLast week we had two of the Shepherds Walks guides walk St Cuthbert's Way before they led a guided group along the same trail this weekend. The pictures below are the pictures taken on route (in ...
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Hadrian's wall - Self guided - sadly cut short
19th Jul 2016:by Jon MonksThe Smithsonian magazine had published a piece about walking along Hadrian's Wall after the national trail opened the path. And it took us only years to finally make definite plans to actually walk ...
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Hadrian's Wall - the professional shots
7th Jul 2016:by Jon MonksLast week we commisioned a professional photographer to spend a day out with our guided trip on Hadrian's Wall. As with all our guided walks on Hadrian's Wall the packed lunches, packed full of local...
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Northumberland Coast Highlights - blog
7th Jul 2016:by Jon MonksNorthumberland Coast Highlights, 11th-14th June 2016Geoff & Kath RobertsFor many years we have wanted to visit Northumberland for a holiday and for the past few years we thought we might try a walking...
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Hadrian's Wall - Self guided
28th Jun 2016:by Jon MonksA short pice and pictures after completed one of our self guided walking trips along Hadrian's Wall, a great time was had by all. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk on Hadrian's Wall. Attached are a few ...
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Yorkshire Dales – Three Peaks in three days
17th May 2016:by Jon MonksFriday 6th May – Arrival dayWow what weather, these were my thoughts as I was driving down to Ingleton to guide the famous Yorkshire Dales Three peaks.After meeting the group in the evening we had a...
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Supporting the Hadrian’s Wall Trail
15th May 2016:by Jon MonksShepherds Walks Holidays is supporting the Hadrian’s Wall Trail.Although these are generally testing times for England's National Trails (their budget is around 50% less than it was 3 years ago) ...
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John Clayton
21st Apr 2016:by Jon MonksJohn Clayton (1792-1890) is the man who saved much of the wall that we see today.He was the town clerk of Newcastle upon Tyne, a lawyer and antiquarian. His contribution to excavating and protecting ...
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15% discount at Cotswold Outdoor
18th Apr 2016:by Jon MonksIn recognition of your valued support, Shepherds Walks Holidays has negotiated a special discount for you to use at Cotswold Outdoor. We are delighted to offer you 15% off the full retail value of ...
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Tony Robinson on his 4 day walk along St Cuthbert's Way.
5th Apr 2016:by Jon MonksThis superb ducumentry follows Tony Robinson on his 4 day walk along St Cuthbert's Way. He looks into Northumberland and the mysterious heart of the Dark Ages, to a time when the huge Kingdom of ...
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Archived newsletters
5th Apr 2016:by Jon MonksI very much hope you enjoy the Shepherds Walks Holidays newsletter. These keep you up to date with everything going on at Shepherds Walks Holidays including new walking holidays, late availability ...
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St Cuthbert's Cave
2nd Apr 2016:by Jon MonksSt Cuthbert's Cave, known locally as Cuddy's Cave or Cove is a natural sandstone cave formed by overhanging rock that has been associated with Saint Cuthbert. The cave features on the Cuthbert Way ...
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Hadrian's Wall - Virtual Trail
23rd Mar 2016:by Jon MonksVirtual versions of Hadrian's Wall and the Pennine Way has recently been added to Google Street View.The Northumberland National Park Authority walked the trail that runs through the park and ...
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Places to visit when walking the Hadrians Wall Trail
3rd Mar 2016:by Jon MonksWhen walking the Hadrian’s Wall Path there are some great Roman sites to stop off at and visit on Hadrian’s Wall. This is not a comprehensive list of all the sites to visit on Hadrian’s Wall ...
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Detailed trip notes on all our walking holidays in 2016
18th Feb 2016:by Jon MonksThe question we get asked again and again are where are the places to eat, toilets, shops, banks and places to visit on Hadrian’s Wall, St Cuthbert’s Way, St Oswald’s Way and the Northumberland ...
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It is 10 years since St Oswalds way was first opened to the public
11th Feb 2016:by Jon MonksIt is 10 years since St Oswalds way was first opened to the public, so how did it all beginTen years ago we had district councils in Northumberland before they all got unified a few year later. There ...
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GPS navigation basics
9th Feb 2016:by Jon MonksAs you may know Shepherds Walks Holidays are offering a loan GPS unit with all our self-guided walking holidays in 2016 So what are the basics of GPS navigation and how can this help you when out ...
Read OnHadrian's Wall guided trip - the blog
9th Feb 2016:by Jon MonksWalk – Bowness on Solway to Crosby on Eden We had all met over in Newcastle the previous day and after a good first evening in the hotel we were all ready to start our journey along the wall the ...
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Three Peaks in three days - the blog
8th Feb 2016:by Jon MonksWhat a great trip we had completing the Yorkshire Dales Three Peaks in Three Days Day One: Whernside “The Roof of Yorkshire” 736m/2415ft A somewhat damp start from Ribblehead but “after a ...
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Safe crossing over to Holy Island - St Cuthbert's and St Oswald's Way
8th Feb 2016:by Jon MonksOn both St Oswald’s Way and St Cuthbert’s Way you will walk over one of my favourite three miles in the world, this is the route across the Pilgrims Causeway onto Holy Island, is one of the best ...
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Plan a walking holiday along the Hadrians Wall Trail
6th Feb 2016:by Jon MonksThe Hadrian’s Wall Trail is 84 miles in length and is one of the most iconic long distance trails in the UK.To plan a walk along the Hadrian’s Wall Trail you need to take a number of things into ...
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January competition - the winners
1st Feb 2016:by Jon MonksThroughout January we have been running a competition at Shepherds Walks Holidays.If you answered the question correctly you could win yourself a walking holiday in the Yorkshire Dales and lots of ...
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Locally made picnic lunches - Hadrian's Wall guided trips
16th Dec 2015:by Jon MonksNew for 2016 on guided Hadrian’s Wall trips – locally made picnic lunches On all our guided walking holidays on Hadrian’s Wall in 2016 we are going to have fresh locally made picnic lunches ...
Read OnSt Oswald's Way - A radio view
8th Dec 2015:by Jon MonksBack in 2009, shortly after being launched St Oswald’s Way was featured on Ramblings on Radio 4.St Oswald's Way is a 97-mile route, running from Holy Island in the north, along the stunning ...
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New holiday for 2016 - Berwickshire Coastal Path
7th Dec 2015:by Jon MonksMost people walk up the Northumberland Coast and stop at Berwick upon Tweed, little do they know what they are missing out on. The coastline North of Berwick is truly stunning but be warned it is not...
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Dog friendly walking holidays
10th Nov 2015:by Jon MonksWe are pleased to announce that for 2016 we will be offering dog friendly walking holidays on our self-guided walks. We have been working hard, putting together dog friendly accommodations which will ...
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Loan a GPS on all our walking holidays in 2016
9th Nov 2015:by Jon MonksLet’s take the stress out of your walking holiday. For all our self-led walking holidays in 2016 we are giving you the option to use one of our outdoor GPS units to help you navigate along the long...
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