Literature and hiking aren’t seemingly connected, but it’s not uncommon for these hobbyists to overlap and enjoy both pastimes. England, Scotland, and Greece are all countries with a rich history of literature, and so these will be the focus of how to tie two hobbies together into a holiday of literary landscapes.
England: Shakespeare’s Country
The Cotswold Way is a great place to start, it’s one of England’s most literary long-distance paths, stretching around 100 miles from Chipping Campden to Bath. This week-long adventure begins tantalizingly close to Stratford-upon-Avon, where a short detour reveals Shakespeare’s birthplace and the inspiration for the Forest of Arden in As You Like It. The honey-coloured villages and ancient woodlands are the quintessential experience of the English countryside that so many literary works are inspired by.
As you follow the Thames to the East of the Cotswolds, the Thames Path is a 184-mile trail from the source to the Thames Barrier and passes Runnymede, which is where King John sealed the Magna Carta in 1215 – a document that would influence constitutional thought for centuries. The path continues all through Oxford, inspiring countless writers from Lewis Carroll to Philip Pullman, before it eventually reaches the London of Dickens and many other literary giants.
For those wanting to experience England’s dramatic coastlines, Cornwall’s section of the South West Coast Path winds through Daphne du Maurier country. The steep and relentless cliffs around Fowey are the setting for Rebecca and Jamaica Inn.
Scotland: Burns, Scott, and Highland romance
Scotland’s West Highland Way is perhaps the most poetic 96-mile journey in Britain. It begins in Milngavie and ends in Fort William, and this five-to-seven-day trek goes through the landscapes that were immortalised by Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. The route goes around Loch Lomond, where Burns wrote “The Banks of Loch Lomond,” and continues through Rob Roy MacGregor’s territory, a historical figure who inspired Scott’s famous novel.
The Southern Upland Way has a more intimate encounter with Burns country as it heads 212 miles of the Borders and Dumfries & Galloway. This is a very challenging ten-day hike, and it passes near Burns’ birthplace in Alloway, then through the hills that inspired his poetry about Scottish rural life.
Greece: Mythological paths
Greece offers an entirely different literary walking experience, where mythology mixes with history on ancient mountain paths. The Mount Olympus trail network allows hikers to climb the legendary home of the gods over several days, camping beneath stars that once guided Odysseus home.
The Mani Peninsula in the Peloponnese is a week-long journey through the scenes straight from Homer’s Odyssey. Remote Byzantine churches and traditional stone towers sit on hills that share tales of ancient heroes – these stories go back not hundreds of years, but thousands, and there are few places on earth with rich literature dating back this far.
These literary landscapes are a great combination as they boost our mental and physical health while also being a lesson in culture and history. Writers often couldn’t travel far, and so they were deeply inspired by their hometowns and local nature. We can become inspired, too, by taking the time to spend a week’s vacation in these stunning settings.
