February Newsletter
from Contours Walking Holidays

Welcome to the February edition of the Contours Walking Holidays Newsletter; sharing everything you need to get you out on the trails and walking in the fabulous UK countryside!

While winter can be an enchanting season, we are certainly looking forward to the coming spring and the abundance of plant and wildlife that emerges around this time. Now is the perfect time to start planning your spring walks, and indeed all of your walks for the rest of the year! Remember that we are always on hand to help you create the perfect walking getaway.

In this newsletter, we have the second part of Christine's Pennine Way Adventure, and regular blogger Nicky Jacquiery returns with her advice for treating blisters - an unfortunately inevitable part of long-distance walking in many cases. As well as this, we have another exciting film to showcase, along with plenty of other interesting news and enticing competitions to keep you entertained. Thanks for reading and happy walking!

Featured Film - Walking the Cotswold Way

The Cotswolds is hailed as one of the most quintessentially English areas of the country, filled with green landscapes, rural vistas and quaint historical villages. Our "Walking the Cotswold Way" film showcases some of the wonderful sights you can find along this amazing trail. Check out the full film below:

Do you have an idea, article or account of your walk that you would like to share? Send an email to newsletter@contours.co.uk to contribute to our newsletter.

Christine's Pennine Way Adventure - Part 2

Here is my continuing diary for the next five days of my amazing Pennine Way journey; covering the central section of the trail from Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Alston. After a fabulous week of dry weather, my luck was about to run out!

Treating Blisters

By Nicky Jacquiery

In my last article I looked at how to prevent blisters, but what should you do if you follow all the precautions and still manage to get a blister when you're out on your walk? A lot depends on where you are at the time. Although you should probably stop walking, rest and give blisters the chance to heal in their own time, clearly if you're out in the middle of a walk you cannot just stop, especially if you're in a remote location and you have to walk back to your car. In this case you need to do what you can to ease the pain and minimise any further damage, so you can at least continue walking. If you know that you're prone to blisters it's sensible to carry appropriate treatment, and by appropriate, I mean what works best for you. Even if you're someone who is not prone to blisters, I would still carry as a minimum some basic supplies for treating them.

Featured Trail: Kennet and Avon Canal

The Kennet and Avon Canal walk is one of our brand new holiday trails, traveling from Reading to Bristol along the South of England. The route follows a major water transport route built over 200 years ago during the heyday of the British canals, and passes through varied landscapes including the chalk hills of the North Wessex Downs in the east, and southern fringes of the Cotswolds in the west.

This fairly easy walk is ideal for those who are just beginning to try long-distance trails, or for more advanced walkers wishing to explore more of the beautiful English countryside and visit the variety of wonderful locations along the way.

Find out more about this trail here.

Featured Posts

The West Highland Way with Contours

Staff at Contours are always heading out on our own walking holidays. This month, our Customer Service Advisor, Christine, set out on the famous West Highland Way.

The route travels from Milngavie to Fort William along an amazing route of mountainous scenery with some challenging terrain. Read on to find out what Christine made of it after her first time walking its full length.
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An Interview with a Loyal Customer - Jonathan Julyan

At Contours we are always excited when a customer comes back and continues to book their holidays with us, and one of our most loyal customers, Jonathan Julyan, has recently booked his 30th Contours Walking Holiday! We recently contacted Jonathan and asked if he would like to be interviewed - as we were sure he would have some wonderful stories and advice to share - and he kindly agreed. Here is what he had to say:
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Previous Newsletter

In last month's newsletter, we announced the launch of a brand new bumper assortment of trails - giving you many more opportunities to discover the Great British countryside - and our 2017 photo, writing and video competitions are now open to enter! We also had guest blogs from regular contributors Nicky Jacquiery and Beth Pipe covering blister prevention and ideal bird-watching spots, as well as our usual bundle of tidbits to enjoy. Thanks for reading and happy walking!
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Flower of the Month

Primrose
(Oenothera)

The primrose is perhaps one of the UK's most familiar and attractive native wildflowers, with its pale yellow flowers and deep yellow centres. The name derives from the Latin prima rosa meaning 'first rose' of the year, despite not actually being a member of the rose family.

This low carpeting perennial begins to bloom from mid-February, and can be found in a variety of woodlands, hedgerows, riverbanks and anywhere that is typically damp with cool, shady spots. The flowers are pollinated by bees and other long-tongued insects, including syrphied flies and butterflies. Combined with its bright colour and general hum of bees often found nearby, the sight of wild primroses blossoming in the grass is a sure sign that spring is on the way.

Did you Know?

It is around this time of year that you are likely to see frogs emerging from their winter hiding places and moving towards their chosen breeding ponds. Many frogs return to the bodies of water where they were born, often resulting in annual migrations involving thousands of frogs. Frog spawn is commonly seen in February; the female lays gelatinous egg masses, containing thousands of eggs, in water. Common Toads breed later than frogs, but will now be migrating to their breeding ponds.

Walker's Showcase

Matt Durfee recently enjoyed a Contours Walking Holiday along the Ayrshire Coastal Path, and kindly sent us this great landscape photo of his journey down the path to Fairlie. We're glad you had a lovely time and that the weather was kind to you, Matt!

Last Month's 'Guess Where?'

Congratulations to Helen Anderson for being the first to correctly identify the Warkworth Castle, as seen on the Northumberland Coast Path.

(click image to zoom)

To be in with a chance of winning a £10 Contours Walking Holidays voucher, why not try this month's 'Guess Where?' below!

Competition Time: 'Guess Where?'

To win this month's competition, can you identify this ruinous medieval castle?