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Product Description
Product Description
The guide offers 30 walks based on the once strategically important castles that dominate the foothills of the Pyrenees. Each walk has as its focal point a castle or other location associated with Cathar history (mostly the 13th century). Summaries of the historical connections of each location with the Cathar period are given, and together these relate the story of the downfall of the Cathar Church, from the massacre in B�ziers in 1209 to the siege at Monts�gur in 1244, which ended with the burning alive of over 200 believers who refused to renounce their Cathar faith.
9781852844233 has only one edition published in 2005, although it has been reprinted in June 2011.
About the Author
Alan Mattingly was director of the Ramblers' Association from 1974 to 1998. He has also held various other posts in the outdoor field, including that of chairman of the Council for National Parks. He is now based in a small town in the eastern Pyrenees which lies just below the 9,000ft Pic du Canigou. When not exploring the Pyrenees on foot, Alan writes and also teaches English.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is based on a great idea; walking & history. He describes walks supposedly to visit Cathar castles in SW France. There is a good overview of the history of the Cathar Crusade & of the history of individual castles. He even lays out the walks in a historical order. The mapping is lively bright & easy to read.
However, it has shortfalls as a field guide for walking, which were irritatingly apparent as soon I tried to choose my first walks. Many of us are short of time when we go on walking trips & I only bought this guide the day before I left home, so had no time to study it in detail before I got there. So I was hoping to extract enough information from the map & summaries to make my choices, but this was not possible. The notation on the maps is not disciplined, which means that you have sometimes to read much of a route description before you can decide to reject a route & look for another. Walks are described on the maps by numbers, so you would expect to start at 0 or 'start' or 1. Most do start at 1, but not all. Sometimes they start at 10 for example. A good example of guidebooks which do convey key information at a glance are the Rother guides e.g Camino de Santiago - Camino frances from the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compestela. Rother Walking Guide. Cicerone could learn from them.
Although the text in this guide provides good information it can be verbose & repetitive; for example the author sometimes includes a lengthy 'navigation' section as well as a route description - thus creating repetion & requiring the reader to flick backwards & forwards between sections. Excellent examples of succinct route descriptions dovetailed into clear mapping can be found in the later Vertabrate Graphics guides Peak District Mountain Biking: Dark Peak Trails. On one walk I found that the route description did not match what was 'on the ground' at all in the early stages (North Nebias after the windmill).
Interstingly on the back of the guide it clearly states that 'each walk visits a castle' or monument. This is not true - so in many cases you need to allow extra time for a castle visit or you need to drive off in your car to find the castle afterwards.
Once you have got used to the guide & understand its faults, you can warm to it as I did & I'm certainly glad I bought it for the focus it gave to my holiday. However, it could have been so much better with more decipline in the mapping & route descriptions. Three stars only.
However, it has shortfalls as a field guide for walking, which were irritatingly apparent as soon I tried to choose my first walks. Many of us are short of time when we go on walking trips & I only bought this guide the day before I left home, so had no time to study it in detail before I got there. So I was hoping to extract enough information from the map & summaries to make my choices, but this was not possible. The notation on the maps is not disciplined, which means that you have sometimes to read much of a route description before you can decide to reject a route & look for another. Walks are described on the maps by numbers, so you would expect to start at 0 or 'start' or 1. Most do start at 1, but not all. Sometimes they start at 10 for example. A good example of guidebooks which do convey key information at a glance are the Rother guides e.g Camino de Santiago - Camino frances from the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compestela. Rother Walking Guide. Cicerone could learn from them.
Although the text in this guide provides good information it can be verbose & repetitive; for example the author sometimes includes a lengthy 'navigation' section as well as a route description - thus creating repetion & requiring the reader to flick backwards & forwards between sections. Excellent examples of succinct route descriptions dovetailed into clear mapping can be found in the later Vertabrate Graphics guides Peak District Mountain Biking: Dark Peak Trails. On one walk I found that the route description did not match what was 'on the ground' at all in the early stages (North Nebias after the windmill).
Interstingly on the back of the guide it clearly states that 'each walk visits a castle' or monument. This is not true - so in many cases you need to allow extra time for a castle visit or you need to drive off in your car to find the castle afterwards.
Once you have got used to the guide & understand its faults, you can warm to it as I did & I'm certainly glad I bought it for the focus it gave to my holiday. However, it could have been so much better with more decipline in the mapping & route descriptions. Three stars only.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
We have a variety of holidaying needs in our extended family. This suited us, as casual walkers, my brother in law who hikes as a blood sport and our daughter who likes the history content of an area. Another Cicerone success.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Handy and compact it's great for taking on tour with you as it doesn't take up much space. It's full of interesting facts and the walks have clear instructions. Can't wait to use it!!
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