Walk! the Costa Blanca Mountains

This is a lively and well-written book full of interesting facts about walking in the Costa Blanca Mountains. The layout is excellent and the directions and distances are good. Not much more to be said.

We took this book with us on our recent climbing/walking holiday in Costa Blanca and found it invaluable. It is far superior to another 2 publications of the same area which we had with us. Charles Davis descriptions of the walks are superb. They have enough detail to ensure that we did not get lost and his witty anecdotes had us smiling on several occasions. We love the fact that you can walk the routes as described, shorten them or even cobble them together with other routes to tailor them to your own abilities. We even used some of the walks as approaches to climb mountains which appeared on the map but which were not covered in the book The selection of walks is also first class, with walks of various grades and lengths. We have used DWG guides on several holidays and were not disappointed with this new edition. The accompanying map is also well worth purchasing and is head and shoulders above the already available "Mapa Topografico Nacional" maps. You can also store the routes in your GPS but to be honest, the descriptions of the walks are so good that these became almost surplus to our requirements! I would recommend this book and map to anyone who is considering a walking holiday in the Costa Blanca Mountains.

While this book has much to offer (attractive presentation, great selection of walks, availability of tailor-made companion map and other positives referred to by previous reviewers) I must point out some discrepancies and difficulties we experienced on a very recent trip to this wonderful walking area. Davis, who in the main is highly readable, has a most frustrating habit of "jumping the gun" and referring to future parts of walks that you haven't yet reached - so you start prematurely looking for turn-offs before they are due! Some of his descriptions are ambiguous (one walk where we were supposed to meet a local walk - the PR9 - where it ascends could be easily seen only if you were walking backwards! i.e. you meet the trail at a sharp angle after it has descended. Another walk from Sella was claimed to have 2 refreshment stops but there was only one. Walk 8 to the top of Aitana raised a number of issues. Firstly the author said the original starting point (near the Military Gate) could no longer be recommended without giving a satisfactory reason (there's no problem finding parking there!) and later on he makes so many references to climbing to the east of the military installations that we set off up a very clear track (not mentioned in his text) which got us to the same point but now out of synch with the instructions. Davis also failed to take into account that some people wishing to do this walk may be staying in Sella, or to the south of Aitana, which then turns his starting point at Confrides into an hour long drive before you even access the start. We did 4 of the books walks and a couple of these included scrambles through rocks where the author neglected to mention that extreme care needed to be taken. These were not dangerous but some warning would have been preferable. Towards the end of Walk 4 near Finestrat (which Davis rightly regards as one of the best walks in the area) there is a reference to a track running east (which is in the direction of Benidorm - surely worth mentioning as a useful landmark!) whereas in fact there is a clear path south down to the waymarked trail 40 or so metres below you, and the east instruction only creates confusion. The map of the walk around Sella (No. 5) whilst easy to negotiate only showed 12 of the 19 waymarked points indicated in the text. We noticed the same omission in one of the other walks. I also suspect that his timings are a bit off as they underestimate the time taken to negotiate slopes (he does state that they are walking times only) The walks here are GPS friendly which is a huge bonus for those who use it. This appears to be the best English guide to the area, and I will use it again (at the earliest opportunity!). We eventually concluded that the instructions had to be read BEFORE (and not during) the walk, and matched to the map by way of preparation and this ironed out some of the problems referred to above. Most of the trails are very well marked but some of the authors original suggestions (which are highly welcome and expertly chosen) suffer from poorer marking with very worn paint dabs!

I have now used 'Walk!' guides and maps in The Costa Blanca, Majorca and La Gomera and would highly recommend them. The walks have been carefully researched and are clearly and succinctly described, without waffle. Charles Davis has a witty and intelligent writing style which enhances the pleasure of planning a walk. I find it especially helpful to know that a particular walk is the best in an area 'if you only have time for one', or the 'greatest reward for minimal effort'. The ratings are helpful and unambiguous and Charles' comments are useful for selecting an appropriate walk for the time available, or suitable terrain for the participants involved.Overall, an excellent series of guidebooks which I will continue to use and recommend!

Highly recommended; I have now used this book on two trips to the Costa Blanca. It is certainly the best of the guide books which I have seen for the area. The hills are complex and rugged in parts so it might be best to try some of the shorter routes to get a feel for the terrain. I would strongly suggest using it in conjunction with the Costa Blanca Mountains Tour and Trail map, both for planning and orientation when walking. I also used the digital version of the map on my Garmin Montana; very useful for checking that you have found the correct starting point for the route as well as following progress.