Walk of the town

SOME years ago, former brewery manager Mark Reid decided to leave the comforts of a salaried job and literally step out on his own. The keen walker from Harrogate chose to combine his love of the outdoor life with his love of beer. He would write walking guides with routes that took in some of the finest pubs on the dales and moors.

InnWay Publications was born. And it proved a hit with everyone who had a thirst for Yorkshire's stunning landscape and its best ales.

Everything was going well. He was planning a six month tour of Northumberland to research an InnWay guide to the area, starting in April. The accommodation was booked.

Then, out of nowhere, came the disease that was to pull him up in his tracks.

"It happened overnight," Mark recalled ruefully. "I remember the last walk I did. I went away with my girlfriend in Northumberland for Valentine's weekend.

"A week afterwards, it was on the news: foot and mouth. They said they're closing all the footpaths as a measure to try to control the spread of it.

"It was obvious then what the implications were for the whole rural economy."

But no one was prepared for how bad it would become. As well as the devastation to farmers, the Yorkshire Tourist Board reckons regional tourism has so far lost £300 million.

For Mark, this translated from an annual 40 per cent increase in his business to a drop in book sales of 87 per cent. And he is all-too aware of how his heartland is suffering.

"People aren't going walking in the dales. The knock-on effects are that people are not buying boots, they're not buying clothing, they're not spending money in dales' pubs, cafs and shops.

"People don't know, they don't realise. People are going bust."

Mark was not about to see his own business go belly-up. As you might expect, this single-minded man decided to put his best foot forward.

The result is his new book, launched in the idyllic surroundings of Treasurer's House in York this week. Written with support from the North Yorkshire Foot & Mouth Disease Fund, Town Trails: North Yorkshire is a collection of 25 walks around the towns and cities of the county.

Safe from the foot and mouth restrictions, Mark set about discovering what the urban environment had to offer the walker. And, starting in Northallerton, he was delighted by what he found.

"I suddenly realised there was a lot to see. I didn't know there were the remains of a castle at Northallerton. There were two friarages, including one where the Friarage Hospital is now."

He researched a different town each week, walking around, talking to local people, discovering the historic buildings, the alleyways, the unique shops. And, naturally, he popped into the pubs: Mark was particularly delighted to stumble upon one of York's hidden gems, the Minster Inn on Marygate.

What with pubs and teashops featuring prominently on some routes, "people will probably put on weight from these walks," he jokes.

Strolling around town might be different from yomping around the countryside, but in fact "you come away still tired. If you've walked around York for three hours, it's still a good walk.

"The book is aimed at people who live in North Yorkshire and who, like me, didn't realise there was so much to see and learn about places."

Mark hopes that his book will persuade people to visit many of the towns which have been badly affected by foot and mouth, such as Thirsk, Settle, Hawes, Leyburn and Skipton, bringing much-needed revenue to small businesses.

Each town walk includes a fact file, a map and a detailed commentary from Mark, illustrated by the line drawings of John A Ives of York.

Mark is now planning to compile Town Trails of both Northumberland and County Durham. He hopes to start researching his InnWay guide to Northumberland next year when, hopefully, foot and mouth is eradicated.

Mark has enjoyed his diversion into the towns, but it was something he had never planned. "Isn't it ironic that I set out to write walking books that encouraged sustainable tourism and now I am trying to survive by writing urban walks," he said.