Where is Paddy Dillon in 2024?
Paddy Dillon walks hard for a living and is always juggling a variety of projects. His work can take him anywhere, and at any time of the year. Next destination - Everywhere!
Treks and Trails - Paddy enjoyed some interesting trips during 2023. The early part of the year was spent in the Lake District, checking walks around Coniston and Langdale for a new guidebook. Three projects were commissioned by Natural Resources Wales, spread throughout the year, involving checking walks on Glyndwr's Way, Offa's Dyke Path and the Wales Coast Path. A short trip to Normandy in France was made with the sole aim of visiting the Iles Chausey. The Yorkshire Wolds Way and Cleveland Way were walked in order to update a guidebook covering those trails. The same was done with the Pennine Way.
Scotland's Great Glen Way and the Isle of Arran have been visited this year. Six weeks during the summer were spent trekking end to end through the French Alps, focussing on the GR5 trail and its variants.
Guidebook projects - Paddy updated several of his guidebooks throughout 2023. The first completely new edition of a guidebook published was Tenerife, which has been completely overhauled, with new walks, new mapping and new photographs. Paddy's popular guidebook to the Isle of Arran has also been overhauled and now includes the Arran Coastal Way. A selection of Paddy's photographs of Greenland and Iceland appeared in the Wanderlust Nordics book. A new edition of his Guernsey guidebook was also published. His latest guidebook, published in January 2024, covers short walks around Langdale and Coniston. An updated edition of the Cleveland Way and Yorkshire Wolds Way has just been published.
Out and About - Paddy finds the time to visit all sorts of odd places for short periods throughout the year. Recently he has been exploring stretches of the England Coast Path, which is slowly taking shape as stretches of the coastline are given improved access, signposts and waymarks. One signpost spotted on his travels notes the rebranding of the trail as the King Charles III England Coast Path.
The English Lake District - The Lake District is on Paddy's doorstep and is visited regularly throughout the year to keep abreast of route changes and other developments, and because it is one of the finest places anyone could ever wish to walk! Paddy's guidebook to the long-distance Cumbria Way starts in his home town of Ulverston.