Introducing Wanderlust Europe: Europe’s best trails

Today I’m pleased to announce the publication of a new book, Wanderlust Europe, which I co-edited with gestalten.

Over the last year, I’ve been working on something special with the team at German publisher gestalten. They approached me in September 2019 with a simple request: would I like to co-edit the latest title in the Wanderlust series of coffee-table hiking books? I jumped at the chance. The result is Wanderlust Europe: The Great European Hike, published today.

Wanderlust Europe began with the task of compiling a list of Europe’s best hikes. We wanted to include journeys from northern, central, eastern, western and southern Europe, plus a few island adventures (Iceland was even deemed within the project’s scope). It took a while to narrow the original longlist down to thirty final candidates, each of which would form a complete chapter, plus an additional twenty-one bonus tracks. There’s a great breadth of variety in the final list, from multi-week wilderness backpacking tours to far more accessible journeys. We wanted to include something for everyone. Spectacular landscapes and a dose of magic beyond the ordinary were the unifying themes.

The final list is a result of close collaboration between myself and the rest of the team, but I’m glad that I was able to include routes I feel passionately about: the Cape Wrath Trail, the Tour of Monte Rosa, the Mercantour Traverse, the Lochaber Traverse, and more.

We couldn’t have created this book without the work of so many photographic contributors, so my thanks go to everyone who has supplied images. Check out this blog post from Andy Wasley, who supplied stunning photography for several chapters. The book also features dozens of my own photographs from throughout the UK and Europe, including some of my personal favourites.

More than any other project I’ve worked on, this has been a team effort. In addition to our photographers, I’ve worked with a talented team at gestalten. This is very much their project and I’m grateful that they approached me to help turn it from idea into printed reality.

In some respects this now feels like a book from our old reality, when global travel was easier and our horizons larger. But it’s important to dream, isn’t it? And those mountains aren’t going anywhere.

Buy the book here in hardback.

The routes

Here is the complete list of hikes featured in Wanderlust Europe:

Western Europe

• The Pennine Way, England
• The Kerry Way, Ireland
• The Cape Wrath Trail, West Highlands, Scotland
• Rothiemurchus Forest and Ryvoan Pass, Cairngorms, Scotland
• The Lochaber Traverse, West Highlands, Scotland

Bonus section:

• Great Gable, Lake District, England
• The Dingle Way, Ireland
• The Mourne Wall Walk, Northern Ireland
• The Three Sisters of Glen Coe, West Highlands, Scotland

Eastern Europe

• Baltic Coastal Hiking Route, Latvia and Estonia
• Făgăraş Mountains Traverse, Romania
• The Menalon Trail, Greece
• The Slovene Mountain Trail, Slovenia
• Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
• The Transcaucasian Trail, Georgia

Bonus section:

• The Polonya Borzhava Traverse, Ukraine
• Mount Olympus, Greece
• Białowieża Forest, Poland
• Kom-Emine, Bulgaria
• Omu Peak, Romania

Northern Europe

• Nordkalottleden, Norway, Sweden and Finland
• Kungsleden, Swedish Lapland
• The Hornstrandir Trail, Iceland
• The Kerlingarfjöll Circle Route, Iceland

Bonus section:

• Skaftafell, Iceland
• The Besseggen Ridge, Jotunheimen, Norway
• The Hetta-Pallas Trail, Finland
• The Karhunkierros Trail, Finland
• The Camøno Trail, Denmark

Southern Europe

• The Mercantour Traverse, Maritime Alps, France and Italy
• The GR221 Dry Stone Route, Mallorca
• The GR131, La Palma
• The Ordesa Canyon, Pyrenees, Spain
• The Canigou Traverse, Pyrenees, France
• The GR20, Corsica
• Pico de Aneto, Pyrenees, Spain

Bonus section:

• Veredo do Arieiro (PR1), Madeira
• Mont Granier, Chartreuse, France
• The Torrent de Pareis Gorge Walk, Mallorca
• Mont Buet, Western Alps, France
• The Jermoso Traverse, Picos de Europa, Spain

Central Europe

• The Western Brenta Circuit, Dolomites, Italy
• The Tre Cime Circuit, Dolomites, Italy
• The Rheinsteig Trail, Middle Rhine, Germany
• The Harz Border Trail, Harz Mountains, Germany
• The Tour of Monte Rosa, Western Alps, Switzerland and Italy
• The GR57 Valée de l’Ourthe and Sentier du Nord, Ardenees, Belgium and Luxembourg
• The Mettelhorn, Western Alps, Switzerland
• The Alpine Pass Route (Via Alpina 1), Switzerland

Bonus section:

• Imbachhorn, Salzburg, Austria
• The Adlerweg, Tyrol, Austria

The book

Wanderlust Europe

The Great European Hike

By gestalten and Alex Roddie

Published 15 September 2020

Europe offers an astonishing variety of scenic landscapes and some of the most enchanting trails to explore them. Wanderlust Europe takes you from the Scottish Highlands to endless amber beaches of the Baltic Sea, from the Scandinavian tundra, the majestic peaks of the Alps, the pristine peaks of the Balkans, to the rugged coastal mountains of the Mediterranean islands, and along the romantic valley of the Rhine river.

Wanderlust Europe points the reader in the direction of the continent’s most awe-inspiring routes. Offering expert knowledge on how best to experience the wild outdoors, this stimulating manual traverses far-reaching locales in pursuit of breathtaking beauty and a sense of freedom. Combining first-hand tips with informative maps and an array of spectacular photography, this book is a welcome addition to the Wanderlust series and for anyone with an urge to connect with the great outdoors.

With outdoor enthusiast Alex Roddie on how best to experience nature’s majesty, this book offers long-distance trekking, short-day trips, and extended weekend escapades for hikers of all levels. Explore the world one step at a time with Wanderlust Europe.