Helen Peacocke, who has been a food writer for The Oxford Times for many years, teamed up with her border collie Pythius to write a series of books about pub walks in Oxfordshire and the surrounding areas, writes Maggie Hartford.

The latest book in the series, Paws in the Cotswolds (Wychwood, £9.99), ranges from the lavender fields of Snowshill to the Rollright stones and the haunted village of Prestbury. Each walk includes at least one pub, recommended for its food, beer and the welcome it gives to Pythius, who shares his unique canine assessment of the facilities.

Many of the walks follow in the footsteps of notable people, including Jane Austen, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Nancy Mitford, William Morris, JRR Tolkien and Laurie Lee.

Sadly, Pythius died after the book was written, but before it was published. He is pictured above in one of the delightful illustrations by artist Sue Mynall, of Radley, enjoying the view from May Hill in Gloucestershire during a walk in the footsteps of the war poet Ivor Gurney.

Many of the walks are nearer to Oxford, including one featuring the Plough at Finstock, where the first Paws book was launched in 2009.

There are no maps but the walks are short — usually about two miles — and each route is described in some detail.

Fortunately for dog-walkers, there may well be a fifth in the series, since Helen has just adopted a young border collie called Barnaby.