The Palladian Way seems a good idea. It’s a long-distance (123 miles) footpath from Stowe in Buckinghamshire to Bath, devised by Guy Vowles, a Stowe’old boy’ and prodigious walker.
The landscape gardens and buildings at Stowe are one of the glories of the Palladian era, and a walk linking them to Prior Park in Bath, via Blenheim, Barnsley and Cirencester, promises many delights.
The author admits that he didn’t know much about Palladian architecture, nor, indeed, classical building design, but happened on the idea by accident while chatting to a friend who went to school at Prior Park, which has a Palladian bridge rather like the one at Stowe.
When he walked past Wafic Said’s Palladian-style house at Tusmore, Vowles thought it looked very clean, and had to be told by a fellow walker that it was built just a few years ago.
However, the walks are well described, and the final stretch into Bath looks breathtaking. His book The Palladian Way (Reardon, £10.99 or £9.99 from www.guysrambles. co.uk) describes ten days of walking, with most days covering more than 11 miles — too much for many walkers.
I suspect only a few ambitious souls will take on the whole route, but it could provide inspiration for architectural rambles. My only (perhaps pedantic) quibble is that the author seems to have a blindspot on use of the apostrophe. Perhaps he’s been too busy walking.
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