WALKING books can be a great way to enjoy a day out in the country — especially if they include clear routes, helpful hints and easy-to-follow directions.

Halsgrove has just published three new walking guides in its 'A Boot Up' series — each in full colour, which will be a handy companion to anyone enjoying a ramble in Devon and Cornwall.

Each book includes ten 'leisure walks of discovery,' which are aptly named, as none are particularly long or arduous, and all have interesting anecdotes, and pointers to historic or quirky landmarks to keep an eye out for.

A Boot Up Dartmoor Rivers, by John Earle, (ISBN 978-1-906887-70-4) covers ten of the Dartmoor rivers, including the West Okement, the Taw, Teign, Plym, Dart, Tavy, Meavy and West Dart. It includes lovely colour pictures of some of Dartmoor's most beautiful stretches of water, and really entices the reader to get their boots on and head for the hills.

A Boot Up The Tamar Valley is written by Terry Faull (ISBN978-1-906887-64-3). The walks in this book range from one in South East Cornwall, from Cargreen, and those which meander up and away from the river border between Cornwall and Devon, to the final one in the book, just a mile long, in which 'secret source of the Tamar' is discovered.

Terry Faull has also written A Boot Up North Cornwall's Sites of Magic and Mystery (ISBN 978-1-906887-93-3).

None of the walks in this edition are more than five miles long, and take in some of North Cornwall's most dramatic scenery, as well as hidden valleys and historic landmarks.

All the walks in the three books are given a 'boot grading' from one to three, depending on their degree of difficulty, from easy, through moderate, to challenging.

The map symbols indicate places for refreshments, pubs and toilets and include Ordnance Survey map references for each starting point.

Although the books are hardback, they are only small, around postcard sized, so could fit in a large pocket or bumbag, if walking without a backpack.

They are available from bookshops priced at £4.99 each, or from Halsgrove Direct on 01823 653777.