**Excerpt** When temperatures soar, there are better places to walk than crowded beaches and sun-baked lanes. Join Martin Hesp on ten of his favourite West Country walks, where cooling sea breezes, shady woodland, open moorland and peaceful islands make perfect escapes during a summer heatwave.

A haunting visit to Beady Pool on St Agnes in the Isles of Scilly—where 17th-century shipwreck beads washed ashore carry the heavy memory of the transatlantic slave trade.

Perched above Hugh Town on St Mary’s, the Garrison offers one of the most atmospheric short walks in the Isles of Scilly. From 16th-century Elizabethan ramparts and Civil War batteries to sweeping views across to St Agnes and Bishop Rock, this easy hourly circuit gathers centuries of military history and wild coastal scenery into a single pre-dinner promenade.