It has been published by Shobrooke Parish Council, having been produced by the council’s footpath warden Fred Harper, with design and illustrations by Phil Keen and colour illustrations by Heather Irvine.
Printed by Hedgerow Print Ltd of Crediton, the leaflet has been funded by Devon County Council through a Locality Fund grant obtained courtesy of local county councillor Mrs Margaret Squires. Some of the text in the leaflet was taken from “Shobrooke and its Church” by Peter Spencer.
Fred Harper said that the leaflet has been produced to encourage more people to take exercise in the countryside and also to attract tourists.
“We decided to concentrate on four walks which take people to places of interest around Shobrooke including Shobrooke Mill, the parish church, Holy Well, to the viewing point at Raddon, the War Memorial, Shobrooke Park etc.”
Mr Harper said that one of the walks links to the Crediton footpath network, adding that copies of “Shobrooke Walks” are available at various outlets, including the Red Lion, the “Crediton Courier” office and Boniface Centre in Crediton, Shobrooke Church and various dispensers around the village, including at Shobrooke Park, the play area, bus stop and village hall.
The walks range in distance from 1.6 miles, lasting just over an hour to walks of about 2.5 miles or much further and longer if walks are combined.
There are no stiles on the walks described but there are some steep climbs and the walks are well-signposted and cover a range of terrain.
There are maps for guidance and some colourful photographs included.
Interesting points of interest are also included in the text and The Countryside Code is also there for guidance.
Alan Quick