20 years ago William Fricker was looking for a way
to combine his great passion for the outdoors with a
background in publishing having worked for 7 years
at one of the UK's top publishing houses. Inspiration
came after taking a year out to tour Europe on foot in
the early '80s. He knocked up a massive 3,500 miles
walking across France, Italy and Greece wearing out
four pairs of sturdy walking shoes in the process.
William then returned to the UK on a bicycle via North
Africa, Spain and France.

Wherever he went during his mammoth trek across
Europe, William always seemed to be weighed down with
a walking map in one hand and a travel guide in the other!
He noticed a gap in the travel guide market. There were
plenty of good quality guide books being published and
maps were easy enough to get hold of, but there was
nothing on the market that managed to combine a good,
easy to use map with a comprehensive guide to all
the must see places in the area.