Walks writer Mark Reid has had to turn to the urban landscape as the foot-and-mouth crisis retains its stranglehold on the countryside. He has published a new book on town trails in North Yorkshire in an effort to continue to develop and write about sustainable rural tourism.

The 32-year-old author, who writes the weekly walks column for The Northern Echo, says the foot-and-mouth epidemic has turned an annual 40 per cent growth in his business to a drop in book sales of 87 per cent.

The disease, he said, had now spread far beyond the farming industry.

He said: "To build up a business and then lose most of your trade through no fault of your own - and to have to win it back when there is very little financial help forthcoming for small businesses as well - is very difficult."

His new book, Town Trails: North Yorkshire, explores towns and cities, including Thirsk, Settle, Hawes, Leyburn and Settle.

"With rural routes blocked, I have had to turn to urban routes in order to survive," he says. "My new book is an attempt to diversify to try to save my career as a writer on rural matters. It's ironic that I set out to write walking books that encouraged sustainable tourism and now I am trying to survive by writing urban walks."

His new book explores the streets, lanes and alleyways of 25 towns in North Yorkshire. Walkers can discover in the detail the history, architecture, legend and folklore of the area, and the book has a wealth of practical information on each town.

Mark said: "It's taken me six months to research and write the book, exploring the many fascinating towns and cities throughout England's largest county. I have had to listen and respond quickly to consumer demands in order to survive, but I am a firm believer that out of adversity comes opportunity."

He hopes the book will draw visitors to the featured towns, many of which have been badly hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis.

"Only when full access to the countryside has been restored can confidence start to build again to help the beleaguered tourism and outdoor industry," he says.

Mark, 32, set up his own publishing house, InnWay Publications, in Harrogate, four years ago to write and publish his InnWay series on walking.

He left his career in the brewing industry to concentrate on the rich walking areas of the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors and the Lake District.

He won national acclaim in the Sunday Times when his book The Inn Way...to the Lake District was voted Travel Book of the Week, and he was highly commended in the Lakeland Book of the Year Awards in 1999.

Town Trails: North Yorkshire by Mark Reid (Inn Way Publications, £5.95). Call (01423) 871750 for stockists or, to order direct, call The Northern Echo Bookshop on freephone 0800-0150552. Postage and packing is £1.

To read Mark Reid's article on the effects of the foot-and-mouth epidemic on the walks industry, see The Northern Echo next week.