Westering
Footways and folkways from Norfolk to the Welsh coast
Published on 29. April 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-913393-06-9 (ISBN)
Description
From Great Yarmouth to Aberystwyth, Westering is a coast-to-coast journey crossing the Fens, Leicester, the Black Country and central Wales. It connects landscape, place and memory to evoke a narrative unravelling the deep topography, and following a westerly route that runs against the grain of the land, its geology, culture and historical bedrock. With the industrial Midlands sandwiched between bucolic landscapes in East Anglia and Wales, here we explore places too often overlooked. Along the way we encounter deserted medieval villages, battlefield sites, the ghosts of Roman soldiers, valleys drowned for reservoirs, ancient forests, John Clare's beloved fields, and the urban edgelands. Notions of home and belonging, landscapes of loss and absence, birds and the resilience of nature, the psychology of walking, and the psychogeography of liminal places all frame the story.
Reviews / Votes
'Westering is a beautifully compelling reminder that we never walk alone. Alongside us, always, are the complex cultural and natural histories, topographies, geologies and folk memories that have helped shape the path and those places we pass. Laurence Mitchell is a superb and illuminating guide to the rich seam of stories found underfoot.' -- Julian Hoffman, author of Irreplaceable 'His narrative blends a geographer's store of knowledge with perceptive observations of our natural and man-made environments ... there are bucketloads of fascinating history and topography: deserted medieval villages, battlefield sites, ancient forests and hidden canals ... I felt like I'd been with him every step of the way.' -- Roger Butler, The Great Outdoors 'A treasure trove of unexpected and little-known facts written by a travel writer with an insatiable interest in walking, landscape and local history ... Highly recommended.' -- Outdoor Focus, journal of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild 'Rich with detail about the landscape ... clear, engaging ... the perfect travelling companion ... understated ... but, nonetheless, profound.' -- Psychogeographic ReviewMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Glasgow
United Kingdom
Illustrations
8pp colour photos
Dimensions
Height: 129 mm
Width: 196 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
228 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-913393-06-9 (9781913393069)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Laurence Mitchell is an established travel writer with a number of guidebooks to his name. He also writes features on far-flung places for magazines like Geographical, Walk and Discovering Britain. He has contributed to Elsewhere: a journal of place and is a regular guest writer for the Berlin- based magazine Hidden Europe.
Content
PART ONE; Red Herrings; Along the Eager River; Crow Country; A Fine City; Concrete Ghosts, Winding Wensum; God's Holy River; Postcode Country;; Islands in the Fens; PART TWO; Crowland to Clare Country; Lost from the Map; The Unhorsing of Kings; Ghosts and Stone Memory; PART THREE
Pulped Fiction/The Ghosts of a Forest; Slouching Towards Birmingham (Another Venice); City of Metal; Black over Bill's Mother's; All Round the Wrekin; Quiet under the Sun; PART FOUR; Over the Ofer; The Green, Green Grass of Home Land of the West
Pulped Fiction/The Ghosts of a Forest; Slouching Towards Birmingham (Another Venice); City of Metal; Black over Bill's Mother's; All Round the Wrekin; Quiet under the Sun; PART FOUR; Over the Ofer; The Green, Green Grass of Home Land of the West