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THE OLD WAYS BY ROBERT MACFARLANE
Because of our recent inclement weather it seems a long time since anyone could embark on a
long journey on foot with any certainty, but this book’s subtitle is just that – ‘A Long Journey
on Foot.’ Therefore anyone who reads this will walk with Macfarlane over a thousand miles of
the English and Scottish countryside over hill and dale, marking footpaths and trackways,
delighting in finding ‘The old Ways’, seeking out our history, discovering who and what we
were and are.
Macfarland himself says, ‘It is an exploration of the ghosts and voices that haunt ancient
paths…’ this should tell you that there is far more to this book than a mere re-telling of
expedition notes. It is full of spirituality, of acute vision and comprehension of our world as it
is and as it once was. Every page will hold you spellbound. With him you will climb mountains
in summer and snow blizzard, he will take you walking over frozen rivers and ponds; you will
sleep with him on the ice.
You will sail, swim, bathe, and walk and every step he takes you will feel you are with him
because this man’s prose is beautifully inclusive .
It is a spiritual book., an intuitive peer into the past and even more delightful are his
references to people he has known, authors he has read and poets and artists he admires.
Such is Edward Thomas the W.W.I poet, he is a leitmotiv in this book and we learn much about
him and his writing and his walking, for he was a walker too.
There is a part of this book which is eerily spooky and the hairs will stand up as you read it.
Do read it. Do enjoy it. It is written with love and affection for his subject in some of the most
masterly and evocative prose you will ever read. I commend it to you.
By Dee Willows
Recipes
Wild Garlic soup