Book Reviews Roly Smith
Geology of Dartmoor
Josephine M Collingwood Tavicinity Publishing , £ 20 ( pb )
If you thought – as many guidebooks still seem to do – that Dartmoor ’ s geology was simply the granite of its characteristic tors , think again . Following on from her beautifully produced Dartmoor Tors Compendium ( see review in Outdoor Focus Autumn , 2020 ), the author ’ s latest paean to her beloved Dartmoor concerns its geomorphology and geology . And she reveals , in sometimes overly technical detail , a complex geological story which goes back into what ’ s now commonly known as “ Deep Time ” – at least to the Devonian Period of between 419 and 359 million years ago . The authoritative text is enlivened by many graphs and diagrams , but most interestingly by the author ’ s micro close-ups of the rock crystals , which are beautiful in themselves . The photographic coverage of the individual tors and the other places where the different rock types can be seen are up to the author ’ s usual very high standard . And she also answers the perennial question of how the tors were formed by examples found in the unlikely setting of
/ the back of the car park at Two Bridges , which stands at the crossroads of Dartmoor . The former quarry shows outcrops of granite emerging from the loose grit ( locally known as “ growan ”), which eventually will become the tors familiar to so many Dartmoor walkers . Collingwood explains this provides evidence for the hypothesis that signi�icant formation of tors occurred while the granite was still underground , and not all when the rocks were on the surface and exposed to the erosion caused by Dartmoor ’ s frequent frost , ice , rain and wind . This is another very handsome volume again from Tavicinity Publishing ( in case you were wondering , they are based in Tavistock ) and is a worthy addition to the library of any a�icionado of Southern England ’ s wildest national park .
Arabian Light
David Bellamy Search Press , £ 25 ( hb )
Artist David Bellamy ’ s last publication , Arctic Light won the Guild ’ s Best Outdoor Book award in 2017 . And in this new work he takes us to the opposite climatic extreme of the blistering heat and mirages of the Arabian Desert . It was his two-year posting to Aden during his National Service in the Royal Air Force in 1963 which �irst sparked his interest in Arabia , its deserts , mountains , people and antiquities . From those early years Bellamy developed a deep seated and abiding love for the barren expanses which are home to a people whom he found , as many others also have , to be unfailingly friendly , kind , humorous and welcoming . Through a series of mouthwatering watercolours , the artist manages to capture that intense , blinding white light found only in these regions – you can almost feel the heat radiating off some of the pages . But this book is so much more than his paintings . As Bellamy transports us to legendary places like Wadi Rum , Petra and the weird landscapes of little visited Gilf Kebir , in the south-western corner of Egypt , he also describes the troubled history and political turbulence of the region through his entertaining and informative text . Enlivened throughout by Bellamy ’ s personal experiences in each region , from the Swahili Coast to the busy souks of Jordan and Lebanon , this is a book to the treasured by anyone who , like him , has been captivated by the magic of Arabia .
Capital to Coast : Walking 1066 Harold ’ s Way
David Clarke History Walks , £ 10 ( pb )
Ten-sixty-six is the date burned into the memory of
10 outdoor focus / autumn 2022