PEN TO PAPER
Hamish Brown keeps busy
A s soon as Coronavirus rules
permitted travel within one ’ s country , but only using public transport , I was asked to do a new guide to the Fife Coastal Path , this being extended from the Forth Bridge to the Tay Bridge to the extreme bounds of Kincardine and Newburgh . To �ill one �ive mile stretch I had to use bus , bus , bus , walk , bus , train and bus , a day when I spent more time sitting than walking . Photography was a nightmare as all my work is held in St Andrew ’ s University Library Special Collections and lay out of bounds . Somehow the job was done and the result look excellent : Exploring the Fife Coastal Path ( Birlinn , 2021 ).
Sandstone Press just managed to complete two works to beat the missing years . Chasing the Dreams was a companion volume of collected writing to Walking the Song , with accounts similarly under geographical or thematic groupings , plus a last section of four �iction stories , and a poem between sections . Sandstone also published East of West , West of East , our family saga of escaping the Japanese at the fall of Singapore . This used mother ’ s letters , my own memories and father ’ s account of his horrendous experiences plus much research that showed the shattering disaster it was . ( I still carry a fragment of bomb in my right knee .)
Whittles Publishing are in the throes of completing ( out for Christmas ) a book much based on my two National Service years in the RAF , passed in the Canal Zone , Kenya , Cyprus and Jerusalem . My letters home had been kept but much of it explores the deplorable chicanery of our government , kept secret till recently . A medal for the Zone came �ifty years on , too late for most I ’ m sure .
Both these have odd mountainy connections . By co-incidence my parents climbed Mt . Fuji the day World War Two broke out . I cried my eyes for being left behind . My brother was born in Yokohama a year later . RAF days saw me roaming from the Indian Ocean to the Mountains of the Moon and then an ascent of Kiliminjaro on a last leave and then I was sent home weeks early . I did go back , a disaster , but that is explained in Chasing the Dreams . I ’ m still chasing .
YHA News
2022 Walking Festival
A round the world in 46 days … that ’ s the
aim of a new walking festival targeted at both seasoned and novice walkers .
The YHA Festival of Walking takes place from 04 September – 20 October 2022 . Organiser YHA ( England & Wales ) hopes to get people walking at least 24,901 miles ; that ’ s once around the world .
The festival aims to bring walkers – individuals , friends , families and walking groups and communities - together at hostels across England and Wales , as well as introduce new voices , feet and faces to walking in the UK ’ s landscapes .
The new festival capitalises on the lockdown discovery of the joy of walking for many people . YHA ’ s Festival of Walking now offers an opportunity for walkers – new and experienced – to make the most of the facilities provided at YHA ’ s locations in the National Parks and on National Trails .
YHA is offering 25 % off accommodation at a number of hostels , as well as a warm welcome and a free cuppa for everyone who gets involved with the festival .
In addition , everyone who takes part in the festival and logs their miles on the festival website will be entered into a free prize draw . YHA has partnered with Ordnance Survey , The Ramblers and the BMC to deliver the festival , as well as outdoor clothing and footwear retailer Cotswold Outdoor . “ 24,901 miles seems a long way but that ’ s just 5,000 people walking five miles each ; which we think is more than achievable . Ideally , we ’ d love it if enough people got outside and got walking during the festival that their logged miles could collectively circumnavigate the globe multiple times . That ’ s the goal ,” said James Blake Chief Executive of the social enterprise charity YHA ( England & Wales ).
To help with the challenge , YHA is mapping a number of circular walking routes , using OS Mapping Software , that all start and finish at a youth hostel . The mapped routes will offer an easy , moderate and challenging circular walk from each youth hostel and are suitable for novice to seasoned walkers . The free walking routes are in the process of being developed and tested by YHA ’ s army of walking volunteers and will be available to download from the YHA Festival of Walking website .
More than 80 of YHA ’ s hostels are on National Trails in England and Wales and provide a convenient , safe and welcoming base for people to get active .
To find out more about the YHA Festival of Walking , download walking routes , book discounted accommodation or to get involved , visit www . yha . org . uk / festival-of-walking .
outdoor focus / autumn 2022 7