directional guide but more of a narrative travelogue of the author ’ s journey – he calls it a “ drift ” – roughly between 52 and 53 degrees north and linking two rivers “ Y ” – the estuaries of the Yare and Ystwyth . As such it is a treasure trove of unexpected and little-known facts written by a travel writer with an insatiable interest in walking , landscape and local history . Because it passes through the industrial West Midlands and Black Country , it will never become an of�icially recognised National Trail . But that wasn ’ t the writer ’ s intention in any case . He succeeds in his primary objective , which is to make a connection with the past and the people who created the varied landscapes of Middle England and Wales through what he rather grandiosely describes as “ the psychogeography of liminal places .” enthusiast and a skilled , professional storyteller . Highly recommended .
Two Men in a Boat : Rowing Two Rivers
Martin Andrew Journey Books , £ 14.99 ( hb )
Unashamedly pinching its title from Jerome K Jerome ’ s hilarious 1889 novel Three Men in a Boat set on the Thames , there are only two men ( and no Montmorency the dog ) in Martin Andrews ’ boat .
But Andrews and his best friend Richard Robinson prove to be equally entertaining guides in their extended jaunt along the British Severn and the Loire in France . Both avid Hornblower fans , they set out to retrace what he strangely repeatedly calls the “ footprints ” ( surely paddle prints ?) of the �ictional Captain Horatio Hornblower as he escapes from the French by rowing boat in 1811 in C . S . Forester ’ s 1930s Napoleonic War novel .
After some deliberation , they decided to have a trial run in their newly acquired 10-foot aluminium rowing boat named Flying Colours after the title of Forester ’ s 1938 novel , on the River Severn from the Welsh border to Deerhurst . This journey , and for my money the most interesting part of their trip , takes up well over half of the book .
And there are a few similarities between Andrews ’ and
Hornblower ’ s journeys . Both had their boats stolen at some stage , and in the case of the Two Men , their journey down the Loire was terminally interrupted and only revived after an enforced break of 16 months with a new but identical boat .
Both rowers are keen architectural historians , so the text is enlivened with fascinating observations and facts about local buildings , bridges and the historic villages and towns en route . And the author ’ s irrepressible sense of humour , which survived several dunkings in both the Severn and the Loire , shines undiminished throughout . At least that ’ s something he shares with the original Three Men ( not forgetting Montmorency ) – but most certainly not with the stiff upper lip , buttoned-up reserve of Horatio Hornblower .
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