Rwetyepme ( Mount Sonder ) in Australia ’ s Northern Territory . This is a book for browsing armchair travellers only . Real walkers intent on following any of the suggested routes will require much more .
Walk Ullswater & Patterdale
Bill Birkett Bill Birkett Publishing £ 12.50 ( pb )
This is the latest in the author ’ s series of easy-to-use , spiral-bound guidebooks to areas of his beloved Lake District National Park . And the subject this time – Ullswater and Patterdale – is bound to �ind many eager takers . The three distinctive legs of Ullswater – starting in the shadow of the high fells of Helvellyn and High Street , passing through the peaceful middle section between Dockray and Howtown , and ending in the lush lowlands around Pooley Bridge – is many people ’ s favourite . No less an authority than William Wordsworth in his 1810 Guide to the Lakes described it as being : “… perhaps , upon the whole , the happiest combination of beauty and grandeur which any of the Lakes affords .” In practical , no-nonsense , directions , Birkett describes 20 walks which take in Dovedale , Hartsop , Brothers Water , Grisedale , Glenridding , Glencoyne , Pooley Bridge , Howtown , Fusedale and Martindale , in addition to the Ullswater and Patterdale of the title . He takes us to the hills with horseshoe excursions to Helvellyn ( via Striding and Swirral Edges ), High Street ( via the Hayeswater Horseshoe ) and Birkett Fell ( no relation ) via the horseshoe formed round Deepdale by Hart Crag , Stybarrow Dodd , Watson Dodd and Great Dodd . If I have one criticism , it is that the directions , concise and accurate as they are , are no more than that , and I ’ d like to have seen a little more in the way of description and interpretation of this fascinating landscape . But perhaps that is the job done by the author ’ s excellent photographs . One of the best of Place Fell in winter has a set of footprints in the snow mysteriously leading out into the lake from the jetty at Glenridding – and apparently not returning . One other quibble ( and admittedly , it might have something to do with the reviewer ’ s age ) distances and heights in the text are all given in kilometres and metres , yet the maps by Martin Bagness are based on pre-1950 OS versions , have heights and contours which are all in feet .
I Belong Here : A Journey along the Backbone of England
Anita Sethi Bloomsbury £ 16.99 ( hb )
This is a bold , brave and important book by a black woman ’ s solo odyssey along parts of the Pennine Way , which became a kind of
healing catharsis after an horrendous , racially abusive encounter she suffered on a trans- Pennine train .
Actually , it ’ s more about a woman of colour seeking and finding her own identity and spiritual home during the course of the journey , and a cri de coeur on behalf of all those who face cruel and ignorant abuse from white supremacists . I was delighted to learn that the person who abused the author on the train was later arrested and convicted of his heinous crime .
She says her journey is one of “ reclaiming both language and landscape ”, and she seizes on and investigates topographical words like “ scar ” and “ force ” to back up her powerful and personal arguments on race and identity .
But if you were hoping to learn about a continuous journey along the Pennine Way by a lone female , then you will be disappointed . The author takes a very selective walk , only visiting the Hope Valley , Hull Pot , Pen-y-Ghent , Malham Cove , High Force and Hadrian ’ s Wall , en route .
Continued
outdoor focus / summer 2021 15