Westering: Footways and folkways from Norfolk to the Welsh coast

(Paperback)

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Description

A treasure trove of fascinating stories, little-known places and hidden gems of history, Westering is a coast-to-coast British journey from Norfolk to the Welsh coast, by an established travel writer.

From Great Yarmouth to Aberystwyth, Westeringtakes us across England from the Fens, Leicester, the Black Country and central Wales. It connects landscape, place and memory to evoke a narrative unravelling the deep topography, and following a westerly route that runs against the grain of the land, its geology, culture and historical bedrock.

With the industrial Midlands sandwiched between bucolic landscapes in East Anglia and Wales, here we explore places too often overlooked. Along the way we encounter deserted medieval villages, battlefield sites, the ghosts of Roman soldiers, valleys drowned for reservoirs, ancient forests, John Clare's beloved fields, and the urban edgelands.Notions of home and belonging, landscapes of loss and absence, birds and the resilience of nature, the psychology of walking, and the psychogeography of liminal places all frame the story.

Reviews

"Westering is a beautifully compelling reminder that we never walk alone. Alongside us, always, are the complex cultural and natural histories, topographies, geologies and folk memories that have helped shape the path and those places we pass. Laurence Mitchell is a superb and illuminating guide to the rich seam of stories found underfoot." Julian Hoffman, author of Irreplaceable; Praise for Previous Work; "A rich level of local detail" Wanderlust Magazine

Author Bio

Laurence Mitchell is an established travel writer with a number of guidebooks to his name. He also writes features on far-flung places for magazines like Geographical, Walk and Discover Britain. He has contributed to Elsewhere: a journal of place and is a regular guest writer for the Berlin-based magazine Hidden Europe.