A Wildflower Walk
Christmas Common, Ewelme and Swyncombe 19 May 2021 I didn’t set off to do a wildflower walk, but I’d had some happy news earlier that morning – a new birth in my extended family; parents and baby all well. So … Continue reading →
Tony
Where There’s a Will by Emily Chappell
The author is well-known and successful in the world of endurance cycling – people who cycle 200 or more kilometres a day, day after day, across continents, grabbing a few hours sleep here and there, eating what and when they … Continue reading →
The Fear Index by Robert Harris
With regret, this is the least satisfactory of the Robert Harris thrillers I have read. Set in Geneva and based on the financial markets’ “flash crash” in May 2010, Harris’s usual comprehensive research allows him to write in detail about … Continue reading →
Heresy, Prophecy, Sacrilege by S J Parris
These are the first three of a six book series of mystery thrillers set in the late 16th century. Elizabeth I is Queen of England, Henry VIII’s break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries is still a recent … Continue reading →
The Eastern Fells – Day 5
Hartsop above How Friday 16 October This is another of the Wainwrights in the area which are no more than undulations in a ridge coming down from higher tops – in this case Hart Crag and Fairfield. The best place … Continue reading →
The Eastern Fells – Day 4
Hart Side Thursday 15 October I decided to give myself a shorter day and visit the rather inaccessible Hart Side using the path above Ullswater which AW suggests has the finest views of the lake anywhere in the area. A … Continue reading →
The Eastern Fells – Day 3
Little Hart Crag, High Hartsop Dodd, Red Screes & Middle Dodd Wednesday 14 October I’ve decided to pay less attention to Mr A Wainwright. His off-putting description (“steep, laborious”) of the direct ascent of High Hartsop Dodd above the Kirkstone … Continue reading →
The Eastern Fells – Day 2
Arnison Crag & Birks Tuesday 13 October A cool day, clear in the valley but drizzle and mist on the heights. Arnison Crag Once you crack the problem of finding where to start in Patterdale the ascent of Arnison Crag … Continue reading →
The Eastern Fells – Day 1
Introduction Having had to cancel my planned trip to Provence in September to cycle up Mont Ventoux I was lucky to find an AirBnB with a short week’s availability in Penruddock, near Carlisle. It’s a good base for tackling Wainwright’s … Continue reading →
The Man Between by Charles Cumming
Suggested to me by an afficionada of the spy genre, I must admit that this book didn’t impress me at the start; the basis of the story seemed too improbable. But as I got further in it won me over … Continue reading →