This is a facsimile edition of Whymper’s "Guide" of 1897, 32 years after his famous but tragic first ascent of the Matterhorn. Guidebooks were a good money-spinner for Whymper, who was well-known for his "Scrambles Amongst the Alps" and "Travels … Continue reading →
In the early 1830’s Charles Darwin was a young man, scientifically inclined, with a general interest in the natural world and particular interests in botany, zoology and geology. He had gained a BA from Cambridge, and would have progressed naturally … Continue reading →
Just about everything I would want to say about this excellent book is in JT’s review in the Travel Literature blog, but I will just add one thought. As a Persian scholar and someone who has travelled widely in the … Continue reading →
What do you know about Bhutan? Probably not very much, apart perhaps from it being a Himalayan kingdom somewhere up around Nepal and Tibet. Even now Bhutan is a remote and inaccessible corner of the world. There is no British … Continue reading →
A self-confessed grumpy old git walks and cycles from Land’s End to John O’Groats with a mixture of good humour and bad temper. Interesting enough for a quick read, but the book needs something more to stand out from the … Continue reading →
This is an account of an eccentric journey by an eccentric Englishman. Nicholas Crane is the man who, a few weeks after getting married, left his wife at home while he spent 18 months walking along the watershed of Europe … Continue reading →
This is really two books in one, part separate and part interwoven. The main book – about three quarters of the whole – recounts the author’s travels up the north-west coast of Scotland. The other book is a handbook of … Continue reading →
After reading the book I’m certainly looking forward to my visit, but I don’t think I’ll be in the queue to buy the farm next door. Stewart is careful not to give away the exact location of their farm – … Continue reading →
A planned visit to Provence in April prompted me to read this book some 12 years after it was on the best-seller lists. It’s hard now to see what the fuss was about – maybe the TV serialisation was more … Continue reading →
Funny and entertaining account of an unfit bloke cycling the route of the Tour de France. Very much in the "We’d never done any white-water rafting in bear country before, but we thought we’d give it a go" genre, but … Continue reading →