Walking into the third post of the month

I'm using the extra Wednesday of the month to recommend some books

The Living Mountain, by Nan Shepherd

Hello again – and welcome to all the new subscribers. If you’re new to this newsletter, I’m a writer who uses walking to boost my physical and mental health and inspire my writing.

In these posts I share my walks and pair them with simple writing prompts. I do this every fortnight, on the first and third Wednesday of the month. Some months have 5 Wednesdays in them, which sort of puts a spanner in that plan, so when that happens, I post something slightly different. For this month’s odd-one-out Wednesday I’m sharing some books that are about, or feature, walking. I hope you enjoy them.

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The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd

The Living Mountain is a love letter to the Cairngorms. It’s a short and rather beautiful piece of nature writing that reveals the mountains’ varying moods and intimate secrets. Reading it has taught me that you can spend a lifetime walking the same paths and always discover something new each time you set out. It all comes down to how you view your surroundings and allowing yourself to be astonished by them.

“… one never quite knows the mountain, nor oneself in relation to it. However often I walk on them, these hills hold astonishment for me. There is no getting accustomed to them.”

Nan Shepherd

Woofy gives The Gentle Art of Tramping a four-paws approval rating

The Gentle Art of Tramping by Stephen Graham

I’ve mentioned The Gentle Art of Tramping before because it’s the source of one of my favourite strolls – the zigzag walk. But I think it’s worth another mention because it’s the kind of book you can dip in and out of, picking chapters at random, depending on what takes your fancy.

It’s very much of its time – it was first published in 1927 – but, for me, that’s part of its charm. In some ways, it’s a handbook on how to prepare and take long walks. In others, it’s an ode to nature, art and the places where the two can meet. Graham reflects on boots and books, walking alone or with others, what to carry and what to leave behind. And, as you might imagine for a writer, he has advice on carrying a notebook, too:

“It is in description that the keeper of a diary becomes artist. All description is art, and in describing an event, an action or a being, you enter to some extent into the joy of art. You are more than the mere secretary of life, patiently taking down from dictation, more than life’s mere scribe; you become its singer, the expresser of the glory of it.”

Stephen Graham

Starling – a novel by Sarah Jane Butler

Starling by Sarah Jane Butler

Sarah Jane Butler’s debut novel is beautiful inside and out. It tells the story of 19-year-old Starling, who was raised on the road, living in a hand-painted camper van, and who wakes one morning to discover her mother, Mar, has abandoned her. Starling takes to the path, walking through woods and across fields in search of a place where she can belong. The writing is a beautiful testament to the natural landscape and our relationship with it, and reading it felt like I was walking through the woods beside Starling.

“Walking away from the van, she felt it hold her. She lengthened her stride and stepped out of the clearing without looking back. She knew this feeling of starting a journey, of looking forward, of letting go.”

Sarah Jane Butler

Moonwalking – a journey of self-discovery by Rob Self-Pierson

Moonwalking by Rob Self-Pierson

In January 2009, Rob Self-Pierson set off to walk the British Isles by the light of the full moon. Part travel writing and part memoir, it’s a witty and vulnerable account of losing the love of your life then trying to find yourself again by walking in weird and wonderful places – under the full moon.

Rob’s a copywriter and one thing we share in common is that we both like to go for a walk when we’re stuck. He was also one of the first people I talked to about The Writer’s Walk – back when I wasn’t sure if it would be a book, a blog or something else – and I needed some advice on what to do. He encouraged me to take the first step and 17 editions, and a few hundred miles later, here we are. Thanks, Rob!

I hope you find something here to enjoy. Normal service will resume next week for our final walk of the year together. If you fancy some walking or writing inspiration before then, take a look at the archive.

Until next time, happy walking and writing – and reading.

Sarah