Travel writing Books
Eland Publishing Ltd Turkish Coast
Book SynopsisThe Turkish Coast from Izmir to Antalya is an area of incredible natural drama, rich in the ruins of antiquity. It is a prime focus for many cultured holiday makers visiting the region by land, yacht and gulet. It has been at the centre of Mediterranean culture and history for thousands of years, with a rich and varied literature. With accounts ranging from the excitement of archaeological discovery, or the route march of Alexander's army, to the pleasures of the hammam and Turkish cooking, this latest addition to the "Through Writers' Eyes" series will satisfy the appetites of travellers real and armchair. Sources range from the classical to the contemporary: from The Odyssey and Plutarch to Freya Stark, Jeremy Seal and Louis de Berniere. 'Eland has hit a goldmine with its "Through Writers' Eyes" series...like buying a best of compilation...you don't have to listen to the 'B' sides and you don't have to wade through the boring bits' - "The Tablet".
£11.69
The Armchair Traveller at the Bookhaus Along the Ganges
Book SynopsisThe River Ganges has a thousand names. Hindu priests regard it as a sin to call her a river at all. She is a goddess, the source of the world, her waters holy and healing and still sold to Hindus all over the world. Ilija Trojanow travelled along the Ganges, from the source, where it breaks free from the eternal ice in the Himalayas, to the great cities, by boat, by bus, on overcrowded trains. He visited the great Hindu festivals and talked to those who warn of ecological disasters. His colourful report describes a country between ancient traditions and astonishing modernity and the holy river that crosses it for hundreds of miles.Trade Review'A lyrical homage to India's holiest, moodiest, foulest river... Trojanow is the perfect mix of insider and outsider. A Hindi speaker,he can also stand back and see what makes India tick... It is a treasure of a book, a must-have for anyone spending time on the Ganges and wanting to get to know her better.' -- Susan Elderkin Financial Times
£9.49
Lodestar Books The Sea and the Snow
Book SynopsisHEARD ISLAND, an improbably remote speck in the far Southern Ocean, lies four thousand kilometres to the south-west of Australia - with Antarctica its nearest continent. By 1964 it had been the object of a number of expeditions, but none reaching the summit of its 9000-foot volcanic peak "Big Ben'. In that year Warwick Deacock resolved to rectify this omission, and assembled a party of nine with impressive credentials embracing mountaineering, exploration, science and medicine, plus his own organisation and leadership skills as a former Major in the British Army. But first they had to get there. Heard had no airstrip and was on no steamer route; the only way was by sea in their own vessel. Approached from Australia, the island lay in the teeth of the 'Roaring Forties'and 'Furious Fifties'. One name, only, came to mind as the skipper to navigate them safely to their destination, and safely home - the veteran mountaineer turned high-latitude sailor H. W. 'Bill' Tilman, already renowned for his 'sailing to climb' expeditions to Patagonia, Greenland and Arctic Canada, and the sub-Antarctic archipelagos of Crozet and Kerguelen, to the north-west of Heard Island. He readily 'signed on' to Warwick Deacock's team of proven individuals and their well-found sailing vessel Patanela. In this first-hand account, as fresh today as on its first publication fifty years ago, Philip Temple invites us all on this superbly conducted, happy and successful expedition, aided by many previously unpublished photographs by Warwick Deacock. 'The Skipper' - a man not free with his praise - described the enterprise as 'a complete thing'. photographs, maps, drawings
£9.50
Lodestar Books Staithes: A Place Apart
Book SynopsisIn photographs, artworks, and words Gloria Wilson celebrates the rugged fishing village where she was brought up, and from which she set her course to a career recording, both visually and verbally, the North Sea fishery she loves. She writes: In this intriguing place I have found a heady mix of seafaring activities, shorelines, inimitable fisher people, stalwart boats, notable marine artists, cats, dark seas and dashing spray, thick sepulchral fogs, the clutter of translucent fishing paraphernalia, folklore and local custom, and many architectural specialities, together with touches of joy, humour, absurdity, and melancholy, all set within a townscape and topography of distinctive and outstanding quality. Staithes has always been a working village, rugged and unpretentious, without attitude. Things have an elegance which results from useful function.
£18.00
The Armchair Traveller at the Bookhaus Hidden Bhutan: Entering the Kingdom of the
Book SynopsisIn 2006, "Time magazine" listed the King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, as one of the 100 'leaders and revolutionaries' who are changing our world today. Yet it was only in the 1960s that the first road linking "The Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon" with India was opened, and since 1974 only a strictly limited number of tourists have been allowed to visit each year. Martin Uitz, a renowned expert on Bhutan, describes how the Bhutanese, in pursuit of the principle of 'Gross National Happiness', are carefully moving towards a more modern future, including a constitution and democracy, whilst preserving their traditional society and attempting to conserve the environment. Uitz made many fascinating discoveries in this enigmatic Kingdom. He was able to explain why the only traffic light was taken out of service, why six men are not allowed to go on a journey together, and what the subtle eroticism of a traditional hot-stone bath is all about. Along the way he also discovered that the Bhutanese hills are more alive with Edelweiss than the hills around his native Salzburg.
£10.44
Penned in the Margins Feral Borough
Book SynopsisSet in the urban pastoral of an East London postcode, Feral Borough asks what it means to call a place home, and how best to share that home with its non-human inhabitants. Meryl Pugh reimagines the wild as 'feral', recording the fauna and flora of Leytonstone in prose as incisive as it is lyrical. Here, on the edge of the city, red kite and parakeets thrive alongside bluebell and yarrow, a muntjac deer is glimpsed in the undergrowth, and an escaped boa constrictor appears on the High Road. In this subtle, captivating book - part herbarium, part bestiary and part memoir - Pugh explores the effects of loss, and lockdown, on human well-being, conjuring the local urban environment as a site for healing and connection. 'A subtle, heartfelt and affecting book about home, the city and the self -- Pugh reminds us that nowhere, however urban, is without nature; that wherever we go, the intricate web of life continues to shape and change us.' Rebecca TamasTrade Review'A subtle, heartfelt and affecting book about home, the city and the self' Rebecca Tamas; 'Feryl Borough' is original, curious, expansive. Pugh's writing seeks beauty in urban surroundings, with echoes of Jenny Odell's 'How To Do Nothing' by placing value on looking, recording and appreciating our local environment and of Leslie Kern's 'Feminist City' on the joy, frustrations and solidarity of women navigating routes through the city. A brilliant, honest account of London, a place of golden sunlight and strange shadows, written with remarkable emotional clarity. Pugh holds up the city for us to witness in all its tiny, profound detail.' Gemma Seltzer; 'After five chapters, you'll wish you lived in Leytonstone. Five more and you'll begin to wonder about the natural treasures lurking in your own part of town. Another five and you'll be out in the park with your magnifying glass and binoculars. Anyone who reads this terrific book will also want to live it. This is a most democratic bestiary. Skylarks and buzzards enjoy equal billing with hawthorn and common wood pigeons. Bluebells, six-toed cats, an escaped boa constrictor... Each is subject of a mini-essay that revels not only in the joys of urban wildlife, but also the quirks and oddities. Nature, strange in tooth and claw.' Matt Brown; 'An intimate journey into places that are at once familiar and strange, known and unfathomable, Meryl Pugh's writing conjures a wild city full of wonder among the everyday' Kerri Andrews
£11.69
Bene Factum Publishing Ltd Drink Time!
Book Synopsis
£8.54
Signal Books Ltd Travellers in the Great Steppe: From the Papal
Book SynopsisThe Great Steppe stretches from the Volga River and the Caspian Sea in the west to the easternmost limits of Djungaria in Western China. Sometimes referred to as the biggest field in the world, this vast region is as mysterious today as it was a thousand years ago. Despite modern development it remains little visited and little known. This was once a land of nomads, barren and harsh at its centre, but with rich grasslands fed by the many rivers flowing from the surrounding mountains. It was home to a society that kept no records other than the epic poems and songs celebrating the stories of its great batyrs (warriors). Whatever is known of this society survives within local culture - desecrated as it is by years of Soviet cultural vandalism - or in the voices of outsiders who occasionally passed through. Usually they were on their way elsewhere - to India, China, Tibet - but occasionally there were visitors who took more than a passing interest in the lives of the steppe nomads. Their findings and impressions are collected in this book. Edited and told with relish by Nick Fielding, these are the stories of early papal emissaries like Friar William of Rubruck and Jean de Piano Carpini, sent to negotiate with the Mongols, and the merchant adventurers like Andrew Jenkinson and Jonas Hanway who tried to capture the Silk Road trade. Later came the early scientists and geographers associated with Peter Simon Pallas and the Russian explorers exemplified by Chokan Walikhanov and Petr Petrovich Semenov. Thomas and Lucy Atkinson became the earliest British visitors to spend time in the steppe. They were followed by military adventurers such as Captain Fred Burnaby and James Abbott, and journalists including the great Aloysius MacGahan and David Ker, the original purveyor of 'fake news'. Besides Lucy Atkinson there were other determined women travellers including Adéle Hommaire de Hell and the remarkable Marie de Ujfalvy-Bourdon, both of whom documented life in the Great Steppe. Cambridge scientist William Bateson spent 18 months traversing the steppes looking for snail shells in the 1880s, and by the end of the 19th century the first tourists - some, like R L Jefferson, on bicycle - were arriving, to be followed by mining engineers and agricultural merchants. All have a tale to tell.
£15.29
The Armchair Traveller at the Bookhaus Smile of the Midsummer Night: A Picture of Sweden
Book SynopsisLars Gustafsson and Agneta Blomqvist have written a personal guide to their Swedish homeland. Setting off from the south their journey leads them all the way up to Norrland, from the farms of Scania to the Laponian area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But it is the idyllic fjord in Bohuslan, in the Vastmanland region, as well as Lake Malar and Stockholm that they call home. Alive with their varied interests and entertaining suggestions for excursions - from journeys across the forests and moors to collect berries and mushrooms, encountering the odd elk or wolf along the way, to visits to the graves of Kurt Tucholsky and Strindberg, Smile of a Midsummer Night is knowledgeable, loving and poetic. A must-have for all fans of Sweden.
£11.69
The Armchair Traveller at the Bookhaus Morocco: In the Labyrinth of Dreams and Bazaars
Book SynopsisWhile much of the Middle East is now engulfed in conflict and repression, Morocco remains a curious anomaly: peaceful and open to the West, it has provided refuge for artists and writers for generations, and it remains an exotic destination for many curious travelers. The country has been influenced by an incredible variety of peoples Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Berbers, Muslims, Jews, and most of Europe s colonizers have played a role and modern Moroccan society is no less rich and varied. In "Morocco," Walter M. Weiss brings extensive knowledge of the region to bear as he travels the breadth and depth of the country s social and geographical contrasts. Berber villagers of the mountains are for the most part still illiterate and consider their king to be divinely chosen, while businessmen in Casablanca s towering offices dream of closer ties to the European Union. Weiss visits the settings of modern legends, such as Tangier, as well as the two medieval "centres Fes" and "Meknes," and sees earthen "kasbahs" and Marrakech s bazaar.On the way, he meets acrobats, Sufi musicians, pilgrims, craftsmen, beatniks, rabbis, and Berber farmers a kaleidoscope of variety and cultural influence. "
£9.50
The Armchair Traveller at the Bookhaus Seeking Provence: Old Myths, New Paths
Book SynopsisA region steeped in fable and myth, Provence is a cultural crossroads of European history. A source of inspiration to artists, poets, and troubadours, it is now an enviable refuge for the wealthy and fashionable. Nicholas Woodsworth, who was born in Ottawa, Canada, married into a Provencal family and has lived in the region for decades. Lovingly recounting vivid details of life in Provence, he provides here a welcome antidote to the typical rose-tinted, romantic view of it being a perennially sunny destination for tourists. The true Provencaux have always lived a hard life close to the land and the rhythms of the seasons. And it is in the revelation and understanding of these lives, of the Provencal people, that the truths of the region are to be found. As much a study of Provencal culture and history as a memoir and travel book, this is a deep and soulful investigation into a way of life that remains very distinct from that of the rest of France."Trade ReviewLike Tuscany, Provence has been trampled over by too many writers in recent years. But Woodsworth, a Provencal by marriage, looks as though he could break the curse of Mayle -New York Times on the hardback edition.
£10.80
The Armchair Traveller at the Bookhaus Umbria: The Heart of Italy
Book SynopsisWhen Patricia Clough bought a house in Umbria, she knew that buying her dream home did not mean that life would become a dream. By the end of this book, in which she describes the journey of making Umbria her home, she is sure that if one has basic requirements for being happy, then Umbria provides some of the best surroundings for happiness. Clough pores over Umbria's enchanting countryside, its tumultuous history, its ancient culture and sumptuous food, and laments that for a long time Umbria was mistaken for its fashionable neighbour, Tuscany. This is not a guide to buying home a in Italy, nor a guidebook for your holiday - though it would be useful as both of these things - but a story in which a woman discovers and marvels at the place she begins to call home.
£9.50
Haus Publishing Dickens's London
Book SynopsisFew novelists have written so intimately about a city in the way that Charles Dickens wrote about London. A near-photographic memory made his contact with the city indelible from a very young age and it remained his constant focus. Virginia Woolf maintained that, `we remodel our psychological geography when we read Dickens,’ as he produces `characters who exist not in detail, not accurately or exactly, but abundantly in a cluster of wild yet extraordinarily revealing remarks.’ But the `character’ he was drawn back to throughout his novels was London itself, all aspects of the capital from the coaching inns of his early years to the taverns and watermen of the Thames; these were the constant cityscapes of his life and work. Based on five walks in central London, Peter Clark illuminates the settings of Dickens’s London, his life, his journalism and his fiction. He also explores `The First Suburbs’ (Camden Town, Chelsea, Greenwich, Hampstead, Highgate and Limehouse) as they feature in Dickens’s writing.Trade Review`This is a small, delightful book, handsomely produced and shaped to fit an overcoat pocket, describing walks around parts of London associated with Dickens’s life and writings.’– The Literary Review; `gives us a splendidly clear and illuminating view, not only of the streets and the architecture, but of the sounds, smells, and intense human activity that both Dickens and Clark enjoy about London.’ – New Horizons
£9.49
Haus Publishing Hemingway in Italy
Book SynopsisErnest Hemingway is most often associated with Spain, Cuba and Florida, but Italy was equally important in his life and work. This book, the first full-length study on the subject, explores Hemingway’s visits throughout his life to such places as Sicily, Genoa, Rapallo, Cortina and Venice. Richard Owen describes how Hemingway first visited Italy during the First World War, an experience that set the scene for A Farewell to Arms. The writer then returned after the Second World War, and found inspiration for Across the River and into the Trees. When Men Without Women was published, some reviewers declared Hemingway to be at heart a reporter preoccupied with bullfighters, soldiers, prostitutes and hard drinkers, but their claims failed to note that he also wrote sensitively and passionately about love and loss against an Italian backdrop. Owen highlights the significance of Italy in the writer’s life. Showing how the Italian landscape, from the Venetian lagoon to the Dolomites and beyond, deeply affected one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. Hemingway in Italy demonstrates that this country stands alongside Spain as a key influence on his writing — and why the Italians themselves took Hemingway and his writing to heart.Trade Review‘An exceptionally lively study... Hemingway’s adoration of Italy never waned’. — Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsErnest Hemingway is most often associated with Spain and Cuba, but Italy was equally important in his life and work. This book, the first full-length study on the subject, explores the many visits Hemingway made throughout his life, to Sicily, Genoa, Rapallo, Cortina and Venice. Owen describes how Hemingway first visited Italy during the First World War, an experience that set the scene for A Farewell to Arms. After the Second World War, it was in Italy that he found inspiration for Across the River and into the Trees. Again and again, the Italian landscape – from the Venetian lagoon to the Dolomites and beyond – deeply affected one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. Hemingway in Italy demonstrates that Italy stands alongside Spain as a key influence on his work – and why the Italians themselves held Hemingway and his writing close to their hearts.
£9.99
Haus Publishing Salzburg: City of Culture
Book SynopsisAs the seat of prince-bishops it found wealth and power, as the birthplace of Mozart it found fame, and as a festival city it found its purpose and destiny. But can today’s Salzburg really be described by anything more than music and majestic baroque architecture? Hubert Nowak, who lived and worked in Salzburg for many years, sets out to find the lesser-known side of the city. Leaving the festival district, he plunges into the atmospheric old quarter and places known only to natives – and often not even to them. Through the stories of those who visited the city over the centuries, he gives the reader a fresh perspective and gives the old city new life. Salzburg: A City of Culture is essential reading for anyone interested in visiting the city.Trade Review"A rich confection of fact and quirky detail, Salzburg is a must for any visitor to this remarkable city." -- John Gimlette, English author of travel literature"This rather splendid and altogether endearing book cannot help but entice the reader into wanting to investigate the city of Salzburg further...a fascinating and beguiling read." * David Marx Book Reviews *
£9.49
Haus Publishing Chaucer’s Italy
Book SynopsisGeoffrey Chaucer might be considered the quintessential English writer, but he drew much of his inspiration and material from Italy. In fact, without the tremendous influence of Francesco Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio (among others), the author of The Canterbury Tales might never have assumed his place as the ‘father’ of English literature. Nevertheless, Richard Owen’s Chaucer’s Italy begins in London, where the poet dealt with Italian merchants in his roles as court diplomat and customs official. Next Owen takes us, via Chaucer’s capture at the siege of Rheims, to his involvement in arranging the marriage of King Edward III’s son Lionel in Milan and his missions to Genoa and Florence. By scrutinising his encounters with Petrarch, Boccaccio, and the mercenary knight John Hawkwood – and with vividly evocative descriptions of the Arezzo, Padua, Florence, Certaldo, and Milan that Chaucer would have encountered – Owen reveals the deep influence of Italy’s people and towns on Chaucer’s poems and stories. Much writing on Chaucer depicts a misleadingly parochial figure, but as Owen’s enlightening short study of Chaucer’s Italian years makes clear, the poet’s life was internationally eventful. The consequences have made the English canon what it is today.Trade ReviewVery readable and well-paced covers an amazing amount of ground. Marion Turner, author of Chaucer: A European Life
£11.69
Influx Press Lucifer Over London: A Guide to the Adopted City
Book SynopsisLondon, a city of constant transition, transaction, translation. London does not exist; London is a language without a place and it is the aphasic city; it's the mother of all languages. Lucifer Over London is a new anthology nine narrative essays written by a host of international prize-winning authors including Chloe Aridjis, Viola di Grado, Xiaolu Guo, Joanna Walsh and Zinovy Zinik. First published in Italy by Humboldt Books, Lucifer Over London is now appearing in English for the first time. This is a version of London as seen from the immigrants of recent migrations, of deportations to come, from those who create London even as they contradict it.
£9.49
Graffeg Limited Landscape Wales (Compact Edition)
Book SynopsisA pictorial celebration of the glorious natural treasures and landscapes which make up the country of Wales. Featuring spectacular mountains, dramatic coastlines, gentle lowlands and idyllic river valleys, Landscape Wales also focuses on people and their connection with the natural environment. A pocket-friendly size book.
£9.49
Carn Publishing ltd Arran: Travels, Treasures and Tales
Book Synopsis
£14.25
UEA Publishing Project Hinterland: Winter/Spring: 2020
Book SynopsisHinterland is a quarterly, print and digital magazine dedicated to creative non-fiction. Hinterland's fourth issue celebrates the art of a beautifully turned piece of flash writing, with our Flash Non-Fiction Special: 40 pages of the best bite-sized writing around. Mark Cocker leads with a piece on the army ant, others consider topics as varied as migrant youth, New York through the decades, the troubling life of pets, inter-racial relationships, and the fall of dictators. Inside a stunning cover, created exclusively for Hinterland by artist Mia Hague, is an outstanding line-up of new creative non-fiction plus all our great regular features, including a beautiful photo essay by Lily Bungay and an interview with Tessa McWatt.
£9.50
Medina Publishing Ltd Beyond that Last Blue Mountain
Book SynopsisHarriet's parents hoped that, after leaving boarding school and doing `the Season', she would meet and marry a suitable young man. But she was to disappoint them. Just after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, she set off for Peshawar to see for herself the plight of thousands of displaced Afghan refugees. Determined to do something about their dire situation, Harriet set up a small silk weaving project for illiterate Turkmen refugees, and was sent by UNESCO to Mazar-i-sharif to work with Afghanistan's last remaining silk ikat weavers. During those years she was arrested by the KHAD, narrowly missed being blown up, survived acute bacterial meningitis in a Kabul hospital, and rescued an abandoned pi-dog puppy who became her devoted companion. At the end of the first Gulf War she travelled with the Peshmerga in the newly-liberated Iraqi Kurdistan. Then in 1994 she joined a group of unemployed builders and decorators driving convoys of food and aid from Croydon to the Muslim enclaves in Bosnia Herzegovina. Much has been written about conflicts in these countries, by war correspondents, diplomats and military personnel, but this is a different story. It is about young woman from a sheltered and privileged background travelling and working alone, in and around war zones, frequently with no financial or practical support, at a time of increasing Islamic fundamentalism. Harriet left her traditional, comfortable home and chose to live a life of adventure and danger helping refugees who had nowhere else to turn. She continues to raise money for charity through her business selling oriental textiles and remains friends with the refugees she helped in Afghanistan. However, she is now married, to just the sort of husband her parents always hoped for.
£14.24
Monsoon Books Bandit Saints of Java: How Java’s eccentric
Book SynopsisBandit Saints of Java is a work of nonfiction that delves deep under the surface of modern Indonesia, exploring personalities and stories in the wacky world of local pilgrimage. It paints an astonishing portrait of Islam as it is practised today - largely invisible to journalists, scholars and tourists - by many of the 130 million people of Java.
£8.54
Saraband Overlander
Book SynopsisSeeking a temporary escape from the city and a world gone mad, Alan Brown plots out a personal challenge: an epic coast-to-coast trip through the lonely interior of the Highlands. He traverses paths historic and new, eschewing creature comforts and high-tech gear, trusting his (mostly) serviceable bike and his own skills. Armed with the essentials and a sense of curiosity, he discovers more about nature, people, our country, risk and himself than he ever thought possible. Alan traces a route from Argyllshire’s Loch Etive across remote Rannoch moors, dramatic Grampian terrain and the beautiful glens of Strathspey to reach the Moray Firth at Findhorn. Ready for all weathers and obstacles, he succumbs to the hypnotic daily routine of ride, eat, sleep, repeat. He’s savouring the landscapes, the wildlife and the solitude, and relishing the self-reliance. He is also picking up clues to past lives and discovering how the land has been altered by industry and game sports or, sometimes, conserved for wildlife and trees.Trade Review"An outstanding debut, brimming with charming anecdotes, helpful advice and poignant discussions about Scotland and the UK today, making it a timely read." Chiara Bullen, The Great Outdoors; "The perfect read for cycling and adventure lovers." Kenny Smith, Scottish Field; "Filled with enticing descriptions of extraordinary terrain, basic refuges, wonderful wildlife, colourful characters ... An enjoyable account of an epic journey." Julie Rand, Cycle magazine;"A challenging cycle through near-wilderness ... [Alan Brown] returns with a laudable vision to see the Highlands criss-crossed with cycling paths that would reconnect an increasingly isolated urbanised population with the natural world." Helen Moat, BBC Countryfile magazine; "Cycling and walking are the best ways of truly appreciating a place. In Overlander, Alan Brown has written a hugely readable account of what he hears, sees, smells and thinks of the present and the past in a traverse from west to east coast by bike. His sensitive, personal and culturally informed observations on the landscapes, wildlife and people he encounters is an eloquent reminder of the wonderful country we live in and how much it has to offer our bodies and our souls. Time to get on my bike." Andy Wightman MSP; "If this book convinces me of anything it is this. Riding a bike across Scotland's byways offers endless possibilities for exploration, adventure and fun and most importantly, offers the opportunity to read the small print of our highland landscape. Overlander is a remarkable book, the tale of a strenuous mini-adventure and a clarion call to those who manage our upland areas." Cameron McNeish; "Overlander cheerfully debunks much of the off-putting preciousness of the hardcore cycling fraternity to return cross-country cycling to what it should be ... Alan Brown traces a new/old Scotland through a network of coffin paths, estate tracks, drove roads, military roads, disused railway beds and sheer bog. It's an uplifting account ... A very timely reminder that inactivity and loss of contact with nature are bigger threats than most small accidents." Lesley Riddoch
£9.49
Sandstone Press Ltd Gears for Queers
Book SynopsisKeen to see some of Europe, queer couple Lilith and Abigail get on their old bikes and start pedalling. Along flat fens and up Swiss Alps, they will meet new friends and exorcise old demons as they push their bodies – and their relationship – to the limit.Trade Review'Two refreshing voices in cycling. An essential read.' -Jools Walker; 'Lili and Abi have opened up new space in the existing narratives of long-distance cycling. Their book will inspire many future journeys.' -Emily Chappell; 'Abi and Lili's account shows how you can become part of a landscape on a bike, even when you aren't sure you fit.' -Sarah Strong; 'Abi and Lili speak honestly and insightfully about mental illness, disability, fitness... This book made me laugh, broke my heart and most of all made me want to get back on my bike!' -Eris Young
£8.54
GB Publishing Org Absurd
Book SynopsisPointless, risky, absurd. Yes, that is the beauty of it - absurdly determined to metamorphose themselves into a glossy photograph seen in a glossy magazine that caused a spark of desire within the tinder-dry kindling of their imagination. They were consumed with all that the photograph promised until that reality could be made theirs: to achieve all of the experience, the life's journey implied within it, to redefine their already long lives, to change themselves, to fast-track to the achievement of the decades of experience exemplified by those young adventurers in that glossy photograph in that glossy magazine. What an absurd notion. For no other reason, it had to be: three quickly became five guys on heritage motorcycles, hooking up with an ex-Special Forces operative and a combat zone photographer to make it seven for a safari across the top of Africa. From Spain to Tangier, they traversed the Riff, navigated the Atlas Mountains, circled Cirque du Jaffar, and rode through the Gorges du Ziz. Rough-riding across Morocco has never been so much fun. Wild camping on the way under star-spattered sky, across unforgiving terrain where luxury is a warm sleeping bag. In places where if you don't guard it you lose it, and where changing co-ordinates on a fast and furious basis makes good sense. Through oft sudden lows where the warmth of a Moroccan welcome exceeds the heat from black coffee, honeyed mint teas, or a meal from a hot tajine. Until dusty boots touch down on the sands of the Sahara at Erg Chebbi to witness a new dawn rise.Trade ReviewPress - Octane magazine, Bike magazine. Author interviews: Talk Radio Europe, Adventure Rider Radio. Podcasts/video on https://www.gbpublishing.co.uk/absurd
£16.14
September Publishing Barefoot at the Lake
Book SynopsisYear after year the family returns to the lake. The children, barefoot and free, explore its sun-drenched wilderness... The summer Bruce turns ten seems, at first, like any other: swimming out to the raft, watching the gulls, frogs and herons, catching crayfish. But just when he thinks that life is perfect, everything begins to change, and over the course of two months both the harshness of the adult world and the patterns of the natural reveal themselves.Barefoot at the Lake is not only a beautifully written boy’s-eye view of the animals, humans and landscape of his youth, it is also delightfully funny, with a moving wisdom at its heart.Trade Review`A long, hot summer's day of a book -full of wonderful stories, poignant memories and acute observations of the natural world.' Kate Humble | `Enchantingly written. Gently and lovingly, Bruce Fogle's writing highlights something we are in danger of losing for ever: that we can understand ourselves most profoundly only in relation to the wilderness.' Ruth Padel | `In this glorious memoir of boyhood holidays, he proves himself to be a craftsman of a writer ... It's a book full of quiet wisdom, and also an inspiring account of how an adult vocation can grow from the formative experiences of childhood.' Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller
£9.49
Luath Press Ltd The Spirit of Malawi
Book SynopsisLiving your life against the odds. Through the voices of Malawians The Spirit of Malawi is a first-hand account of daily life in Malawi. It also examines the big issues that affect us all, but Malawians more than most: climate change, the global economic divide and digitalisation. It looks beyond the clichés to consider what life is really like for 18 million people born into a national economy less than a quarter of the size of Edinburgh’s.Trade Review'In her attempt to capture the spirit of the “warm heart of Africa,” Susan Dalgety makes the wise decision to tell its story through the voices of the people who live there' - The Scotsman 'Susan Dalgety was there in May 2005. She has been a driving force for the partnership ever since. Her love for Malawi and Malawians has driven her to write this book. Susan believes in the people, and her friends in Malawi believe in her. Enjoy the pictures she draws, the stories she tells and the lessons she draws. The Warm Heart of Africa is ready to welcome you too.' - Lord Jack McConnell of Glenscorrodale First Minister of Scotland, 2001–07 As you read this book, you will be exposed to the other side of Malawi not yet discovered, the real stories of real people… the spirit of Malawi. - Vera Kamtukule, Deputy Minister, Government of Malawi
£13.49
Octopus Publishing Group The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Crazy Adventure in
Book Synopsis**NOW A MAJOR MOVIE STARRING ZAC EFRON, RUSSELL CROWE AND BILL MURRAY THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'An extraordinary story.' - Daily Mail'An unforgettable, wild ride from start to finish.' - John Bruning'The astounding true story - from the streets of Manhattan to the jungles of Vietnam.' - Thomas KellyIT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME.As a result of a rowdy night in his local New York bar, ex-Marine and merchant seaman "Chick" Donohue volunteers for a legendary mission. He will sneak into Vietnam to track down his buddies in combat to bring them a cold beer and supportive messages from home. It'll be the greatest beer run ever!Now, decades on from 1968, this is the remarkable true story of how he actually did it.Armed with Irish luck and a backpack full of alcohol, Chick works his passage to Vietnam, lands in Qui Nhon and begins to carry out his quest, tracking down the disbelieving soldiers one by one.But things quickly go awry, and as he talks his way through checkpoints and unwittingly into dangerous situations, Chick sees a lot more of the war than he ever planned - spending a terrifying time in the Demilitarized Zone, and getting caught up in Saigon during the Tet Offensive.With indomitable spirit, Chick survives on his wits, but what he finds in Vietnam comes as a shock. By the end of his epic adventure, battered and exhausted, Chick finds himself questioning why his friends were ever led into the war in the first place.
£11.69
Sandstone Press Ltd Pages from My Passport
Book SynopsisBeing paid to explore sounded like a dream job. From Norway to Madagascar, by campervan, taxi, boat and small plane, Amelia Dalton hunted down remote archipelagos, deserted beaches and tiny local museums to create expedition holidays with a difference. On the way she was abandoned on an unpopulated island and escaped a hotel fire – and worse. Pages from my Passport is a memoir of adventures, disasters and occasional triumphs, all infused with Amelia’s unquenchable enthusiasm.Trade Review‘Colourful, honest, and often amusing. Great fun.’ * Alexander McCall Smith *‘Magical... Amelia Dalton is the Indiana Jones of small, glamorous cruise ships.’ * Lee Durrell *
£13.49
The Book Guild Ltd Scotland Beyond the Bagpipes
Book SynopsisLike so many people who live south of the border in England, Helen thought that she knew all about Scotland. It was a part of Britain after all, a place that was surely more the same than it was different. But then she actually went there - and everything changed... Helen discovered a place altogether different from her home country down south. Over a few days in Edinburgh, Helen was charmed by Scotland's magic. A spell was cast on her undulating walk across ancient volcanoes - the story of getting from one side of the city centre to the other - and as she was bewitched by the landscape she also found herself charmed by the country's famously chatty people. Helen left wanting more, and so in 2017 - after the sudden loss of her mother - she returned to explore properly. Over three months Helen undertook a personal journey around Scotland, uncovering stories about the history, geography and people of this peerless, magical country.
£9.49
Parthian Books An Open Door
Book SynopsisThe history of Wales as a destination and confection of English Romantic writers is well-known, but this book reverses the process, turning a Welsh gaze on the rest of the world. This shift is timely: the severing of Britain from the European Union asks questions of Wales about its relationship to its own past, to the British state, to Europe and beyond, while the present political, public health and environmental crises mean that travel writing can and should never again be the comfortably escapist genre that it was. Our modern anxieties over identity are registered here in writing that questions in a personal, visceral way the meaning of belonging and homecoming, and reflects a search for stability and solace as much as a desire for adventure. Here are lyrical stories refracted through kaleidoscopes of family and world history, alongside accounts of forced displacement and the tenacious love that exists between people and places. Yet these pieces also show the enduring value and joy of travel itself. As Eluned Gramich expresses it ‘It’s one of the pleasures of travel to submit yourself to other people, let yourself be guided and taught’. Taken together, the stories of An Open Door extend Jan Morris’ legacy into a turbulent present and even more uncertain future. Whether seen from Llŷn or the Somali desert, we still take turns to look out at the same stars, and it might be this recognition, above all, that encourages us to hold the door open for as long as we can.
£9.50
Tippermuir Books Limited Walking the Antonine Wall: A Journey from East to
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£11.39
Tippermuir Books Limited Wild Quest Britain: A Nature Journey of Discovery
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£9.49
September Publishing Airplane Mode
Book SynopsisAn illuminating personal and cultural history of travel, Airplane Modeasks: What does it mean to be a joyous traveller when we live in the ruins of colonialism? The conditions of travel have long been dictated by the colours of passports and the colour of skin. For Shahnaz Habib, travel and travel writing have always been complicated pleasures. Habib threads the history of travel with her personal story as a child on family vacations in India, an adult curious about the world, and an immigrant for whom round trips are an annual fact of life. Woven through the book are inviting and playful analyses of obvious and not-so-obvious travel artifacts: passports, carousels, bougainvilleas, guidebooks, trains, the idea of wanderlust itself. Together, they tell a subversive history of travel as a Euro-American mode of consumerism - but as any traveller knows, travel is more than that. As an immigrant whose loved ones live across continents, Habib takes a deeply curious and joyful look at a troubled (and beloved) activity.
£11.69
Haus Publishing Troubled Water: A Journey around the Black Sea
Book SynopsisFringing the Black Sea are a kaleidoscope of countries, some centuries old and others emerging only after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Through the stories of the people he meets there, Jens Mühling seeks to paint a picture of this cauldron of cultures and to understand the present against a backdrop of change stretching back to the arrival of Ancient Greek settlers and beyond. A fluent Russian speaker with a knack for gaining the trust of those he meets, Mühling’s cast of characters, as diverse as the stories he hears, is ready to tell him their complex, contradictory, often fantastical tales, full of grief and legend. He meets descendants of the so-called Pontic Greeks, whom Stalin deported to Central Asia and who have now returned; Circassians, known from Tolstoy’s Caucasus stories, who fled to Syria a century ago and whose great-great-grandchildren, now displaced, have returned to Abkhazia; and members of ethnic minorities: the Georgian Mingrelians, Turkish Lazis, or Bulgarian Muslims expelled to Turkey in the summer of 1989. Not to mention the molluscs and other species that have unsettled the delicate ecological balance of this unique body of water. Nowhere does the uneasy alliance of tradition and modernity seem starker, and there is no better writer to capture the diverse humanity of those who live there.
£10.44
University of Wales Press Return to My Trees: Notes from the Welsh
Book SynopsisWhen and how did we humans lose our connection with nature – and how do we find it again? Matthew Yeomans seeks to answer these questions as he walks more than 300 miles through the ancient and modern forests of Wales, losing himself in their stories (and on the odd unexpected diversion, too). Return to My Trees weaves together history and folklore with tales of industrial progress and decay. On his journey, he visits landmarks that once were home to ancient Druids, early Celtic saints, Norman Lords and the great mining communities that reshaped Wales. He becomes immersed in the woodlands that inspired the country’s great legends. At one point he even stumbles upon a herd of television-watching cows. As Yeomans walks, he reflects on these woods’ uncertain future, his own relationship with nature and the global problems we need to solve if humans are to truly make peace with the natural world. from tree-planting in ways that are actually beneficial to the environment and local communities to embedding the value of nature into our financial and economic systems. The result is a fascinating and funny adventure that offers insight into the past, present and future of Wales’s woodlands and shows what the rest of the world can learn from them.
£17.09
Little Peak Press High Inspiration: Mountains, Running and
Book SynopsisWith a back-story of running round the route of the classic Alpine journey the Tour de Mont Blanc, Heather Dawe explores the drive behind mountain running and racing, and how simply being in the mountains has inspired herself and other climbers, writers, artists and innovators through the years.
£11.88
Little Peak Press Mountain Stories: Remembered journeys in the
Book SynopsisMountain Stories is an illustrated memoir of journeys through some of Scotland’s most beautiful landscapes, including Skye's Cuillin, Knoydart, Assynt and the Far North. Writing during lockdown, author and artist Heather Dawe finds telling these stories a powerful means of reconnection with the mountains when they are physically inaccessible. Dawe's journeys are made by walking, running, cycling or sea-kayak. The stories are a reflection of the importance of wild places and the inspiration, art and culture associated with them.
£15.19
Unicorn Publishing Group Touching Mexico
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£24.00
Exisle Publishing Untethered: Living the digital nomad life in an
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£11.99
Penguin Putnam Inc Water, Wood And Wild Things: Learning Craft and
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£15.29
Burro Books A Lizard In My Luggage: Mayfair to Mallorca in
Book SynopsisThe first in a humorous travel series of six books about how to live the dream in a new country. The author explores different local cultural themes in each title.
£9.49
Burro Books Cat On A Hot Tiled Roof: Mayhem in Mayfair and
Book SynopsisThe second in a humorous travel series of six books about how to live the dream in a Mediterranean country. The author explores different local cultural themes in each title.
£9.49
Hachette Livre - BNF Notes de Voyage Dans l'Amérique Du Sud:
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£16.00
Prestel Adventuress: Women Exploring the Wild
Book SynopsisIn turn inspirational and extraordinary, these profiles in female courage, determination, and adventure are illustrated with breathtaking photography from some of the most intriguing corners of the world. The twenty women profiled in this collection are from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. One thing they all have in common is a deep desire for adventure. There's Bele n Castello who left the comfort of a high-profile job to explore the world on her bike; Gina Johansen who skied solo across the Arctic Finnmarksvidda plateau; Alienor Le Gouvello who horse trekked over 3,300 miles across Australia; Cal Major who SUPed the length of the UK to raise awareness of ocean plastic pollution; and other women, who tell of how they listened to their own inner voice, bucked tradition, and gave it everything they had. Told in their own words, their fascinating stories are illustrated with jaw-dropping photographs of their adventures-on passes in the Swiss Alps; under the stars in Hawaii; through Iceland's lava fields; deep in the Guyanese jungle; from Mexico's underwater caves to the Sequoia forests of California. From the ocean's deepest canyons to the earth's highest peaks, these extraordinary women offer readers the inspiration and encouragement they need to pursue their dreams-whatever they are, wherever they may be.
£31.99
The Urban Explorer Only in Munich: A Guide to Unique Locations,
Book SynopsisDiscover Europe with the 'Only In' Guides! These ground breaking city guides are for independent cultural travellers wishing to escape the crowds and understand cities from different and unusual perspectives. Unique locations, hidden corners and unusual objects. A comprehensive illustrated guide to more than 80 fascinating and unusual historical sites in one of Europe's great cities including; Atmospheric crypts, fascinating breweries, wartime air raid shelters, eccentric museums and little-known cemeteries. Following the history from medieval Munich and the Wittelsbachs to the Raterepublik and the Third Reich. Shows sites such as - A Jugendstil swimming pool, Little Asia, the sunken village, and Hitler's secret headquarters The 'Urban Explorer' Duncan J. D. Smith is a travel writer and photographer. In his ground breaking 'Only In' Guides he reveals European cities from unique and hidden perspectives. He has travelled across several continents and described his experiences in books, magazines, and online. Born in Sheffield, England in 1960, he studied history and archaeology at university. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
£16.10
The Urban Explorer Only in Hamburg: A Guide to Unique Locations,
Book SynopsisDiscover Europe with the 'Only In' Guides! These ground breaking city guides are for independent cultural travellers wishing to escape the crowds and understand cities from different and unusual perspectives. Unique locations, hidden corners and unusual objects. A comprehensive illustrated guide to more than 80 fascinating and unusual historical sites in Germany's second-largest city - Prehistoric stones, wartime air raid shelters, hidden cellars, unexpected sanctuaries, and eccentric museums. Tracking the history from Charlemagne's Hammaburg and the Hanseatic League to the Third Reich and the Federal State of Hamburg. Includes sites such as; John Lennon's doorway, a floating church, the English sewers, and the unicorn of the deep
£16.10
The Urban Explorer Only in Berlin: A Guide to Unique Locations,
Book SynopsisDiscover Europe with the 'Only In' Guides! These ground breaking city guides are for independent cultural travellers wishing to escape the crowds and understand cities from different and unusual perspectives. Unique locations, hidden corners and unusual objects. A comprehensive illustrated guide to more than 80 fascinating and unusual historical sites in one of Europe's great capital cities - Hidden gardens, forgotten cemeteries, ruined churches, historic villages and unusual museums. Tracking the history from the Hohenzollerns and the Weimar Republic to the Third Reich and the Soviets and featuring sites such as; Devil's Mountain, the Bridge of Spies, Peacock Island, the Fuhrer Bunker, Frederick the Great's coffin, The Berlin Archaeopteryx, Marlene Dietrich, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, Albert Einstein, Rosa Luxemburg and the Brothers Grimm.
£16.10
