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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
I enjoyed [b:The Salt Path|38085814|The Salt Path|Raynor Winn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520119402l/38085814._SY75_.jpg|59753071], but I only bought this book because it was part of a buy one, get one half price offer in Waterstones. Was there anything more to say, I wondered?
This time Raynor and Moth decide to defy his deteriorating health once more and walk The Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland— but end up walking all the way home to Cornwall, over 1,000 miles. I think Raynor’s writing skills have improved— she’s good at both describing nature and her reactions to it. I see some people complain that she’s bringing politics into it by talking about climate change and nature conservation, but she lives on a farm that they are rewilding, so these subjects are obviously important to her. If you think they don’t matter, then this is not the book for you.
As in The Salt Path they go through some hard times (while at least not being poverty-stricken any more), but again they are always there for each other. They must have had arguments, but ultimately they are equal partners in their mission and obviously devoted to each other. And Moth pushes through difficulties, determined not to sit at home waiting to die. I dare say Winn has embroidered and rearranged the truth in places, not uncommon in what is now called “narrative non-fiction”, but she has crafted an uplifting tale with a surprisingly upbeat ending.
An easy read while ill in bed.
This time Raynor and Moth decide to defy his deteriorating health once more and walk The Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland— but end up walking all the way home to Cornwall, over 1,000 miles. I think Raynor’s writing skills have improved— she’s good at both describing nature and her reactions to it. I see some people complain that she’s bringing politics into it by talking about climate change and nature conservation, but she lives on a farm that they are rewilding, so these subjects are obviously important to her. If you think they don’t matter, then this is not the book for you.
As in The Salt Path they go through some hard times (while at least not being poverty-stricken any more), but again they are always there for each other. They must have had arguments, but ultimately they are equal partners in their mission and obviously devoted to each other. And Moth pushes through difficulties, determined not to sit at home waiting to die. I dare say Winn has embroidered and rearranged the truth in places, not uncommon in what is now called “narrative non-fiction”, but she has crafted an uplifting tale with a surprisingly upbeat ending.
An easy read while ill in bed.
This was fantastic and back on track. I liked her second book, but it felt like an anti climax after the Salt Path. So I started this with a little hesitation. But thank goodness it was fantastic. I really want to get my walking boots on and go but I have neither the time nor the money to be able to make such a trip as they did. In the meantime it was great to read about someone else making such a trip, and she tells it so well. Although she keeps going on that cuckoo's are lost from England and only in remote corners of Scotland and I am wondering what is she talking about??? We get them here in North Yorkshire. I do sometimes wonder if Yorkshire is one of these bubbles where we are still lucky to have such biodiversity.
In this book they go up to the very top north- east corner of Scotland to walk the Cape Wrath trail. Then decide to do the West Highland Way, then the Pennine Way, and so on and so on until they get themselves back to Cornwall. This is all happening during 2021 when the UK is coming out of lockdown and everyone is twitchy about outsiders, the countryside is overwhelmed by everyone having domestic holidays and shops are having trouble with supplies thanks to brexit. Also Moth's ongoing health issues. At the start of the walk he is struggling more with his degenerative brain condition, but the walking helps his brain. Which speaks volumes. I remember reading a book by an Irish brain researcher (Shane O'Mara??? May have made that name up) about how amazing the connections between walking and brain activity are.
In this book they go up to the very top north- east corner of Scotland to walk the Cape Wrath trail. Then decide to do the West Highland Way, then the Pennine Way, and so on and so on until they get themselves back to Cornwall. This is all happening during 2021 when the UK is coming out of lockdown and everyone is twitchy about outsiders, the countryside is overwhelmed by everyone having domestic holidays and shops are having trouble with supplies thanks to brexit. Also Moth's ongoing health issues. At the start of the walk he is struggling more with his degenerative brain condition, but the walking helps his brain. Which speaks volumes. I remember reading a book by an Irish brain researcher (Shane O'Mara??? May have made that name up) about how amazing the connections between walking and brain activity are.
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
Ein sehr bewegendes Buch über das Weitwandern, über die Natur, über Gesundheit, Dankbarkeit, Gewissen, Klimawandel und so viel mehr. Ich habe richtig Lust bekommen, tagelang durch die Wildnis zu gehen, ich möchte unbedingt wieder in einem Zelt schlafen. Allerdings glaube ich, dass viele Strapazen nicht so ausführlich beschrieben wurden, wie sie sich damals angefühlt haben mussten. Einerseits tröstlich, denn dann scheint es im Nachhinein nicht so schlimm gewesen zu sein. Andererseits verleitet das natürlich dazu, dass Menschen diese Wanderungen unterschätzen. Doch wenn es die Menschen mehr in die Natur bringt... Bezüglich Klimawandel wirkte die Moralkeule manchmal ein wenig zu gewollt, trotzdem war es erschreckend und augenöffend.
Jedenfalls möchte ich mehr von der Autorin lesen, mehr wandern und mehr zelten (am liebsten in Großbritannien)!
Jedenfalls möchte ich mehr von der Autorin lesen, mehr wandern und mehr zelten (am liebsten in Großbritannien)!
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
"I hate the idea of bucket lists, I've always thought you should do what you can while you can, and live without regrets, then there's no need for bucket lists" Page 31
"Time, it's an elusive thing. Hours can pass like days, but months can feel like moments. It's all a matter of how you fill it" Page 35
"Hope. It's powerful; it can change things. But you've got to put yourself in the way of it, let yourself feel it. Let the power of it lift you up. That's what you're doing: putting yourself in the way of hope. Do that and anything can happen" Page 51
"But the biggest skill, probably something that passes even beyond lockdown, is holding on to the knowledge that however tough it gets- whether it's blisters, mild concussion, or the boredom of one more mile down a path that never ends- you will get through it and, in some as yet undiscovered way, you'll be better for it" Page 90
"Sometimes in life you don't know how much you rely on something until it's taken away. You don't realize how much you depend on the roof over your head until you lose it, or the money in your pocket until you don't have it- or a cup of tea until the stove breaks and you can't boil any water" Page 94
"Our greatest fears always greet us in their ugliest form in the quiet of the night" Page 148
"this trip has taught me something about all of this- the living, the dying, the void inbetween. It's not about how long it lasts, it's about the value of each moment" Page 167
"It's so easy to put life off, put dreams on the top shelf where you can no longer see them, so never have to acknowledge that
they're unfulfilled. Too easy for it all to end without ever having breathed life into hopes, never having given them a chance
to fly. Better to spare the money, the time, the effort, walk that path, wear that parrot shirt, or whatever it takes to fulfil that dream, than to reach the end filled with regret." Page 202
"My feet join theirs, connecting me to each person that had trodden this ground, each life that has gone before, each story that has yet to come out. Our energy beaten into the ground, until part of us has become this ground" 205
"Walking can't solve everything. It can give you time to work through issues or put them out of your mind for a while, it can give perspective and space, but some things need to be faced before they can be resolved" Page 209
"Days of sun and wind and cloud-strewn skies, where we ran free between the high
moors to the north and the gritstone escarpments further south. Forming connections to this land and to each other,
bonds that have never been broken. Each step draws us closer to this place, to a familiarity I didn't realize I was craving until I could smell it in the wind. That deep, rich, acidic peat and dry limestone smell. Where the air is filled with the calls of kestrels,
where the wind always blows over the edge with the promise of something new not far behind, where you can smel] the rain
as it falls across the flat lands to the south in curtains of grey / obscuring landscape. The place where I can feel Moth's twenty-one-year-old hand in mine, and a lifetime of possibility stretching ahead" Page 226/7
"Because books don't change lives. They can change how you think, but it's you that changed your life. You allowed the book to influence you, then you chose to change how you live. The power was always in you, the book just opened the door" Page 227
"The pillars are the canvas of graffti artists,
each smooth surface painted with names, slogans and comments. One stands out in large capital letters: 'ADAPT', It feels as if it's been written here for us, nearing the end of this long, long walk. It describes our life. From learning to live without home, to discovering how to live wild, to finding a way to live unwild; from learning to live with an illness, to learning how / not to die from it. The last years have all been about adaptation. But we're all moving into a world where we need to adapt, in ways we can't imagine right now, Adapt to a new world, and a changing climate, like the cuckoos moving north and the midges
moving south, adapt our lifestyles to slow that change, adapt our borders, adapt our thinking about why we choose to have
borders, adapt to a new life, adapt to a way of living it. Adapt to survive." Page 288/9
"I finally know this home can't be lost. No matter what happens in life, no matter how far we travel, this strip of earth will always
be home. We inhabit this path and it inhabits us. We're home. We head west, relishing the final miles, with an understanding that life isn't easy but maybe it isn't meant to be easy. Sitting / on a headland, looking across the Channel as a squall blurs the horizon, I realize that we don't always have to seek out the easiest path, or take the one that's presented to us; sometimes it's the hardest one that holds the greatest riches" Page 296/7
"Time, it's an elusive thing. Hours can pass like days, but months can feel like moments. It's all a matter of how you fill it" Page 35
"Hope. It's powerful; it can change things. But you've got to put yourself in the way of it, let yourself feel it. Let the power of it lift you up. That's what you're doing: putting yourself in the way of hope. Do that and anything can happen" Page 51
"But the biggest skill, probably something that passes even beyond lockdown, is holding on to the knowledge that however tough it gets- whether it's blisters, mild concussion, or the boredom of one more mile down a path that never ends- you will get through it and, in some as yet undiscovered way, you'll be better for it" Page 90
"Sometimes in life you don't know how much you rely on something until it's taken away. You don't realize how much you depend on the roof over your head until you lose it, or the money in your pocket until you don't have it- or a cup of tea until the stove breaks and you can't boil any water" Page 94
"Our greatest fears always greet us in their ugliest form in the quiet of the night" Page 148
"this trip has taught me something about all of this- the living, the dying, the void inbetween. It's not about how long it lasts, it's about the value of each moment" Page 167
"It's so easy to put life off, put dreams on the top shelf where you can no longer see them, so never have to acknowledge that
they're unfulfilled. Too easy for it all to end without ever having breathed life into hopes, never having given them a chance
to fly. Better to spare the money, the time, the effort, walk that path, wear that parrot shirt, or whatever it takes to fulfil that dream, than to reach the end filled with regret." Page 202
"My feet join theirs, connecting me to each person that had trodden this ground, each life that has gone before, each story that has yet to come out. Our energy beaten into the ground, until part of us has become this ground" 205
"Walking can't solve everything. It can give you time to work through issues or put them out of your mind for a while, it can give perspective and space, but some things need to be faced before they can be resolved" Page 209
"Days of sun and wind and cloud-strewn skies, where we ran free between the high
moors to the north and the gritstone escarpments further south. Forming connections to this land and to each other,
bonds that have never been broken. Each step draws us closer to this place, to a familiarity I didn't realize I was craving until I could smell it in the wind. That deep, rich, acidic peat and dry limestone smell. Where the air is filled with the calls of kestrels,
where the wind always blows over the edge with the promise of something new not far behind, where you can smel] the rain
as it falls across the flat lands to the south in curtains of grey / obscuring landscape. The place where I can feel Moth's twenty-one-year-old hand in mine, and a lifetime of possibility stretching ahead" Page 226/7
"Because books don't change lives. They can change how you think, but it's you that changed your life. You allowed the book to influence you, then you chose to change how you live. The power was always in you, the book just opened the door" Page 227
"The pillars are the canvas of graffti artists,
each smooth surface painted with names, slogans and comments. One stands out in large capital letters: 'ADAPT', It feels as if it's been written here for us, nearing the end of this long, long walk. It describes our life. From learning to live without home, to discovering how to live wild, to finding a way to live unwild; from learning to live with an illness, to learning how / not to die from it. The last years have all been about adaptation. But we're all moving into a world where we need to adapt, in ways we can't imagine right now, Adapt to a new world, and a changing climate, like the cuckoos moving north and the midges
moving south, adapt our lifestyles to slow that change, adapt our borders, adapt our thinking about why we choose to have
borders, adapt to a new life, adapt to a way of living it. Adapt to survive." Page 288/9
"I finally know this home can't be lost. No matter what happens in life, no matter how far we travel, this strip of earth will always
be home. We inhabit this path and it inhabits us. We're home. We head west, relishing the final miles, with an understanding that life isn't easy but maybe it isn't meant to be easy. Sitting / on a headland, looking across the Channel as a squall blurs the horizon, I realize that we don't always have to seek out the easiest path, or take the one that's presented to us; sometimes it's the hardest one that holds the greatest riches" Page 296/7
It’s a 4* or 5* read - probably somewhere between the two. I love the chatty style, the asides about the places visited, but also about homelessness, ecology/environment, politics, Scotland independence, Brexit - it’s also interesting that countrywide there are some of the same frustrations.
In the Salt Path Ray & Moth were homeless, here, we are in slightly different territory. But it’s such a long walk, and it’s one of those things, you can’t normally do, unless you’re not working. And if you have the time, you may not be fit enough, to leave your life behind for a long walk. Moth at the start wasn’t really fit enough, but he managed it, so perhaps more of us can be inspired. (Reader, she was, but after almost 10 miles of walking along the canal, that was enough!)
In the Salt Path Ray & Moth were homeless, here, we are in slightly different territory. But it’s such a long walk, and it’s one of those things, you can’t normally do, unless you’re not working. And if you have the time, you may not be fit enough, to leave your life behind for a long walk. Moth at the start wasn’t really fit enough, but he managed it, so perhaps more of us can be inspired. (Reader, she was, but after almost 10 miles of walking along the canal, that was enough!)
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced