Put on your walking “books”

For my book blog, I have decided to adopt a theme each month to encourage me to read more widely and not just focus on mystery/crime books. Tying in with my last blog about New Year’s Resolutions, I have selected walking as my theme this month as many people have set a resolution to walk more this year. My challenge was then to find and read five books with a link (albeit tenuous) to walking. The five I selected were a mixture of fiction and non-fiction. I hope you enjoy my reviews of them.

Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton – four stars

It’s Covid-19 lockdown time and political adviser Chloe Dalton has relocated from London to a cottage in the depths of the English countryside. While out for a walk, she discovers a day old leveret (baby hare) on a laneway, apparently abandoned by her mother. It is only the size of Chloe’s hand and after some deliberation, she brings it home as she fears it will die otherwise. She starts to feed it kitten milk and the little leveret survives and even starts to thrive. An amazing bond develops between the young hare and Chloe but it is a wild animal and at some stage, the leveret needs to be released to the wild.

With lots of detail, Chloe describes how they co-exist and eventually the leveret learns how to jump the garden wall, escaping to the adjacent fields. But for a while, the hare returns each morning to eat porridge oats and pear, continuing to sleep in the house by day and roaming the countryside by night. The story continues for three years during which time, the hare occasionally returns to Chloe’s house and garden to give birth and feed six leverets. By the way, the hare is never given a name and doesn’t gain the status of a pet – instead she remains a wild animal with a special relationship with Chloe.

This is a beautiful and moving story of the unlikely friendship between a human and a hare supported by in-depth research through art, literature and folklore. With intricate illustrations, It’s a gentle and easy read which will especially appeal to nature lovers.

A New York Times Bestseller and a finalist for the 2025 Women’s Prize for non-fiction.

Walking on Sunshine by Giovanna Fletcher – three stars

To be honest, I was rather disappointed with this book. I had purchased it in a charity book shop as I thought it was in keeping with my monthly theme of “walking” but despite the title, walking didn’t feature until half way through the book. It actually ended well so I increased my two star rating to three stars.

Mike’s wife Pia had recently died from breast cancer in her mid 30s, after a short illness. Mike was devastated as were her besties and former flatmates, Vicky and Zaza. Similar to Cecilia Ahern’s “PS I love you”, Pia had left some notes about what to do after her death. One of her “Rules of Death” was to “have an adventure” so the trio decided to go on a trek in the Peruvian Andes. This pushed them all well out of their comfort zone, especially the two girls. Sleeping in tents, toilet facilities were basic and they even had to eat guinea pig! Of course, there were blisters and each of the three discovered more about themselves as they walked. Mike even had the opportunity to scatter some of Pia’s ashes in a particularly scenic spot.

The trek gave Mike, Vicky and Zaza the space and time to process their feelings and the impetus to make changes to their lives on their return to the UK. The main issues explored in this book were grief and friendship with their friendship bond getting stronger as a result of their trek.

Walk Yourself Happy by Julia Bradbury – five stars

Written by TV presenter Julia Bradbury, this is an excellent book to motivate you to get outside more in nature and to walk every day. Both your physical and mental health will benefit as a result.

Julia was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 and this was the catalyst for her to make changes in her life. While walking is big feature in the book, other wellness topics are explored too including nutrition, sleep, breathing, foot care and a peaceful mind. Julia’s narrative is supplemented by advice from other wellness gurus. Some of my highlights in the book were:

• Trees can talk to each other! Julia loves to engage in tree hugging too.
• 120 minutes per week spent in green spaces has a beneficial impact on your life. (University of Exeter study)
• Morning light is very important. “This is why I stick my head out of the bathroom window as soon as I wake up, rain or shine, right after my morning wee.”
• Step outside and listen to the birds.
• Getting the body moving seems to help us process emotions and thoughts.
• Julia’s exercise goal is one hour four times per week but if you can only manage ten minutes a few times per week, that’s a good start. It’s more important to get started and build new habits into your life.
• Find your tribe of colleagues or friends who you can go on this exercise journey with.
• Try grounding – walking barefoot on grass or a beach.
• Enjoy nature snacks – take regular breaks throughout the day and spend time in nature.
• Walk. Every. Day.

I really enjoyed this book plus it’s definitely motivated me to spend more time in nature and walk more which can only be a good thing.

You Are Here by David Nicholls – four stars

When Deputy Headmistress Cleo decides to organise a walking holiday, she invites a group of friends, both old and new, to join her. They were going to follow part of the “Coast to Coast Walk” in northern England which starts at St Bees in Cumbria and ends at Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire – in other words from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, a distance of 192 miles.

A motley group of five walkers meet at the starting point but most of them drop out as the walk progresses. The two stalwarts are geography teacher Michael (42) who is an ardent hill walker and Marnie (38), a proofreader from London who has splashed out on all the expensive walking gear to do the walk. A friendship develops as they plod over the mountains, sometimes in pouring rain. They stay in village pubs, B&Bs and fancy hotels along the way and there are signs that their friendship is developing into something more. Michael has recently separated from his wife while Marnie has been divorced for a number of years. But things don’t go according to plan.

This is a witty and moving romance set against the beautiful background of the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It may even inspire you to hunt out your hiking boots. It reveals the devastation of loneliness but how taking one step in a new direction, a life can change drastically for the better.

The Fell by Sarah Moss – four stars

It’s November 2020 and Kate is in the middle of a two week Covid-19 self-isolation period. She is hating the confinement and decides to break the rules to go for a walk in the nearby Peak District Fells. She slips out in the late afternoon without telling anyone but her elderly neighbour Alice spots her leaving.

A little later, her teenage son Matt realises she is missing and knocks the door of Alice’s house to seek advice – he puts his hand in a plastic bag to ensure he didn’t contaminate Alice’s door knocker! Matt is loathe to contact the police as his mum may be liable to a quarantine fine but Alice makes the decision for him and notifies the authorities as it is now nightfall with no sign of Kate’s return. Kate had planned a quick solitary walk but she falls and badly injures herself with a broken leg and a head injury. Rob is one of the mountain rescue team involved in the search for Kate. The story is very descriptive and is told from the perspective of Rob, Alice, Kate and Matt although conversations with an imaginary raven also feature a lot in Kate’s delirium.

This is a short book with only 180 pages but it covers a lot of ground from mental health issues, a cancer diagnosis, finance issues, divorce and teenage angst. The catalyst for the book is the importance of walking in nature and how much Kate missed this when she was forced to self-isolate. It is also a stark reminder of the “dark Covid-19 days” and the regulations we had to comply with.

(Main photo taken by David Willis at Kinnego Marina, Lurgan)

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The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.

Dr Seuss

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Hopefully I have given you some inspiration about what to read next and if you have any ideas as to what I could read next, please feel free to comment below with your thoughts. Next month, my theme is going to be “love” – after all it is Valentine’s Day on 14th February.

Lynda

Some of Lynda’s Rambles in January

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