I discovered Laurence Mitchell’s writing in Hidden Europe magazine, where he takes the reader to some of the more off-the-beaten-track corners of our lovely continent. It is not surprising then, that Laurence is also the author of guidebooks to Serbia, Kyrgyzstan and Belgrade. But when he is not out exploring eastern Europe and beyond, he is working on projects a little closer to home. He is already the author of a “Slow Travel” guide to Norfolk and Suffolk, and through Cicerone has just released a new guide to walks on the Suffolk coast and heaths. Continue reading →

“A solitary walker is in the world, but apart from it, with the detachment of the traveller rather than the ties of the worker, the dweller, the member of a group.” – Rebecca Solnit

Why do we walk? For some of us, walking is a normal part of our everyday transport. The walk to school, or to work, or down to the pub. We might go for a walk on the weekend, for fresh air or to spend time with friends. There are others for whom “walking” has become compartmentalised – there is a wonderful section in Wanderlust where Rebecca Solnit describes outdoor enthusiasts driving from the car park of one equipment store to the other, even though they are basically on the same street, in order to compare prices on the high tech equipment that they will need to take to the hills. It is not necessarily that these people are being lazy, saving their legs for the part of the week designated as time set aside for hiking in the nearest national park, but because even if you wanted to, this particular city has been made so unfriendly to the pedestrian that to walk from one clothing store to the other would be to put oneself in harm’s way. Continue reading →

Hemingway’s narrator has cooled his wine in the river whilst he fishes, in preparation for this lunch, and you get the sense that this is the whole point of the day. Of all the scenes in this book, it is this one that sticks in the memory. I never wanted to see a bullfight, but I would have liked to have been by the mountain stream to share this meal: Continue reading →