The Earth BeneathMy Feetby Andrew Terrill Published by Enchanted Rock Press
£6.99 (ebook), £12.99 (paperback)TWENTY-FOUR YEARS AGOAndrew
Terrill packed in his job and set out to
explore the ‘other’ Europe – the hidden
wild Europe – on a 7000-mile walk
from the southern tip ofItaly in the
Mediterranean Sea to Norway’sNorth
Cape on the Arctic Ocean. Now he’s
written the story ofthis exciting and
challengingventure. Just published, e
EarthBeneathMyFeetcovers the first eight
months of the journey, during whichthe
author walks the length ofthe Apennine
mountains and into winter in the Alps.
I’ve known about this book since I met
Andrew on my Colorado Rockies walk
two years ago. Back then the book wasn’t
completelyfinished and he wasn’t sure
whether to lookfor a publisher or go down
the self-publishing route. Hesettled onthe
latter and is sellingit through Amazon.
Since Andrew first told me about the
book I’ve been looking forward to reading
it, having enjoyed his many excellent
features in e Great Outdoorsoverthe years.Myanticipation was further
increased by the praise heaped on the book
by editor Alex Roddie who reckonedit
one of the best outdoor reads he’dcome
across. Now I have a copyI can saythat
Alex is right. I haven’tfinished e Earth
Beneath My Feetyet; in fact I’m not half
way through – but so far it is enthralling
and intense. Despite the years thathave
passed, Andrew Terrill has captured
the excitement and thrill of youth, and
the excitement and thrill of setting off
on a long walk in wild country. I was
immediately drawn into the journey and
felt I was there withhim as the landscape
and people of southern Italy came to life.
I’ll post another review when I finish
the book, and undoubtedly one ofthe
second volume, On SacredGround, when
it comes out. I love stories of long walks- indeed, it was such stories that set me
off on myown long walks and my writing - and I have read many overthe years.
My two favourites haven’tchanged for
BookNEW
REVIEWS
decades, though: Colin Fletcher’se Man
Who Walked roughTimeand Hamish
Brown’sHamish’sMountain Walk. e
EarthBeneathMyFeetis up therewith
them. I now have three favourites.I think
this book deserves to be a great success.
Chris TownsendLINEAR JOURNEYS across the UK, on foot from
A to B, havebecome a bit of a genre in recent
years. Such walks have often tended to follow
the lie of the land, but Laurence Mitchell has
brokenthe mould with his (almost) straight-line
wander from east to west, cutting across the
grain from Great Yarmouth to Aberystwyth.
His route slices through ancient geology and
historical bedrock, and his narrative blends
a geographer’s store of knowledge with
perceptive observations of our natural and
man-made environments.
But this wasn’t a continuous stride through
the countryside and the author often shuttled
back and forth, on public transport, between
home, friends’ houses and a scattering of pubs
and B&Bs. His perseverance proves that, with a
bit of forward planning, buses and trains can be
used to good effect. Progress sometimes appears
slow and Mitchell seems to takean age getting
out of Norfolk, but since this is his local stomping
ground he shares all sorts of local treats that
might well tempt you to take a different view of
a county so often dismissed as ‘flat and boring’.
Perseverance was also needed as he wriggled
his way through the edgelands of the Midlands.
Footpaths weren’t always obvious and sometimes
he had to consult Google Earth to find a suitableway ahead. On one occasion a hand-painted
notice that screamed ‘THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC
FOOTPATH’ was accompanied – and
contradicted – by a pair of official County Council
footpath arrows. He comments: “This was not
natural territory for pedestrianism of any kind.”
The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau
once declared that his mind only worked with
his legs, and the speed and rhythm of the walk
encouraged reflection and clarity of thought.
The author muses about the processes of
unstoppable change but there are bucketloads
of fascinating history and topography: deserted
medieval villages, battlefield sites, ancient
forests and hidden canals. And there are many
choice nuggets that reflect our more recent
cultural heritage.
His passage into Wales passes through the
blue remembered hills around Clun and crosses
the prehistoric Kerry Ridgeway en route to
the wild hills around Llanidloes. Dank forestry
was reminiscent of the Siberian Plateau but
everything became much greener as he neared
Aberystwyth, where he wandered down to
the harbour and then rushed off to buy some
dressings for his blisters. I felt likeI’dbeen
with him every step of the way.
Roger ButlerWestering
by Laurence Mitchell
Published by Saraband
£9.99
28 The Great OutdoorsAugust 2021