Just Another Mountain
by Sarah Jane Douglas
Elliot and Thompson, £14.99MUCH LIKE the mountain walks she uses
to ease the troubles of daily life, Munroist
Sarah Jane Douglas’s life has had its intense
ups and downs. Now in her mid-40s and a
successful artist and blogger, she uses the
writing process of Just Another Mountain
as catharsis.
The book details Sarah’s journey from
a distraught, orphaned 24-year-old, to
an accomplished mother finally at peace
with her sole caregiver’s death from breast
cancer. She attributes this growth to
walking in the mountains.
The parallels between the lives of the
author and her mother are many – young,
single parents with a nomadic, rebellious
streak – but what brought them together
most was walking. Therefore, Douglas feels
that the only way to become at ease with
her loss is to keep doing just that.
First she decides to tackle Kilimanjaro.
Next, all 282 of Scotland’s Munros. And
finally, in 2014, to the Himalayas, wherethe man who would have become her step-
father had died in a climbing accident.
Even in demanding Scottish weather or
when experiencing the effects of altitude at
5,000m in Nepal, Sarah Jane Douglas’s love
for the mountains and the act of walking
on and among them is clear. After a period
of substance abuse immediately following
her mother’s death, hillwalking becomes
her new addiction. Reaching the summit
of Meall a’ Bhuachaille, a relatively easy
Corbett near Aviemore and her gateway
drug into mountaineering, is a particular
rhetorical highlight.
There is one interesting plot thread that
goes frustratingly unresolved but this is
otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable read.
However, it does end on a tragic, jarring
note: while the author has overcome her
emotional turmoil, she is subsequently
diagnosed with the same form of cancer
that took her mother. And that’s how the
book concludes – because, of course, realBook
NEWREVIEWSlife doesn't follow the neat narrative arcs
of fiction.
Those who want to find out more
about what happens next can find
Sarah Jane Douglas online, blogging at
smashingcancerintheface.wordpress.com.
Sam LewisVIVIENNE CROW’S slim field guide to
walks in Cumbria’s Eden Valley area, first
published in 2011, was recently released as
a second edition.
Regular readers of The Great Outdoors
will recognise the author; Vivienne
Crow has contributed numerous features
and Wild Walks over the years, and the
knowledge and attention to detail we’ve
come to expect from her contributions to
the magazine are abundant to see in this
guidebook as well.
The Eden Valley is sandwiched
between the popular Lake District and
Yorkshire Dales, and is therefore rarely as
busy as these honeypot areas – but there
are some classics mapped and described
here too. The 30 mapped walks begin with
Wild Boar Fell in the south and extend
throughout the area, mostly on the eastern
side of the valley (which includes much ofthe higher ground) to Campfield Marsh
and Bowness Common in the north.
There’s a huge amount of variety
between the different walks included
here. Some, such as route 16, through
Flakebridge Wood and along Dufton
Ghyll, are short and fairly easy; others are
far more challenging, taking in remote
moorland and summits, including Cross
Fell, the highest in the Pennines.
Vivienne Crow’s guidebook is
illustrated with clear mapping and
excellent photography, as you'd expect
from a Cicerone guide. Interesting
notes on history, geography and wildlife
accompany the route descriptions too.
This new edition of Walking in
Cumbria's Eden Valley is highly
recommended to anyone looking for new
ideas for walks in the Eden Valley area.
Alex RoddieWalking in Cumbria’s Eden Valley
by Vivienne Crow
Cicerone Press (£12.95)26 The Great Outdoors July 2019