From the Camino de Santiago to the West Highland Way - 4 books that feature long distance walks
Photo by Mark Houston
At the moment, we can only dream about long (and I mean long) walks, so here are a few book recommendations to keep you going until we can cross counties and countries again…
Camino de Santiago
The Camino de Santiago, is much more than a walk. Often referred to as a pilgrimage, this 500 mile trek starts from Saint Jean Pied de Port in France and ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. Subject of the film The Way starring Martin Sheen, this special walk has been the subject of many books and novels, high on the list is Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist.
“It's about the challenge of walking a long distance and of working out where you are going. And it's about what you decide to keep, what you choose to leave behind and what you rediscover along the way.”
The South West Coast Path
This path spans 630 miles along the coast from Somerset to Dorset via Devon and Cornwall. It is brought to life in the autobiographical The Salt Path by Raynor Winn which also explores what life really means.
“The Salt Path is an honest and life-affirming true story of coming to terms with grief and the healing power of the natural world. Ultimately, it is a portrayal of home, and how it can be lost, rebuilt and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.”
The Pennine Way
The Pennine Way stretches 268 miles from Edale in Northern Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish Border. Described as one of the most demanding long distance trails in Britain, it passes through wild terrain and seemingly endless moorland, not exactly an enticing proposal from father to his teenage son. Mark Richards, author of Father, Son and the Pennine Way explains…
“In February 2016 I asked Alex, my youngest son, if he wanted to come for a walk with me. Why? Because I wanted a physical challenge before I was too old for a physical challenge – and I wanted some father/son time before Alex went to university and things were never quite the same again.
But I wasn’t a walker: I was a writer: someone who spent his days slumped over a desk. The furthest I’d walked was four miles with the dog on a sunny day. So I had to get fit, I had to find out if I could walk 90 miles in 5 days – and I had to come face to face with the ghosts that had haunted me for ten years.”
The West West Highland Way
There are probably more books about the West Highland Way, Scotland’s most popular long walk route from Milngavie, near Glasgow to Fort William in the Highlands, than there are miles in the Way (nearly 96!). But the one that gets great reviews for laugh out loud writing is Walk Sleep Repeat by Stephen Reynolds. Who describes himself as:
“A hapless wanderer. Younger than Bill Bryson, smaller than Levison Wood, and hairier than Julia Bradbury.”
It must be good …I’ve done the WHW and it’s no laughing matter!