Christopher Somerville

What a rich and immersive book this is. As a schoolboy, Somerville was bored by geology. He isn't now. He's fascinated by the ground beneath our feet, and the forces and events that, over the millennia, made it what it is today. For a small island, our geological story is particularly rich. Somerville undertakes to walk it, from the north of Scotland down as far, slightly oddly I thought, only to the River Thames. And this is what he does. He's curious to examine the geology of every path he takes, and to understand what effect the geological story has had on the development of the landscape and how it has been exploited by the people who live in it. He's investigative, humorous, personable in his enquiries, which makes what could be a difficult book approachable. I don't know Scotland too well, which made the first few chapters more difficult for me. But as he strode south into England, I was able to picture clearly the landscapes as he discussed and described them, and the book truly came to life. He paints a vivid picture of a land which, despite its small size, is quite incredibly varied, presenting quite different challenges to the locals who live there. As he pursues his path to the low-lying estuary of the Thames, he discusses the challenges brought about by climate-change and man's interventions over the centuries and particularly most recently. This book has opened my eyes to the landscape, both locally and more widely throughout Britain.… (més)

A good idea for a book but disappointingly executed. The author who is the enviously titled 'Walking Correspondent' of the Times newspaper takes a long walk across geological map of Britain. From the Outer Hebrides in the north west to the Thames estuary in the south east. Using the geological map as an excuse for a route along the length of Britain. But he falls between several stools. The book ends up as a linked series of newspaper walking articles. He can't make his mind up whether he is writing about walking, the geology around him or a little bit of economic and cultural history. He doesn't knit it all together very well. The walking correspondent in him wins out over every other possible facet of such a walk. He drops into a routine of telling us about way finding, the flora and fauna around him the view points, the weary struggles up long hills. Could have been a lot better with a simple focus on geology and its resulting impact on landscape and life in that landscape.… (més)

National Geographic is a beloved brand. My respect for their publications led me to grabbing this off the store shelf without more than a cursory glance. The pictures are fantastic (naturally) and the maps are... accurate. There is also a useful section on history, though the narrow scope (limiting the influence of England on pop music to the Beatles and Sir Elton John (whaaa??) was disappointing. The rest, however, is mostly useful as wrapping paper for very small presents.

There is one cardinal rule for all travel guidebooks - they should guide. By this, my thought is that they tell you what to see, when to see it. They also say what to skip and why to skip it. This book fails because it doesn't distinguish between the good, the bad, and the boring. It lists everything. And with so many listings it is beyond tricky to tell what's important and what is listed just for the sake of being a "complete" reference. It's very uneven in the writing, as well. So while it's chock full of content, most of it is unremarkable. Some of it is even suspiciously similar to the bits available on the websites for the sites themselves.

This guidebook reminds me of a joke we made of the little old Lutheran church ladies when they complained of a banquet "The food was horrible. And such little portions!" Not a whole lot to like here but there certainly is a LOT of it.… (més)