I missed out on the Wild Silence but decided to listen to the audio of Landlines. I really enjoyed it. Walking in the wild and camping is my idea of hell but Raynor Winn actually makes it sound occasionally attractive. Made me sad at parts though. ( )

I was pleased to hook up with Raynor Winn and her partner Moth again and feel the earth beneath their feet. In this third book Moth's illness has progressed and things look bleak but with more hope than seems possible they set out to walk the Cape Wrath Trail. Landlines is their journey from near Cape Wrath back to their Cornish home, mostly on foot. From Fort William they pick up the West Highland Way and then cycle to the start of the Pennine Way. From Edale they follow canals to Offa's Dyke and then cross the south west peninsular home. Looking at the dates we were possibly on the same campsites as they were in Scotland at the same time and at other times we have walked parts of the West Highland Way. The Pennines are familiar and much of the Welsh-English border so I followed her footsteps for these sections with more interest than the South West Coastal Path which is not somewhere I know. Placing one foot in front of the other sure feels good, as Mike Scott once sang and the healing properties of walking will be no surprise to many. The pace allows a connection to the earth. This is a journey of hope and this makes it an emotional journey. Raynor Winn is strongest when she is describing their journey, the places and the anecdotes of people they meet. This story is told strongly and often with such self-awareness, it is captivating. She observes the destruction of the wildlife of our country and offers some solutions but she isn't an ecologist (and doesn't claim to be) and so her touch is light and she doesn't address the big issue of how cattle and sheep farming exhaust so much of our land with grazing and growing animal feed. ( )

An incredible book. Nothing else I could say would do it justice. ( )

Volume 3 of Raynor Winn’s memoir of her walking the country with husband Moth. In this volume they start in Scotland with highland ruggedness, and as one trek ends, they are compelled to start another, despite the wear and tear on them both. They witness some of the side effects of climate emergency, political bad choices, pandemic behaviours and joyful (and occasionally not so) meetings with strangers along the way. ( )