My latest book, Balancing on Blue, makes The Great Outdoors Magazine
shortlist for Outdoor Book of the Year.
Two great bit of news today. After a grubby day decorating I arrived back home to find that my latest book and Appalachian Trail memoir, Balancing on Blue has made The Great Outdoors Magazine shortlist for Outdoor Book of the Year.
Well, chuffed to bits obviously. The old adage goes something like It’s great to just make the shortlist, but it’s true, it is great.
Voting is now open, if you’ve read the book, please take the time to put in a vote if you think it’s worthy, and in the other categories listed below.
Many, many thanks to everyone who got me on the shortlist.
Walkers’ cafe of the year
Walkers’ pub of the year
Campaign or campaigner of the year
Outdoor personality of the year
Outdoor book of the year
Independent retailer of the year
Chain retailer of the year
Online retailer of the year
Outdoor clothing or equipment brand of the year
Kingley Vale and Country Walking Magazine.
A complimentary copy of the November issue of Country Walking magazine dropped through the letter box today. Good enough reading in itself but this month, quite rightly, CW are concentrating on the best places in the UK to see autumnal colours.
Last year around this time I was discovering a wonderful neck of the woods known as Kingley Vale, home to one of the oldest Yew tree forests in Europe. Nestled in the folds and creases of the South Downs near Chichester, I subsequently wrote an article but being a seasonal piece, it’s only just come out.
Kingley Vale
Commanding fine views down to the English Channel, Kingley has a great air of mystery about it, from the actual Yews themselves, to the ancient barrows known as the Devils Humps. It’s also a great place, once you reach the upper areas, to view the season’s colours at their best.
Country Walking is on sale as of today, or you can read online (with subscription) here:
Stirrings up on the South Downs – And a very big lump of Portland Stone
I wrote a post last year on one of my favourite local areas on the South Downs. More often than not, I find myself returning there almost every week to do a little nine miler, which some have coined Fozzie’s Loop. Well, there’s lots happening in that corner of the Downs at the moment.
There’s an unfortunate application to build several holiday lodges in Houghton Forest, which I’ll be posting about at some point. There’s also a huge re-planting mission happening on the Slindon Estate to return much of that little corner of England back to how it once was before agriculture took a grip.
More coming on that as well but finally, an old school mate of mine, Jon Edgar, has been chipping away at a very large lump of Portland Stone over the last year. The aim, once finished (around December) is to move the stone down to the Slindon Estate as a permanent reminder of the re-forestation.
I hope to have the post on this up within the next week.
Have a great weekend, get out there!