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Books

Books


Postby ohsosky » Sun May 15, 2022 5:14 pm

Can anybody recommend me a good outdoorsy book. Preferably something with a bit of humour but at least won’t give me the heebie jeebies on my first solo wild camp next week :shock: bonus points for canine companions :D

Thanks all
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Re: Books

Postby jmarkb » Sun May 15, 2022 5:38 pm

Have you read Andrew Cotter's "Olive, Mabel and Me"? More a humorous book about dogs with some outdoor content, but it might fit the bill. https://blackandwhitepublishing.com/collections/andrew-cotter/products/olive-mabel-me-b
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Re: Books

Postby prog99 » Sun May 15, 2022 6:02 pm

Mountain days and bothy nights.
The complete Lachlan.

Both light hearted.
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Re: Books

Postby nigheandonn » Sun May 15, 2022 7:20 pm

There's one called Pennine Walkies, but I can't remember whether I actually read it or not...
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Re: Books

Postby Chris Henshall » Sun May 15, 2022 7:36 pm

There's always the popular "Last Hillwalker" and "Bothy Tales" by John Burns but how about "The Return of John MacNab" by Andrew Greig? It's a bit more palatable than Buchan's original and the pages keep turning...
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Re: Books

Postby Veryhappybunny » Sun May 15, 2022 9:04 pm

Fiva by Gordon Stainforth is very gripping, although dog free.

Described as "A wonderful, nostalgic, gripping, classic yarn with great humour.” by Joe Simpson, author of Touching the Void
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Re: Books

Postby weedavie » Mon May 16, 2022 9:30 am

Chris Henshall wrote:There's always the popular "Last Hillwalker" and "Bothy Tales" by John Burns but how about "The Return of John MacNab" by Andrew Greig? It's a bit more palatable than Buchan's original and the pages keep turning...

Buchan's John MacNab is a superb book. It is flavoured by the attitudes of the time but it has a real sense of location, tells a gripping tale and provides a picture of highland social structuring, even if the view is from above.

Greig's book is turgid and over-written and the character development is far from credible, even if you manage to stay inerested in it. It's years since I read it, but I remember finding the scrambling sequence incoherent. Buchan was a keen climber, and in books like The Three Hostages he succeeds in getting the thrill across.
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Re: Books

Postby MRG1 » Mon May 16, 2022 9:42 am

jmarkb wrote:Have you read Andrew Cotter's "Olive, Mabel and Me"? More a humorous book about dogs with some outdoor content, but it might fit the bill. https://blackandwhitepublishing.com/collections/andrew-cotter/products/olive-mabel-me-b


Good call
I've seen a few of his videos on YouTube and never realised that he had written a book.
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Re: Books

Postby trailhombre » Mon May 16, 2022 9:51 am

Out There by Chris Townsend. Not much dog content, but an inspiring read nonetheless.
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Re: Books

Postby Booga » Wed Jun 08, 2022 11:40 am

The Weekend Fix by Craig Weldon
The Cairngorms Scene and Unseen by Syd Scroggie
Return to the Secret Howff by Ashie Brebner

There was a good book thread on the old UK Bothies forum that had been added to by users over the years.
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Re: Books

Postby AyrshireAlps » Wed Jun 08, 2022 12:43 pm

Chris Townsend doing the Scots divide is very good, Alan Rowans books are nice and light hearted too, but he knows his stuff and like Townsend has walked the walk.
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Re: Books

Postby BigTed » Wed Jun 08, 2022 1:15 pm

A digital book. And free. Walking The Watershed by Dave Hewitt of Angry Corrie fame.

Walking the line from the border with England to the north coast.

http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/hewwat/index.html
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Re: Books

Postby LobeyD » Wed Jun 08, 2022 3:28 pm

It's been a while, but if you are looking for something funny, 'A Walk in the Wilds' by Bill Bryson is recommended.

On recent trips I've read 'Along the Divide' and 'Out There' by Chris Townsend, and 'Farthest Shore' by Alex Roddie, all of which are excellent. Hamish Brown's 'Hamish's Mountain Walk' is rightly acclaimed but may leave you feeling a bit inadequate.

Slightly more tangential, but I enjoyed 'Wayfinding' by Michael Bond on how we absorb maps and landscapes, and also Robert McFarlane's books which are a bit more cerebral and contemplative, but very good if you like that sort of thing.
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Re: Books

Postby Sgurr » Wed Jun 08, 2022 4:24 pm

Always a Little Further by Alastair Borthwick. Written in the thirties about lads getting out of Glasgow and heading for the hills. Still very funny.
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Re: Books

Postby Booga » Wed Jun 08, 2022 5:25 pm

BigTed wrote:A digital book. And free. Walking The Watershed by Dave Hewitt of Angry Corrie fame.

Walking the line from the border with England to the north coast.

http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/hewwat/index.html


I have a physical copy of this and am currently reading through it. Good so far.
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