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Follow The Spring North - Land's End to John O'Groats

by Christine Roche

172 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-0463; ISBN 1-4120-2635-0; US$24.50, C$27.97, EUR20.00, £13.40

A diary of backpacking between March and May, with interest in the countryside, birds, wild flowers, people, a journey broken by a stress fracture but eagerly continued the next Spring.

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About the book      About the author      Excerpts      Reviews      Catalogue info

About the Book This book is written from the pages of the diary kept by the author on her walk, the diary being written every night or perhaps the next day while all the experiences were fresh in her mind. You can read it and "live the walk" as you do so. Following the spring north meant enjoying the sight of each new spring flower and sight or sound of birds as the journey continued northward through ever changing landscape. Although a stress fracture to the neck of the femur delayed the completion of the walk until the following spring, this did not seem to break the continuous nature of the journey; "It's still there - Keep smiling!" kept her looking forward to the next stage of the walk. She met some delightful people on the walk, enjoyed the company of some good friends for parts of it and enjoyed the "bliss of solitude" for much of it, appreciating being alone in wild places but not lonely. Having walked and enjoyed the scenery from the south of Cornwall to the north of Scotland, she was sorry to finish.

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About the Author Born at East Budleigh, Devon but lived most of her life in Lancashire and Cheshire. A keen walker who discovered backpacking, with her family, in 1979 and has enjoyed it increasingly since then. She was asked to write the Family Backpacking section of The Family Outdoor Book, published by Arcady Books in 1984. Although the family have grown up and left home, she enjoys backpacking on her own or with friends in the Backpackers Club and since 1994 has been editor of the Club magazine "Backpack." An interest in birds, wild flowers and wild country combines well with backpacking.

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Excerpts

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Reviews

Follow the Spring North is local author Christine Roche's account of her once in a lifetime trek from Land's End to John O'Groats.
A serial backpacker, the Sandbach based walker descibes mastering the trans-Britain route as her "dream" and through this book she takes the reader every step of the way with her. By living through the walk with the author, the reader is given details of every day with acute attention to detail, through which she brings out the practicalities of her walk from eating and finding fresh water to finding a place to sleep at night.
She also makes frequent notes of the wildlife and nature she see while she traverses the length of the country. This approach allows the diversity of the British landscape to be simply but effectively reflected.
In addition the book draws out the unspoken camaraderie between the walking fraternity and the kindness, or less often, obstructiveness, of strangers.
Perhaps the most unique point of the book though, is that the great walk saw a one year hiatus after she suffered a stress fracture to the neck of her femur in the early stages of her first attempt in 2003. Despite battling on against the pain, unaware of its cause, Mrs Roche was forced to abandon the walk and rejoin the following spring when the injury had been given time to heal. Such setbacks, though, only saw her return to the trail with renewed vigour, with her daily accounts revealing her enthusiasm and passion for walking and a relief to be back on track that is transparent in her writing.
Family members and friends are spoken of frequently, at times leaving the readers wondering whether they should know the person in question. At the end of the book though this is all graciously explained, as the author reaffirms the people in her life to the readers, who have got to know them throughout the journey.
Follow the Spring North is unique in the depth of detail if affords to even the smallest details of Britain's longest walk and as such makes it ideal reading for anyone wanting to know exactly what undertaking it will entail.
The Sandbach Chronicle
Friday 11th March

Christine Roche's delightful day-by-day account of her 1,200 mile walk is a book to treasure. Its is guaranteed to send you rushing for your boots whatever the weather! Christine's years of experience of backpacking are revealed in a wealth of practical information but at the same time she enchants us with her keen observation of the countryside and its wildlife, and the pleasure she takes in her friends and the people she meets. Generous and warmhearted tributes are paid to all who help her on her way. Written in a lively, informal style Christine's travels deserve to find a place on everyone's bookshelf. And it is a book with a message

'Live your dream'!
Anne-Marie Edwards
Spring Issue of Backpack

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Catalogue Information

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