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Christopher Somerville

Forfatter af Coast: A Celebration of Britain's Coastal Heritage

57+ Works 1,124 Members 10 Reviews

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Omfatter også følgende navne: Christopher Somerville, Christopher Somerville

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Værker af Christopher Somerville

Lonely Planet : Walking in : Britain : 2001 : 2nd edition (2001) — Forfatter — 78 eksemplarer
AAA Spiral Guide: Ireland (1955) 68 eksemplarer
Coast: The Journey Continues (2006) 63 eksemplarer
Images of Rural Britain (2001) 17 eksemplarer
Walking Old Railways (1979) 15 eksemplarer
Twelve Literary Walks (1985) 14 eksemplarer
Explorer Crete (1998) 13 eksemplarer
The Spirit of Ireland (2003) 9 eksemplarer
Somerville's Travels (2009) 9 eksemplarer
Country Walks Near London (1994) 8 eksemplarer
Landelijk Ierland (2001) 7 eksemplarer
The English Coast (1996) 7 eksemplarer
Welsh Borders (1991) 6 eksemplarer
Britain Beside the Sea (1989) 5 eksemplarer
Walking West Country Railways (1982) 5 eksemplarer
Fifty Best River Walks of Britain (1988) 4 eksemplarer
Dublin e Irlanda 2005 2 eksemplarer
İngiltere - İskoçya - Galler (2001) 2 eksemplarer
Marea Britanie (2010) 2 eksemplarer
Írország (2015) 1 eksemplar
Slow Travels Around Britain (2011) 1 eksemplar

Associated Works

Lonely Planet : Walking in : Britain : 2007 : 3rd edition (2007) — Forfatter, nogle udgaver37 eksemplarer

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Fødselsdato
20th.C.
Køn
male
Nationalitet
UK

Medlemmer

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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.… (mere)
 
Markeret
Steve38 | Mar 16, 2024 |
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.
… (mere)
 
Markeret
ednasilrak | Jun 17, 2021 |
Much more about architecture and history than religion, Somerville is interested in the stories behind and around the UK's cathedrals - picking up many of the areas I find fascinating about these buildings. A little repetitive but a good book to dip in and out of. Has also made me want to go to Coventry for the first time in my life.
 
Markeret
arewenotben | Jul 31, 2020 |
Late in 2015, Christopher Somerville lost his father after a short battle with cancer. He had had a tempestuous relationship with him as a teenager, partly because of the teenage angst, but also because of his father’s job. They tried to bond by undertaking longer walks through the countryside, but it didn’t always work. As they both grew older and a little wiser the relationship strengthened and the walks that they undertook brought them back together.

Undertaking a walk in a different part of the country for each month, Somerville weaves together a mix of personal recollection of his father, the countryside he is wandering through, and the natural wonders he sees around him. He walks in the floods in the West country, the tiny Isle of Foula near Shetland, round Sherwood Forest and along the Lancashire coast and heads to Lyme Regis for a family gathering. He uses these walks to look at the man his father was and to try to comprehend him. He worked at GCHQ, and could not say a word about his work to anyone and that led to many frustrating moments in their relationship.

This is no fair weather walking book, he is not scared to venture out in the rain to follow his route. It is quite readable and at certain points he shows his class as a writer. He can be quite reflective as he muses about his father and the things that will forever remain secret. I really liked the verses from the song ‘The January man’ by Dave Goulder that accompany a beautiful sketch at the beginning of each chapter, they added a nice touch to the book. Worth reading I think, but it didn’t quite soar for me.
… (mere)
 
Markeret
PDCRead | Apr 6, 2020 |

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Statistikker

Værker
57
Also by
1
Medlemmer
1,124
Popularitet
#22,857
Vurdering
½ 3.6
Anmeldelser
10
ISBN
131
Sprog
11

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