A bookish quest of friendship,
loss, strange coincidence and heroic failure.
In no particular order.
"Any Porth In A Storm is an entertaining piece of travel writing…
With wit and deep insight … An enthralling read that will not only potentially
put you off walking the Path in one go, but also give you the space
to explore themes of resilience and hope amidst dire circumstances."
– Charlotte Walker, LoveReading.
"I read the whole book in the first couple of days I was back home
after I completed a 1,000 mile trek round Wales.
I enjoyed the way [he] kept mentioning other writers,
and the list of references at the back of the book is probably
the most comprehensive I've ever seen!"
– Paddy Dillon, outdoor writer and photographer
(Author The South West Coast Path Cicerone walking guide).
Any Porth in a Storm – the long-distance walk that goes south is the story of an escape from the City to the country amid economic uncertainty and growing urban homelessness. In a brief moment of sanity an international public health worker, armed with a tent, sleeping bag and latrine trowel, leaves London to begin a literary and artistic walk of the 1015 kilometre (give or take) South West Coast Path from Somerset to Dorset. It was to be an exploration of the landscape, history, literature and art which make up the Path; to follow in the footsteps of le Carré, du Maurier, Woolf, Christie, Turner, Hepworth and Jeremy Paxman.
The few plans he had wound together in haste, began to unravel when faced with extreme weather, time, tide, excessive packing, failing electronic equipment, the military and unpredictable interpersonal relations. This was no journey of self-discovery, it was simply to reach the end in one piece. Most importantly, he took pains to ensure that nobody would be inspired to repeat it.
Ruins, the entry route of a past pandemic, ubiquitous death and dereliction, extreme weather, and refugees from the city betrayed the insecurities of our own world. All societies are vulnerable to collapse, and those which think they are not - perhaps more so. The question was whether we had the foresight to recognise the coming storm and enough sufficiently skilled people to survive it. And would any of them will be able to make Nutella® from scratch?
A story of loss, dereliction, improbable coincidence, hope and responsible defaecation.
Gone South book