at the moment i'm looking through Walking the pennine way by Alan P Binns a book i used to have but have since lost, this one i got from the library the first stamp is
27 dec67, the next one is 24 apr74 and again 13 may74 (must have been renewed) 30 years later stampped 21 jun2005 and finaly me 5 jul2008 that makes me the fourth person to take this book out in 41 years, once every 10 years

One of our Members Martyn Berry with Hamish Brown produced an anthology of poetry published in 1985 called "Speak to The Hills" I like it and read from it now and again. Jean Auel has or had an intersting web site and wrote more than her popular Neolithic books, though these are the only ones I have read.
David H

what i like about Pukoon is the simmilaraty between the author and members of the LDWA, they both talk to their legs.
i also enjoy Jean Auel and her six part adventure in neolithic times although i don't think she's written the last book yet

Like Sue, I would put Dervla Murphy on my must read list, but her early books are the best, her political views are just too intrusive in some of the later ones. Best of all is "Where the Indus is young", an account of a winter spent in the Karakorum mountains with her 6 year old daughter.
I can also recommend Peter Hopkirk's wonderfully detailed histories, particularly "The Great Game", an account of the 19th Century rivalry for control of the Indian sub-continent between Britain and Russia.

Everything by A H Griffin and if you just want a flavour, try "A Lifetime of Mountains: The Best of A.Harry Griffin's 'Country Diary'"

A bit more adventurous, perhaps, and equally enthralling is "One Man's Mountains" by Tom Patey.

More adventurous still and better than Joe Simpson's account (which is also worth reading, as are his other books) is "The White Spider", Heinrich Harrer's account of the history of attempts on the North Face of the Eiger including, of course, his own which was the first successful ascent.

Though I can not recommend them as light holiday reading Sir Hugh Walpole?s Herrier?s Chronicles are still among the best descriptive novels I have read, they put Hunter Davies firmly in his place. It was several years after discovering them that I walked in the Lake District and could pick up my land marks from Walpole?s descriptions. If only a few editions had been published with some of Wainwright sketches in them!!!.
David H

Hunter Davies has a way of bringing history and landscape together which I love. His biography of George Stephenson made be realise all over again just how much effort, luck, skill and political skulduggery went into the building of the British railway network, and just how quickly it happened. HD's "A Walk Around the Lakes" is more obviously connected with walking - I particularly enjoyed the bit about fell-walking in wellies! He's also written a Wainwright biography, but that's currently in the book pile on G's bedside table, & I haven't been able to get at it yet...

Another author who's always good value is Tim Severin, who did mad things like retracing the journeys of Genghis Khan on horseback, or building and sailing a replica 6th Century Irish sailing vessel (with a hull covered in animal skins held together with improbably unreliable-sounding organic stuff) and sailing it from Ireland to America, via Scotland, the Faroes, Iceland and an awful lot of very cold, stormy ocean. Kind of puts a bit of rain and peat-bog into perspective. (Don't think I'd like doing without my cups of tea and sits down though!)

Yes, I'd also recommend both of these to anyone who hasn't read them. Some other travel books I enjoy & am currently re-reading are those by Dervla Murphy. There's an article about her at http://cycling.ahands.org/bicycling/dervla.html

Bill Bryson is always a good bet, but his first book, The Lost Continent - travels in small town America, is his best.
and I agree with Ian's recommendation of Puckoon, Milligan's insane humour at it's best. It's made me take out my 40 year old copy to read yet again.

Bill Bryson's Notes From A Small Island - very funny bit about climbing Bow Fell.

A Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down

Perfect for the end of a long walk!

[Helen Southall]

Talking of recommended reads, it would be really good to read about that and the rest of Peter's Santiago 2 trip in Strider - his article about his first one was absolutely brilliant.

Nice story, Peter.

Whilst packing my rucksack for another pilgrimage to Santiago on the Via de la Plata from Seville, I thought it was rather silly to be putting in a couple of paperbacks, as I was trying to keep the weight to a minimum. However, I was grateful to Ian Rankin and Detective Rebus for helping me over a difficult couple of days in a tiny village north of Salamanca.
The niggling pain in my left leg had developed into very painful tendonitis, and I was advised by the lady in the Pharmacia (by use of mime and my spanish phrasebook) to rest for few days, or it would only get worse. So I was stuck, on my own (I had met only one fellow walker in the previous two weeks) in a village surrounded by a treeless and very windy plain and feeling rather sorry for myself. I established no one in the village spoke english and I had about 20 words of spanish. So I went back to my pilgrim's refugio armed with powerful painkillers, a bottle of the local wine, the making of a meal (being Spain, invariably pig-related food) , lit the log fire and spent the evening transported to the seamier side of Edinburgh and Rebus's world-weary cynicism. It was a total contrast to my surroundings. The following day I was checked up on by various villagers, who had heard there was a poorly englishman in their midst.
I finished the book on the second evening, thanked Ian Rankin for keeping my spirits up and left it behind in the refugio hoping that there might be an english speaking pilgrim in the near future who could make use of it.

After I had been a union exec or walkers com meetings I all ways liked to read a "Flashman" novel Surprizing how many people at those meetings had Flashman traits. But McDonald-Fraziers auto-biography was one of the few that I found interesting.
David H

i took fractel geometry but the lessons went on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on

I couldn't begin to understand Fractal Geometry: Mathematical Foundations & Applications, but its author is a nice bloke...

Definitely "Feet in the clouds". For any spy-enthusiasts of the old school (Le Carre, Deighton etc) I strongly recommend Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series. Lee Child is always good at keeping the pages turning like a fan! I'm a huge Bond enthusiast, but keep away from Sebastian Faulks new book - dire ! Garfield

The answer has to be a box of back numbers of Strider!

After that, how about one of those inspirational books about setting a challenge and rising to it, such as 'Long Distance Information' or '26.2: Running the London Marathon' - now, who was the author?

As far as fiction goes, I also confess to enjoying the more juvenile (and dated and politically incorrect) books by authors such as Anthony Buckeridge, Malcolm Saville and of course PG Wodehouse.

pukoon by spike milligan

Great topic. I'll read anything, and love crime books so I'll see if I can track down some Miss Pinks, Sue. Have you come across the Mrs Mallory crime books by Hazel Holt?

I enjoyed Feet In The Clouds very much, more so as it's one of the few bits of writing on the kind of sport we do. I tend to read a lot of football books. 1) Provided You Don't Kiss Me (Duncan Hamilton), which is about Brian Clough 2) Sir Alf (Leo McKinstry) 3) My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes (Gary Imlach).

1)Bernard Cornwell: Sharpe's storys
2)Simon Scarrow: Eagle Storys
3)Richard Askwith: Feet in the Clouds for some insperation
David H

What leisure-reading do other members enjoy? What would anyone recommend to pack in a rucsac for multi-day walks, camping holidays etc? I work as a school librarian, so tend to read lots of children's/teen titles in my spare time (many of which are excellent). I thought it might be nice for members to share their favourite reads.
I'll start the ball rolling with the 'Miss Pink' crime series, written by Gwen Moffat, with climbing/wilderness settings. I think many are now out-of-print, but available in public libraries.