LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
As a frequent traveler to the Lake District and a keen hillwalker myself, I picked up Lost in the Lakes with low expectations of improving my local knowledge – I was very mistaken. Tom Chesshyre weaves his way in and out of the fells, through towns and villages, over passes and around lakes like any other explorer with thirty days to spare might, but he does so with exceptional journalistic talent. His particular skill is in meeting interesting people, immediately bonding with them and extracting their best stories. He documents these with great humour and describes the characters he meets with much colour, bringing the whole tapestry to life.
These interactions, combined with his own research and visits to places of interest introduce an historical aspect to the book and it is not long before it is obvious that the gifts bestowed upon the Lake District – above and below the ground – have given it a uniquely dense industrial and cultural heritage. One thing I particularly liked about Lost in the Lakes is how Chesshyre digs around in this history while also musing over current affairs – in particular, Ukraine and the economy keep coming up. It is this combination of being in the moment and delving into the past that gives the book its authentic travel journal feel – you really do feel as though you are along for the walk and joining in the experience. It’s an immersive read, he is lost in thought, and perhaps this is what is meant by the word Lost in the title – although he does once or twice get literally lost as well!
The Lake District is not without its challenges (apart from the walking ones!), and despite the biscuit tin image which draws in up to 20 million visitors a year, it has economic and social problems, not to mention being vulnerable to devastating floods. Chesshyre unpicks some of this with the people he meets, and the picture built is of a place grateful for its tourism and the revenues that provides, but frustrated by the flip side which comes with second home ownership and holiday rentals pricing out the locals and affecting employment. On the surface, the Lake District is breathtakingly beautiful, but Chesshyre also gives that surface a scratch to see what lies below.
Summersdale, the publisher, has presented the book beautifully and it will no doubt be appearing in the windows of gift shops throughout the Lake District national park this summer. It will certainly make a suitable gift for anyone who loves the Lakes but it is also perfect for anyone who likes to walk anywhere, and who enjoys that unique combination of escapism, exploration, reflection and contentment that only comes from moving slowly and thoughtfully through space and time within a beautiful landscape.
Further, if you are planning on walking in the Lake District, particularly hillwalking, Alfred Wainwright’s pictorial guides are essential reading, and The Wainwrights Pocket Log is a great way of keeping a simple record of your summits.
Greg Hackett
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Primary Genre |
Travel
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About
Lost in the Lakes Synopsis
Join travel writer Tom Chesshyre for a lakeland adventure like no other. Explore towering mountains, wide-open valleys and magnificent lakes - stopping off at a cosy inn or two along the way - on a 379-mile hike around the Lake District From Penrith to Ullswater, via Keswick, Cockermouth, Coniston, Grasmere and Windermere, plus many places in between, Tom Chesshyre puts on his walking boots and sets forth along the trails, drawn onwards by the dramatic scenery that attracts more than 19 million visitors each year.
Across landscape that so inspired the Romantic poets, he takes in remote parts of the parkland that many tourists miss - enjoying encounters aplenty with farmers, fell runners and fellow hikers, while staying in shepherds' huts, bothies and old climbers' hotels along the way, and even going for a (chilly) dip in Derwentwater.
This is the Lake District seen from its walking paths - with just a backpack, an open mind... and a spring in the step.
About This Edition
ISBN: |
9781837992959 |
Publication date: |
8th February 2024 |
Author: |
Tom Chesshyre |
Publisher: |
Summersdale Publishers an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group |
Format: |
Paperback |
Pagination: |
320 pages |
Primary Genre |
Travel
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Press Reviews
Tom Chesshyre Press Reviews
Tom Chesshyre sets off to make a meandering circle of the Lake District on foot with one aim in mind: 'to let happenchance lead the way.' In his amiable and relaxed company we climb the fells and skirt the lakes; just as engagingly, we meet a carnival of characters whose personalities and opinions are the real focus of Chesshyre's tale. Together they sum up a region whose problems are many, but whose enchantments are still unmatched for walkers in these islands. - Christopher Somerville, The Times
A charming book, brimming with tender affection for this 'magnificent... dreamy patchwork' of peaks, tarns and 'serpentine valleys... between soaring slopes'. Tom Chesshyre is no brash Wainwright-bagger, but instead a relaxed, affable guide who takes us on a 'big wobbly circle' of a stroll around all sixteen main lakes: an impressive 379 miles in all. Neither travel guide nor gushing panegyric, Lost in the Lakes is a book for the everyday ambler: gentle, slow-paced and sweetly uplifting at every turn. - Rebecca Lowe, journalist and author of The Slow Road to Tehran
Lyrical, witty and full of cheer, Lost in the Lakes avoids tales of heroic climbs in favour of the quieter - and oft-overlooked - story of everyday life in one of Britain's rural honey-pots. From barmaids to town mayors, Chesshyre lends an inquiring ear to everyone who crosses his path, resulting in a delightful portrait of a community that is proud of its past but unsure of its future. Part travelogue, part social commentary, this gem of a book succeeds in being both politically engaged and uproariously entertaining - a rare feat in travel writing and a welcome new direction for the genre. - Oliver Balch, journalist and writer
Writer Tom Chesshyre takes us on an unorthodox tour of the Lake District in his latest travelogue. Not for him the chocolate box guide, but a grittier account of his travails, and his travels, on a journey of self-discovery. Having fallen in love with the area as a teenager, he returns to see what has changed, and discovers he has. What follows is a 379.1 mile - that's 904,271 steps over 32 days - odyssey, during which he finds himself falling in love all over again with this remote wilderness. - Lakeland Walker
An entertaining ramble - Wanderlust magazine
A cheery account of travel writer Tom Chesshyre's month-long 379-mile hike around the Lake District last spring. He has a journalist's ability to intersperse descriptions of dazzling scenery with brisk historical facts... this book makes you yearn to go there. - Country Life
Hopefully you will also be entertained. I know I was. - Paul Oldham, WalkLakes
Author
About Tom Chesshyre
Tom Chesshyre's ten travel books have covered a 23,000-mile round-the-world train journey, walking the Thames, exploring "unsung Britain", inter-railing to Venice, crossing North Africa after the Arab Spring, reporting on the "dark side" of the Maldives and taking slow trains around Spain. He has crisscrossed the globe for stories for The Times, the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and The Critic.
More About Tom Chesshyre