From Destinations: The Holiday & Travel Show in London’s Olympia, The Stanfords Travel Writers Festival welcomes Christopher Somerville, author and walking correspondent for The Times. He talks to author Ben Aitken about his newest book Walking the Bones of Britain.
Travelling a thousand miles and across three billion years, Christopher Somerville sets out to interrogate the land beneath our feet, and how it has affected every aspect of human history from farming to house construction, the Industrial Revolution to the current climate crisis.
In his thousand-mile journey, Somerville follows the story of Britain’s unique geology, travelling from the three billion year old rocks of the Isle of Lewis, formed when the world was still molten, down the map south eastwards across bogs, over peaks and past quarry pits to the furthest corner of Essex where new land is being formed by nature and man.
Demystifying the sometimes daunting technicalities of geology with humour and a characteristic lightness of touch, Somerville’s book tells a story of humanity’s reckless exploitation and a lemming-like surge towards self-annihilation but also shows seeds of hope as we learn how we might work with geology to avert a climate catastrophe.
It cannot fail to change the way you see the world beyond your door.
Author bio:
Christopher Somerville is the walking correspondent of The Times. He is one of Britain’s most respected and prolific travel writers, with forty-two books, hundreds of newspaper articles and many TV and radio appearances to his name. He lives in Bristol.
This talk took place on 4th February 2024 at 2pm.
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Walking the Bones of Britain
£25.00
STANFORDS TRAVEL WRITERS FESTIVAL
Travel the world through a series of talks from authors as the world-famous independent map and travel bookshop brings you the Stanfords Travel Writers Festival from Destinations: The Holiday & Travel Show, London, Olympia.
