Events at Stanfords – Page 4

Author Talk: Globetrotting: A conversation with Duncan Minshull and Kim Kremer

“And what a world was seen afoot!” Bayard Taylor.

Duncan Minshull, former BBC producer, writer and anthologist, has used the words of the travel journalist Taylor as inspiration for his new collection, Globetrotting: Writers Walk The World, which he discussed last night at Stanfords with Kim Kremer, publisher of Notting Hill Editions.

In the collection we are able to follow in the footsteps of over fifty writers; ranging from Christopher Columbus, to Edith Wharton, to William Boyd. They traverse the seven continents in all sorts of climes and times, be it 1492 or the present day. But then, aren’t all walking types linked by one thing? The sensory desire to see, and also hear, smell, and ultimately feel the places they move though. Yes, you might ask, is this why we all want to travel on foot? Talking about, and reading from Globetrotting, provides some excellent answers.

Globetrotting: Writers Walk The World, is available now for £15.99. We have signed copies while stocks last.

About the speakers:

Duncan Minshull was a senior producer at BBC Radio for twenty five years, and now writes and publishes book about walking. He also takes people for ‘walk & talks’ around the UK. Globetrotting is the final book in a trilogy about travelling the world on foot.

Kim Kremer is MD of Notting Hill Editions. She joined the company in 2014, having worked originally in Children’s Publishing. She is a judge on the 2024 Nature Chronicles Prize, and enjoys getting out on foot whenever time allows.

Author Talk: Cold Kitchen by Caroline Eden

Last night we had an evening of delicious conversation with former Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award-winner Caroline Eden as she spoke to Olia Hercules about her new book Cold Kitchen: A Year of Culinary Journeys.

Book Launch: Potholes and Pavements by Laura Laker

Last week we hosted the launch of Laura Laker’s debut book Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride On Britain’s National Cycle Network. This is a unique journey around the UK’s National Cycle Network and one journalist’s quest to investigate the state of our country’s cycling.

What if we were less reliant on our cars? What if there were safe cycling paths to take us places instead? What if those paths led to the next town, the next village and the countryside beyond?

This was the dream of a group of Bristolian idealists in the 1970s when they founded Britain’s National Cycle Network, which now runs to nearly 13,000 miles across the country. Journalist Laura Laker sets off on an odyssey around the UK to see where the NCN began, and where it is now.

What has gone right – and wrong – with this piece of national infrastructure? Why is it run by a charity whose CEO once admitted ‘we’ve had enough of it being crap, we need to fix it’? Laura lifts the lid on this maddening, patchy, and at times dangerous network, and the similarly precarious politics and financing that make it what it is.

She discovers beauty, friendship and adventure along the way, from the Cairngorms to Cornwall, from the Pennines to the South Wales coast. On her mission to pin down what the NCN is and what it means to those who use it, she also meets up with high-profile travelling companions, including Chris Boardman and Ned Boulting.

In a country where 71% of trips are less than five miles, two thirds of Britons say they want to cycle more and doing so could help our climate, health and wellbeing. Laura is on a mission to see if we can make that dream a reality.

Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride On Britain’s National Cycle Network. is available now for £16.99. All our copies are signed by the author while stocks last.

Join Laura Laker as she talks about her book at Stanfords London on the 21st May and at Stanfords Bristol on 23rd May. See our events page for tickets and more details.