The Wild Rover: A Blistering Journey Along Britain’s Footpaths - Hardcover

Parker, Mike

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007372663 ISBN 13: 9780007372669

Publisher: Collins, 2011

Synopsis

Mike Parker, bestselling author of Map Addict, is back with a brilliant, intelligent and witty exploration of a glorious and passionate British subject - footpaths and our rights of way.

Mike discovers how these paths have become part of our cultural landscape and why, at the tender age of 44, he suddenly finds himself at a crossroads.

Provocative, funny and personal, this book celebrates Britain’s unique and extraordinary network of footpaths. It examines their chequered and surprisingly turbulent history, from the Enclosures Acts of the eighteenth century to the 1932 Mass Trespass on Kinder Scout in Derbyshire; and from the hard-won post-war establishment of great National Trails like the Pennine Way to the dramatic latter-day battles by the likes of Nicholas van Hoogstraten and Madonna to keep ramblers off their land.

The story ranges far and wide, to all corners of the country and beyond, and is filled with the many characters that Mike engages with along the way - the poets and artists, farmers and ramblers, landowners and Rights of Way officers and campaigners, historians, archivists and anyone else who crosses his path (or even tries to block it).

About this title

About the Author

Mike Parker has had a varied career, which at one point saw him working as a stand-up comedian. He has been widely published and also presents various travel programmes for radio and television. His books to date include the Rough Guide to Wales as well as several other guide books. He writes freelance travel pieces for most of the UK papers, including the Independent, the Independent on Sunday, the Guardian, the Sunday Times and the Mirror.

Edition details

• Publisher: Collins
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0007372663
• ISBN 13: 9780007372669
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336