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Part of
Birnam Book Festival
Anna Fleming charts two parallel journeys: learning the craft of traditional rockclimbing, and the new developing appreciation of the natural world it brings her.
Through the story of her progress from terrified beginner to confident lead climber, she shows us how placing hand and foot on rock becomes a profound new way into the landscape.
Anna takes us from the gritstone rocks of the Peak District and Yorkshire to the gabbro pinnacles of the Cuillin, the slate of North Wales and the high plateau of the Cairngorms. Each landscape, and each type of rock, brings its own challenges and unique pleasures. She also shows us how climbing invites us into the history of a place: geologically, of course, but also culturally.
This book is Anna’s journey of self-discovery, but it is also a guide to losing oneself in the greater majesty of the natural world. With great lyricism she explores how it feels to climb as a woman, the pleasures of the physical demands of climbing, fear and challenge, but more than anything, it is about a joyful connection to the mountains.
Chair: Simon Yearsley is the proprietor of the award-winning Scottish Deli in Dunkeld. In addition to fine food and wine, Simon’s real passion is exploratory climbing and he has climbed adventurous routes all over the world.