What I’ve been reading this week, 5 July 2019

Quitting long-distance hiking, a thin skin over rock, editing as therapy, and it could always be worse…

Outdoors

DNF – Why I’ve quit long-distance hiking – Keith Foskett analyses a big change. Every now and again it’s time for something new in life.

A wild camp on Braeriach – Chris heads into the Cairngorms.

Monte Camicia and the last snow of spring – another great mountain journey in the Apennines from Mark and Edita.

A thin skin over rock – traces left behind.

It could be worse – ‘What about Gary, but then a few minutes before the sun came up, lava?’

Environment

Country diary: the exquisite joy of a meadow full of flowers – ‘Part of the health-giving psychological effects of meadows is that they exist simultaneously on two separate yet indivisible scales.’

A walk on Europe’s wild side – ‘In an age of doomsday predictions, rewilding conservation schemes offer a glimmer of hope on an otherwise bleak horizon for the future of biodiversity.’

Battle to control Scottish hilltracks goes on – this piece by Mel Nicoll for the John Muir Trust is a good intro to the hilltracks debate.

Writing and editing

Vertebrate signs three-book deal with mountaineer – I couldn’t be more pleased for John, and also for Vertebrate, who have snagged themselves a good author to have on board. (There’s a little quote from me in this news piece too.)

How I write a book – Alastair Humphreys’ writing process (which, like many effective creative methods, is analogue and messy and defies neat digital efficiencies).

Editing as therapy? – I’ve probably shared this excellent piece before, but it’s worth sharing again.

How to get published – Penguin have launched a ‘writer’s guide to the world of publishing’.

Unfiled

Accept it, people hate ads – yes, all of them – ‘Marketers delude themselves into believing consumers like ads.’

What a deer-tooth necklace says about our Ice Age ancestors – this is a fascinating look at what we can learn from the fragments left over from distant millennia.