Nicholas Crane

'Absorbing and exhilarating . . . This book will literally expand your horizons' MICHAEL PALIN'A panoptic, deeply researched and compelling history of our nation' PATRICK BARKHAMA fascinating, immersive history of Britain's footpaths and routeways from the Mesolithic era to the present day - from the acclaimed geographer and author of The Making of the British Landscape'A book to read and savour at home, and then stow in the backpack alongside thermos, sandwiches and an Ordnance Survey map' PETROC TRELAWNYWalking defines us as human beings. But how much do we know about the paths that we walk? Why do they matter? What caused so many to be lost? And can we create more of the? n The Path More Travelled, acclaimed geographer and travel writer Nicholas Crane explores the hidden history of Britain's coast-to-coast web, from prehistoric routeways walked by European migrants 12,000 years ago to pilgrim ways and coffin roads, turnpikes, towpaths and city pavements. We discover how land-grabbing Norman barons began the enclosure of our countryside, and how our beloved national parks and long-distance trails emerged from the ashes of two world wars. Along the way, Crane takes the reader on some of his most memorable walks: along the Hadrian's Wall Path, into the icy Cairngorms and to the banks of the Severn where he discovers footprints from over 7,000 years ago. The Path More Travelled is a passionate ode to walking - and a call to rediscover and protect the lifeblood of our landscapes. 'Wonderfully immersive and full of fascinating detail' FIONA ROBERTSON'Evocative, beautifully written and witty, it is also a passionate statement on the human freedom to roam' VANESSA TAYLOR

Three hundred years ago no one knew the true shape of the world. It wasn't a sphere - but did it bulge at the equator or was it pointed at the poles? Until we found out no map could ever be truly accurate. So a team of scientists was sent to South America - to measure one full degree of latitude. But South America was a land of erupting volcanoes, sodden rainforests, earthquakes, deadly diseases, tropical storms and violent unrest. And the misfit scientists had an unfortunate tendency to squander funds, fight duels, stumble into mutinies or die horribly. The tale of their ten-year odyssey of exploration, discovery, flirtations with failure and ultimate triumph becomes in Nicholas Crane's hands the greatest scientific adventure story ever told.