Laurie Lee
I always enjoy reading books which blend with the seasons, and at this time of year, of course travel books. Now we may not be able to travel too far from our shores at present but there is no reason why we can’t travel in other ways. I am increasingly interested in travel writing and so have recently added a number of travel writing classics to my reading list. At the top of the list was Laurie Lee’s ‘When I Stepped Out One Midsummer Morning’. This is such a wonderful book, and I have come across few writers who can evoke a sense of place in the same way as Laurie Lee can. This memoir and sequel to ‘Cider With Rosie’ documents his long walk from his home in the Cotswolds to London and then to Southern Spain. Of course I loved the early chapters when he spent time living and working in London, but it was his journey through Spain which totally captivated me. He writes with such depth and powerful description, that scenes were lifted off the page and firmly embedded into my imagination. I could almost feel my own skin scorching in the relentless Spanish sun and the deep rooted thirst Lee experienced as he trekked for hours on end through arid landscapes. Losing yourself in good writing and stories is a truly calming experience.
English Holidays
I’ve also been fortunate enough to have some real travel too. My absence from Changing Pages lately has been because I have been having a lovely change of scene. Not Spain, but Devon, Cornwall and Norfolk which in my opinion is just as good. On the day that the heatwave finished and the rain started, we were in our campervan on our way to our first campsite. Two wonderful weeks enjoying the beautiful English coast and countryside at its absolute best followed. The English countryside is glorious at this time of year. We walked through meadows filled with an abundance of wild flowers, we meandered along craggy coastal paths and managed some refreshing dips in the sea. I have been fortunate to travel fairly widely throughout the world and I’m still convinced Cornwall has some of the most beautiful beaches to be found anywhere.
Some time away from London, and immersing ourselves in nature and has been both calming and nourishing to body and soul. The only problem has been adapting to ‘normal’ life on our return. Hey ho!
Have a wonderful week.
