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Weird Walk: Wanderings and Wonderings through the British Ritual Year
The first book by iconic zine creators and cultural phenomenon Weird Walk. This is a superbly designed guide to Britain's strange and ancient places, to standing stones and pagan rituals, and to the process of re-enchantment via weird walking.
In this book is a radical idea. By walking the ancient landscape of Britain and following the wheel of the year, we can reconnect to our shared folklore, to the seasons and to nature. Let this hauntological gazetteer guide you through our enchanted places and strange seasonal
In this book is a radical idea. By walking the ancient landscape of Britain and following the wheel of the year, we can reconnect to our shared folklore, to the seasons and to nature. Let this hauntological gazetteer guide you through our enchanted places and strange seasonal
288 pages, Hardcover
Published October 10, 2023
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644 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 9, 2024
I often feel like I’m taking a bit of a risk with books like this. In theory, it’s hitting all my bases (Archaeology! Walking in the countryside! Folk nonsense! References to M R James, E F Benson, A Ghost Story for Christmas and The Stone Tape! An introduction by Stewart Lee!), but so often these sorts of book then go on to devolve into a load of pseudoarchaeological Fortean Times druid bollocks. Mercifully, I’m happy to say that we’re spared this here, and the book is all the better for it.
In the pages devoted to each of the 32 locations, the focus is primarily on the experience of visiting, paired with a sort of selective thematic contextualisation, usually focused on a particular aspect of the site or tradition under discussion. While some of these are concerned with the expected local prehistory or folklore, just as often the later cultural relevance of places like Bix Bottom (filming location for Blood on Satan’s Claw) or Blakeney Point (inspiration for E F Benson), or their interactions with encroaching modernity (the new-build housing estate surrounding the Devil’s Arrows in Yorkshire) are invoked. The selection of sites is also unexpectedly diverse, with the big names like Stonehenge, Avebury, and White Horse Hill accompanied not only by lesser known Megalithic monuments like Dartmoor’s Fernworthy stone circle, but also by natural landscapes (Lud’s Church, Blakeney Point), historic ruins and follies (The Bix Bottom church, what remains of medieval Dunwich, the ‘Druid’s Temple’), and towns and villages with annual rituals (The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels).
While the frequent mention of vibes and ‘positive energy’ might seem a little suspect/new-agey at first glance, I’m willing to give the book a pass given how it treats this as something experiential - the intro actually goes into a bit of detail on hauntology/phenomenology. Ancient stones and landscapes undeniably have the power to evoke feelings, emotions, and yes, vibes in those observing and inhabiting them, and what is that if not a sort of magic after all. (Can you tell I’ve been writing up a lit review on object agency/archaeological theory…) Importantly, this magic is tied not to some manifestation of ley line energy, but to the real physical characteristics, history, folklore, and contexts of the sites, recognising the evocative power of these places without needlessly imagining arcane histories that ultimately do nothing but erase the agency of the ancient people who built them. Consequently, the vibes in question are often a result not just of the history and folklore of a site, but also of its juxtaposed modernity - the ground up presumed offering of tortillas and after-eight mints found at Coldrum Long Barrow, the flapping real-estate flags at the Devil’s Arrows, and the silent plantation of Fernworthy forest enveloping the stone circle contributing as much as the sites’ speculated uses or origins.
The photos throughout do a really good job of capturing the vibes described – a mixture of wide drone shots (probably? I’m not a photographer, maybe they’re just really tall) that beautifully place the sites in their wider landscapes and brilliantly grainy or artifacted snapshots of people and places.
The writers also do a good turn of phrase: one site is described as ‘absolutely rife with vibes’, and a stone circle supposedly resulting from some sabbath-breaking dancers being turned to stone becomes ‘a petrified mid-banger snapshot’.
If I have some really minor issues, for a book that is so aware of both the ongoing climate crisis and issues of access to the countryside (rightly championing right to roam), it’s unfortunate that the travel advice is limited to parking spots for cars. Is it possible to get there without a car? Where is the nearest train station? Can I get a bus to somewhere nearby? Do better. Also, and most critically, the book fails to recognise morris dancers as the ancestral enemy of all mankind. 0 stars.
In the pages devoted to each of the 32 locations, the focus is primarily on the experience of visiting, paired with a sort of selective thematic contextualisation, usually focused on a particular aspect of the site or tradition under discussion. While some of these are concerned with the expected local prehistory or folklore, just as often the later cultural relevance of places like Bix Bottom (filming location for Blood on Satan’s Claw) or Blakeney Point (inspiration for E F Benson), or their interactions with encroaching modernity (the new-build housing estate surrounding the Devil’s Arrows in Yorkshire) are invoked. The selection of sites is also unexpectedly diverse, with the big names like Stonehenge, Avebury, and White Horse Hill accompanied not only by lesser known Megalithic monuments like Dartmoor’s Fernworthy stone circle, but also by natural landscapes (Lud’s Church, Blakeney Point), historic ruins and follies (The Bix Bottom church, what remains of medieval Dunwich, the ‘Druid’s Temple’), and towns and villages with annual rituals (The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels).
While the frequent mention of vibes and ‘positive energy’ might seem a little suspect/new-agey at first glance, I’m willing to give the book a pass given how it treats this as something experiential - the intro actually goes into a bit of detail on hauntology/phenomenology. Ancient stones and landscapes undeniably have the power to evoke feelings, emotions, and yes, vibes in those observing and inhabiting them, and what is that if not a sort of magic after all. (Can you tell I’ve been writing up a lit review on object agency/archaeological theory…) Importantly, this magic is tied not to some manifestation of ley line energy, but to the real physical characteristics, history, folklore, and contexts of the sites, recognising the evocative power of these places without needlessly imagining arcane histories that ultimately do nothing but erase the agency of the ancient people who built them. Consequently, the vibes in question are often a result not just of the history and folklore of a site, but also of its juxtaposed modernity - the ground up presumed offering of tortillas and after-eight mints found at Coldrum Long Barrow, the flapping real-estate flags at the Devil’s Arrows, and the silent plantation of Fernworthy forest enveloping the stone circle contributing as much as the sites’ speculated uses or origins.
The photos throughout do a really good job of capturing the vibes described – a mixture of wide drone shots (probably? I’m not a photographer, maybe they’re just really tall) that beautifully place the sites in their wider landscapes and brilliantly grainy or artifacted snapshots of people and places.
The writers also do a good turn of phrase: one site is described as ‘absolutely rife with vibes’, and a stone circle supposedly resulting from some sabbath-breaking dancers being turned to stone becomes ‘a petrified mid-banger snapshot’.
If I have some really minor issues, for a book that is so aware of both the ongoing climate crisis and issues of access to the countryside (rightly championing right to roam), it’s unfortunate that the travel advice is limited to parking spots for cars. Is it possible to get there without a car? Where is the nearest train station? Can I get a bus to somewhere nearby? Do better. Also, and most critically, the book fails to recognise morris dancers as the ancestral enemy of all mankind. 0 stars.
October 18, 2025
An excellent book detailing Britain's "weird walks" and the stories behind ancient monuments, relics and drovers/pilgrim routes.
The format is great. A look at the history and local culture of each walk area, details of the walk itself (including where to park etc) and then some amazing colour photographs of each place. The photos are admittedly stunning.
What I love about this book is how many google searches it had me doing for other books to read, and going onto maps to look up places to visit.
Fabulous 5 stars.
The format is great. A look at the history and local culture of each walk area, details of the walk itself (including where to park etc) and then some amazing colour photographs of each place. The photos are admittedly stunning.
What I love about this book is how many google searches it had me doing for other books to read, and going onto maps to look up places to visit.
Fabulous 5 stars.
November 22, 2024
I’ve always had a fascination surrounding the arcane magic that emanates from the British landscape, especially in relation to the ritual year. However, this is my first time delving into the folkloric origins and impact of neolithic monuments. Now looking forward to exploring the local landscape through a weird walker lens! A massive thank you to ewan for lending me a copy.
Read
January 21, 2024I don't normally bother with samplers on Netgalley, not least because they bring with them the quandary of how best to record them on Goodreads. Here, though, I did want to know ahead of the book's release whether it was worth getting for those of us who already have the parent 'zine. Short answer: yes. Obviously it won't be so easily popped in a pocket, and the lack of any sketch maps for walks feels like a shame (map references and OS suggestions are supplied instead). But the photographs look far better here, even in a supposedly low-res file, and the repetition of earlier content is minimal. As against the mag's sometimes baffling organisation - I still love that the first article in the first issue was a beginner's guide to dungeon synth - the scheme here is much clearer; walks are divided by suggested season, with the sampler containing spring (and Stewart Lee's excellent introduction. Of the authors: "No one knows who they are, or what they are doing. But their legacy remains. Are they bound together in blood by the call of the Way of the Weird Walk? Or are they just trying to escape mundane reality by adding an air of significance to what may essentially be extended rural pub crawls with ideas above their station?"). Some locations are familiar to anyone the least bit into this stuff - Cerne Abbas, Padstow - while others are more niche. Most of the entries go beyond their ostensible topic to some wider observation, maybe on a relevant book or film, perhaps on giant legends, or how even a folly can accrue a certain numinous quality with surprising speed. Importantly, they don't fall for some of the loopier anti-modernity which the revival of interest in folk culture can try to smuggle through: "It is easy to re-imagine pre-modern, rural lives in overly sentimental terms, as an arcadian time before the Industrial Revolution and the "dark satanic mills". The truth is life was often exceedingly harsh - toiling in the fields in savage British weather, scratching out subsistence, raising animals to sell and to slaughter, fending off disease." The project is about trying to recover things of value which have been lost, not a wholesale turning back of the clock. Their turn of phrase helps with this, able to be enchanted and irreverent within the same entry, avoiding earnestness without collapsing into a craven refusal to admit they're genuinely into their subject (the Cerne Abbas chapter is especially good for this, with the man himself looking "as though you have interrupted the colossal geoglyph in a particularly arousing, yet private, cudgel-wielding session.").
UPDATE: bought the book, read the other three seasons; they maintained the standard.
UPDATE: bought the book, read the other three seasons; they maintained the standard.
November 4, 2023
Whatever you might think about the saturation of folkloric stuff these days this is a very welcome book. It's an accessible and an enjoyable view of ancient Britain as it exists today. It's pretty opinionated - that's fine - but references to 'megalithic energy ' and the like do make me wonder how much is tongue in cheek. Also worth noting that for a book about walking there's lots about parking and not too much about public transport.
December 29, 2024
Not so much finished as “finished a quick read-through:” getting to visit (or revisit) some of the walks mentioned from Lud’s Church to the White Horse will be the test, and time for a full review.
But so far this is enchanting, detailed and motivating.
But so far this is enchanting, detailed and motivating.
December 30, 2023
More of a book to dip in and out of and refer back to than read cover to cover.
Well produced and interesting.
Well produced and interesting.
August 12, 2023
Weird walk by the weird walk group might as well be a book of pagan holidays and Christian holidays because throughout the book we hear about traditions that are not only steeped in the occult but those whose origin story comes from the church but all is meant to be a great tourist attraction and A way to honor those who came before andcan even be used to teach the current generation about the old days. There are not only just places you can go but traditions you can participate in or at least watch I found this book to be very interesting but I will admit it was at times confusing as I am still not quite sure what the weird walkers are. In any event the things mentioned in the book are very interesting and right up my alley if you love the weird things that are off the beaten path then you will enjoy the events mentioned in this book. I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
November 30, 2023
A really interesting look at Britain’s most mysterious, or weird, customs and locations. This is the layperson’s guide to weird Britain, and I found it fascinating. I even discovered a few of the places were near me, but without the book I’d never noticed them before. Also the section on cheese rolling is hilarious and made me laugh.
October 29, 2023
A truly lovely read. It covers the seasons and some of the places and events in the country that have mystical, historical or just plain odd stories.
October 16, 2024
What a joy this book is. 'Weird Walk' is the first proper book sprung up from the zine of the same name. My interpretation of 'weird walking' is walking that endeavours to intersect our relationship to the countryside through the lens of history, culture and folklore. It is as much about our selves, the stories we tell, and the richness of the British landscape.
The first thing to get out of the way here is the brilliant quality of this book. The paper feels luscious, the photographs accompanying each walk are wonderfully evocative, providing an emotional resonance to the text. It's not an understatement to suggest that the images move me on an almost spiritual level.
The book is divided by season with suggested walks. I think there are 32 in here. The splitting by season is a brilliant design choice intended to make full use of the folkloric events around the country, and also how some sites are made for a specific season. It's kind of cool to see 'other' stone circles suggested for Midsummer too. I also loved the mix of ancient stones and megaliths, natural locations and those inspired by 20th century culture as well as those centred around folklore and community traditions.
The accompanying text to the walks are more context heavy, rather than route descriptions, it was hard not to feel a longing to visit places this weekend and every weekend, and yet as a walking book, this book is still a beautiful read even if one never goes anywhere in the book. You can tell that the authors have a love affair with each site. I could feel the sun rising in the spring section, feel the cold and the crunch of leaves underfoot in the autumn section... Reading this I could feel my own connection to the land and place, even for places I will never go. That's a great job of the authors. Yes, they are walkers but first and foremost they are storytellers, sharing the history and experience of the countryside.
A minor personal criticism is that I felt most of the walks were centred in the southern region. Maybe two in Scotland, two in Yorkshire, one in Cumbria and one in Derbyshire, with the rest stretching the southern counties east to west. Maybe there is more stuff there? Maybe that's where the authors live and what they know (more likely). It does leave a big gap from the Midlands up, including Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
As other reviewers have stated, walk starting points are defined by car parks with no indication of whether public transport is available. Some of this will be due to the UK's poor public transport network generally, but in a book that makes repeated calls that weird walking is for everyone, maybe it isn't for those without access to a car (a public transport spin off would be brilliant!).
I kind of want to draw attention to the perspectives of the authors. They note where certain sites are on private land and permission must be sought. You can feel the wink on the page to climb over that fence anyway - good on them. Also, especially since the far right have attempted to infiltrate and co-opt folklore and historical British culture they never leave you in any doubt that this book, the shared stories and the learning is for everyone. Bravo for calling this out.
The writing style is great. It's familiar, conversational whilst being informative. It raises a smile and knows its audience (it was funny that I told my wife I wanted to take a load of mushrooms and camp at a site then a few pages later, there is a depiction of new age ravers on mushrooms lol).
I kind of think the Weird Walk publishing is hard to keep up with, and I've started passing on some of the one off zines, but this book really is very good
The first thing to get out of the way here is the brilliant quality of this book. The paper feels luscious, the photographs accompanying each walk are wonderfully evocative, providing an emotional resonance to the text. It's not an understatement to suggest that the images move me on an almost spiritual level.
The book is divided by season with suggested walks. I think there are 32 in here. The splitting by season is a brilliant design choice intended to make full use of the folkloric events around the country, and also how some sites are made for a specific season. It's kind of cool to see 'other' stone circles suggested for Midsummer too. I also loved the mix of ancient stones and megaliths, natural locations and those inspired by 20th century culture as well as those centred around folklore and community traditions.
The accompanying text to the walks are more context heavy, rather than route descriptions, it was hard not to feel a longing to visit places this weekend and every weekend, and yet as a walking book, this book is still a beautiful read even if one never goes anywhere in the book. You can tell that the authors have a love affair with each site. I could feel the sun rising in the spring section, feel the cold and the crunch of leaves underfoot in the autumn section... Reading this I could feel my own connection to the land and place, even for places I will never go. That's a great job of the authors. Yes, they are walkers but first and foremost they are storytellers, sharing the history and experience of the countryside.
A minor personal criticism is that I felt most of the walks were centred in the southern region. Maybe two in Scotland, two in Yorkshire, one in Cumbria and one in Derbyshire, with the rest stretching the southern counties east to west. Maybe there is more stuff there? Maybe that's where the authors live and what they know (more likely). It does leave a big gap from the Midlands up, including Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
As other reviewers have stated, walk starting points are defined by car parks with no indication of whether public transport is available. Some of this will be due to the UK's poor public transport network generally, but in a book that makes repeated calls that weird walking is for everyone, maybe it isn't for those without access to a car (a public transport spin off would be brilliant!).
I kind of want to draw attention to the perspectives of the authors. They note where certain sites are on private land and permission must be sought. You can feel the wink on the page to climb over that fence anyway - good on them. Also, especially since the far right have attempted to infiltrate and co-opt folklore and historical British culture they never leave you in any doubt that this book, the shared stories and the learning is for everyone. Bravo for calling this out.
The writing style is great. It's familiar, conversational whilst being informative. It raises a smile and knows its audience (it was funny that I told my wife I wanted to take a load of mushrooms and camp at a site then a few pages later, there is a depiction of new age ravers on mushrooms lol).
I kind of think the Weird Walk publishing is hard to keep up with, and I've started passing on some of the one off zines, but this book really is very good
November 13, 2023
I recall many years ago reading a book by Sharon Kay Penman in which the concept of “hiraeth” plays a significant role. It’s a Welsh word that reflects the deep and abiding longing for the land of your birth - a word for those who’ve wondered far from home for far too long. As an Englishman living in the States for more than 35 years who hasn’t been home since 1997, it’s a concept I reckon with more-or-less daily - a kind of geographic dysmorphia that nags at your peace of mind even when your thoughts are far from the concerns of place and time.
I will make it home again soon, but in the meantime, Weird Walk (the book, the zine, the Instagram account) is working as a kind of emotional surrogate, reintroducing me to a magical, primeval land I never really had a chance to know in those short 15 years decades ago.
I mean, I kinda knew it. We lived in Dorset, and I vaguely remember on at least one occasion looking up grudgingly from my Beano as Dad pointed out the distant form of the Cerne Abbas Giant on Trendle Hill as we passed quickly by on our way to see a great aunt or uncle somewhere. And of course there was Stonehenge, which, despite being less than an hour away from the town in which I was born, we never visited. Nevertheless, I remember its presence was always somehow strangely felt.
Weird Walk has revived in me a longing I feel I can hardly resist any longer. The book is a beautiful, essential guide to a land in whose stories I feel inextricably bound to in both place and time, and I will take it with me - in more ways than one - when I finally return.
I will make it home again soon, but in the meantime, Weird Walk (the book, the zine, the Instagram account) is working as a kind of emotional surrogate, reintroducing me to a magical, primeval land I never really had a chance to know in those short 15 years decades ago.
I mean, I kinda knew it. We lived in Dorset, and I vaguely remember on at least one occasion looking up grudgingly from my Beano as Dad pointed out the distant form of the Cerne Abbas Giant on Trendle Hill as we passed quickly by on our way to see a great aunt or uncle somewhere. And of course there was Stonehenge, which, despite being less than an hour away from the town in which I was born, we never visited. Nevertheless, I remember its presence was always somehow strangely felt.
Weird Walk has revived in me a longing I feel I can hardly resist any longer. The book is a beautiful, essential guide to a land in whose stories I feel inextricably bound to in both place and time, and I will take it with me - in more ways than one - when I finally return.
October 14, 2023
I am one of the few people who wasn't aware of The Weird Walk journal of wanderings and wonderings before reading this book - but it sounded interesting. With books like these I always turn first to places I know well, in that way I know how good or useful the rest of the book will be.
This book takes you on a year of walks through ancient mythical Britain. The sites in the South West of England were well chosen with accurate details and an interesting write up with information that was new to me. This book is a great collection of sites to walk to from the well known - Stonehenge, to ones that would probably only be known to locals - the Green Man at Wootton Rivers. As a lover of history, I found this a great collection of walks.
This book takes you on a year of walks through ancient mythical Britain. The sites in the South West of England were well chosen with accurate details and an interesting write up with information that was new to me. This book is a great collection of sites to walk to from the well known - Stonehenge, to ones that would probably only be known to locals - the Green Man at Wootton Rivers. As a lover of history, I found this a great collection of walks.
October 26, 2023
This guide by the zine creators Weird Walk takes you through Albion’s strange and ancient landscapes, standing stones, pagan rituals and connections to folklore, the seasons and nature.
Each season you can walk a different landscape, from the well known Avebury and Stonehenge to the lesser known (certainly to me) Bix Bottom and The Devil’s Arrows. Packed with information and walking notes and stunning photography it’s a fabulous book. I really enjoyed it, especially the little walking note extras. Something a bit different, happy to walk on the weird side!
Each season you can walk a different landscape, from the well known Avebury and Stonehenge to the lesser known (certainly to me) Bix Bottom and The Devil’s Arrows. Packed with information and walking notes and stunning photography it’s a fabulous book. I really enjoyed it, especially the little walking note extras. Something a bit different, happy to walk on the weird side!
December 2, 2024
A lovely bedtime book to dream away to deep time by. Actually pinning all the locations to my mobile map and studying them in further detail for an actual visit, is yet to come. A taste for more though.
October 29, 2023
Great pictures and enticing tales to encourage people to get out and visit places with deep historical links.
December 7, 2023
REALLY excellent book. Such a great conceit for a book and pulled off so so so well.
December 27, 2023
Loved this - a nice mix of information, imagination and titillation. Planning lots of journeys to the listed sites and revisiting my local unlisted sites
January 1, 2024
Can't wait to get started on some weird walks!
January 3, 2024
I love the zine and was smitten with this collection of vibes, hauntologies, and wanderings.
January 27, 2025
Wish I could have read parts of this seasonally but alas, the library reservation s list waits for no one
Magical and thoughtful in its every detail - wish I had a copy of my own
Magical and thoughtful in its every detail - wish I had a copy of my own
April 1, 2025
Was absolutely amazing book and very inspiring. I'm not a rambler or weird walker but this made me want to have a go. Awesome
July 17, 2025
Great book divided into seasons with the best time to maybe visit a location. some stones and tombs and some village traditions .Great insight into places to visit
August 16, 2025
This book made me want to traverse the weird paths and monuments described therein.
August 19, 2025
A wonderful study or guide on how some of the ills of modern society can be healed by walking in the grandeur of deep past.
The essays in this book are informative and down to earth free from the scholarly bravado , with the history of the sites and customs plus a walking or visting guide at the end of each. The Book is also filled with absolutely beautiful photographs and little sketchs of artwork in the essays.
The essays in this book are informative and down to earth free from the scholarly bravado , with the history of the sites and customs plus a walking or visting guide at the end of each. The Book is also filled with absolutely beautiful photographs and little sketchs of artwork in the essays.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews