One Woman Walks Wales

by Ursula Martin

Ursula Martin never thought she would walk 3700 miles around Wales, but following a cancer diagnosis it seemed like the only reasonable thing to do. In 17 months, she traversed beaches and mountains, farms and urban sprawl. She received unimaginable support – people offered beds, food, cups of tea, donated to her chosen charities. Walking Wales rooted her in the country and in herself; her account of the physical and mental challenges painting a unique portrait of the natural landscape of a country and its people.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Memoir, Adventure, Biography

412 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 15, 2018

Reviews

[Sally Sutton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed with this book, she is such a moaner. I appreciate that she has recovered from a significant health problem. Her desire to draw attention to early detection of ovarian cancer is laudable but her writing style is not appealing to me.

[Mark Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a very descriptive story of Ursula's journey, one that you feel you are walking with her; sleeping outside and waking up with slugs in your hair and feeling the pain in your feet after a really tiring day. It's a very uplifting book, filled with hope, adventure and determination.

[Nick Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it's important to separate out my feelings about the author's achievements and actions, from my thoughts about (and experience of) reading this book. I have bucketloads of admiration and respect for Ursula Martin's drive in conceiving and completing this mad series of walks, her collecting all that money for ovarian cancer charities, and raising awareness of the disease. I'm sure far more lives have been saved and improved than would ever be trumped by my smattering of complaints about this book.

Martin, a cancer survivor herself, decides on a loosely planned series of walks along public footpaths in Wales. Ending up walking 3700+ miles over the course of several months, keeping her many followers online up to date, this was a very successful and worthwhile endeavour. Impressive. Martin comes across with honesty and you get to appreciate how difficult this all was.

Maybe this is the problem. I was expecting more of a book about the places she visited, the history and geography of Wales, something more well-rounded and fleshed out in this manner. Knowing many of the places she visited and routes she took, I was looking forward to connecting her experiences with my own walks in Wales. I was in this expectation disappointed - due to the sheer length of her journey and her (understandable) focuses on the efforts she was making, this type of content was relatively sparse. Martin obviously was very grateful to the people who put her up and helped her on her journey, but it seemed her mentioning all of them squeezed out a lot of the walking content - in the end this was book was mainly a series of sections about getting lost/wet in fields and forests, complaining about her sore feet and back, meeting a series of folk who walked with her, gave her money and food, maybe put her up for the night.. and it felt a lot less interesting a read as a consequence, for all that her achievements and accomplishments are very impressive.

[dbaskls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational is an over used word but not in this case. Not because Ursula did this as a reaction and catharsis to her cancer but because she walked 3700 miles, on her own, in all weathers, often wild camping, and also managed to write a book about it! This is a warts and all description of a truly amazing feat. Thank you Ursula. I am going to be staying near Tywyn in the summer and I'm determined to climb Cadair.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if it was my mood whilst reading this book but I found it disappointing and boring at times.
I have read a few walking books of the same theme with people overcoming illness. Whilst I praise her for raising awareness of disease that can be missed, I found her to come across moaning and ungrateful most of the time.

Also the way the book is laid out made it boring for me. Other books I have read like this talk about the challenges of the walk and then flash back to their journey through the illness or trauma and also other peoples stories. May have made for a more interesting read.

[Rachel Welton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, descriptive account of Ursula's trek round and through Wales. I had a particular investment in the story, as she stayed with us early on, as she was walking the Severn. It was great to read about the adventures and massive achievements she had after she left us, as well as all the good work raising awareness of ovarian cancer.
Ursula is currently walking down through the Balkans. I am looking forward her next book.

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t read The Salt Path - read this instead. Two reactions to difficult circumstances and illness, and whilst The Salt Path is full of moaning, this book is all about taking positive action to raise money and awareness. Why isn’t this book getting the publicity it deserves?

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lifechanging event leads to a long walk through Wales and reading this made me nostalgic for the beauty that is Wales and respect for the author's feistiness.

[Zoe Langley-Wathen · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, I should say that this was a book I read with my husband. He is dyslexic, so enjoys having books read to him and I enjoy reading out loud, so it's a lovely opportunity to share a book and chat about each chapter afterwards. Work commitments meant we were only able to read at the weekends. Sometimes, the books we choose are slow but with this one, I was chomping at the bit to keep reading throughout the week! Somehow I resisted the temptation...

The details of the book then - this first adventure memoir by Ursula was so absorbing and generous in the descriptive placement of landscape, people and emotion. Her writing voice is maintained throughout and she doesn't shy away from saying it how it is, particularly when she was having a tough time! We both felt a connection with many of her fleeting, but generous hosts as Ursula introduced each of them without overpowering the text. As walkers ourselves, we identified her foot pain and the daily slog that she endured. Her narrative allowed us to experience every ounce of determination that she scraped from the bottom of her rucksack each day.

Even after completing Ursula's book, however, we still cannot comprehend the fear and enormity of that initial cancer diagnosis. We appreciate and applaud Ursula's honesty about her lack of confidence in herself, her doubts and her gutsy dedication to take on such an epic journey and get the job done, no matter what. It's a lesson we should all learn too - that in creating any project for ourselves, sometimes life happens and sometimes we need to cut ourselves some slack. If I understood it right, that seemed to be Ursula's realisation. It's our project, so we choose the rules and do it our way. In Ursula's case, it was her walk, and she walked it the way she needed to. If changes need to be made, for whatever reason, then the art of flexibility and acceptance was certainly a course that Ursula learned well.

One last thing I wanted to mention is that despite following Ursula's journey on social media, from the early days, I felt that her book revealed so much more of her thoughts, inner battles and struggles. It opened my eyes to her daily reality, so if you have ever enjoyed any one of Ursula's blogs, you will absolutely enjoy One Woman Walks Wales. Don't think that you don't need to read the book, because you read all her blogs - you most definitely haven't! You will not be disappointed.

[Martyn Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has remained with me for a long time, and has been an inspiration to my own work. The raw clarity and honesty of her writing is breathtaking. There is no fluffy artifice here, you are seeing deep into her soul unfiltered. There is something about walking and writing that goes together, it is an artistic expression, and the words glide on to the paper as she takes each step. It is not the best prose, but my mind easily constructs the hardships, feelings and emotions of her journey, building a picture in my mind of the sufferings and joys of such a pilgrimage, just because the words ring true.

I'm reading her second book (One Woman Walks Europe) now, and hope to see this on Goodreads soon, as this work deserves the widest audience and should be read by anyone with ambitions to write their own memoir.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

You feel every step that Ursula takes, feel her pain and share in her joys and triumphs. It is brave. It is beautifully written. Poetic and wholly readable. It is an incredible inspiration.

Her cause, to raise awareness of Ovarian Cancer, the silent killer as it’s known. I have the BRCA1 gene and my ovaries were removed earlier this year as a preventative measure against this awful disease so reading Ursula’s battle post-cancer as well as the other brave souls she met on the way felt very personal and humbling. I am still on my BRCA journey with more surgery to come and I feel strengthened by reading this amazing book.

[Pat Morris-jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of best books I have read for a while. I read the unedited version ( bought on eBay) which I guess was prior to publication. It was inspiring without being preachy or twee. It was well written in the sense I wanted to keep reading and, at the end, it had prepared me ( as the end of the walk she was preparing herself) for it. So no disappointment or wishing it were longer. Just great. Only dilemma? Who to send my copy to? I have a few people who I think may like it. Who first? Lol.

[MR C J TYLER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring and moving

A wonderful account of a great adventure. I won't quickly forget the meetings with inspiring people, the kindness encountered, the beautiful nature writing, the feminist insights. I've learned a lot and enjoyed Ursula's company. I loved the way she writes about herself; self deprecating but recognising her strengths. Very highly recommended. Thank you.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read much of thus while in Wales, and finished in the days immediately following my journey there. I loved tracing the author's routes and noting when we "crossed paths."

I first "discovered" the book in Aberystwyth, while visiting Wales for the first time in April.

[Jilli · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible woman! Truly inspirational. Her book is beautifully written, with vivid descriptions of landscape. I felt her pain as she struggled, applauded her small victories and just totally admired her grit. Ursula proves adversity can be overcome.

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 Sterne. Es ist alles sehr sehr ausführlich. Es muss vermutlich so sein bei der Geschichte aber manchmal war es etwas zäh.
Aber auch bewundernswert, und man kann daraus lernen, wie viel man aushalten kann!
Es macht auf jeden Fall Lust auch ihr nächstes Buch zu lesen.

[Elizabeth Vanessa Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Ursula writes beautifully and it was a pleasure and easy to read. Her ability to withstand pain amazing. Fascinating and inspiring.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring and beautifully written book

[gnarlyhiker · Rating 4 out of 5]

being from the good ol' usofa this was definitely an armchair travel read. a most excellent adventure.

good luck

[Amory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring read

[Steffan Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book, well written and inspirational story.

[Marilyn Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A life affirming, arduous read but so worth while. It made me realise what I was capable of (walking) too, so thank you Ursula.

[Michelle]

Detailed, descriptive and dedicated.
A joy to read, made me want yo be right there with her

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting book learnt lots about wales and ovarian cancer. Fascinating to read about her personal
Journey through cancer…