Byways, Boots & Blisters: A History of Walkers & Walking

by bill-laws, George Drower

A celebration of the history of walking for leisure and pleasure.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of vignettes about various people who have enjoyed walking. It read like a collection of Readers Digest articles. Occasionally interesting but doesn't have anything new to say. Lightweight stuff.

[Stephen Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely a history of walkers rather than a history of walking. It is largely composed of brief (2-4 page) biographies of prominent or famous walkers through mainly British history. There are brief elements of the history of walking such as talking about the individuals concerned with the Kinder trespass and the establishment of the Pennine Way, but no attempt is made to tell a complete or coherent story of the legal and social (or technological developments). This is intended to be a light book rather than a serious history, and it does what it sets out to do.