36 Islands: In Search of the Hidden Wonders of the Lake District and a Few Other Things Too

by Robert Twigger

Many of us are accustomed to walking in the majestic hills and peaks of the Lake District - but what about the lakes themselves, and more specifically the islands?

There are 36 islands of reasonable size (there are 38 in all, but two are little more than rocks). All are named and have fascinating histories, from hosting aristocratic homes to inspiring Beatrix Potter, from kennel islands for hunting dogs to saints' retreats to the model for Arthur Ransome's classic 'Swallows and Amazons'. Many are uninhabited - except by wildlife. Some you are welcome to stay on, some are private and require permission to land. Some are easy to get to, others more remotely placed.

Robert Twigger has spent 36 days sleeping a different night on a different island. He follows a route through the Lake District, wild swimming to islands and using a super lightweight pack-raft to transport his gear. Each chapter covers a different lake. Within it, Twigger details his journey from lake to lake and from island to island. Woven into the narrative will be stories and historical material relating to the lake and island in question. Each island will be introduced with a hand-drawn map and illustrations will detail some of what he experiences and discovers. 36 Islands is modern book of Treasure Islands.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Nature

290 pages, Hardcover

Published November 10, 2022

About the author

Robert Twigger is a British author who has been described as, 'a 19th Century adventurer trapped in the body of a 21st Century writer'. He attended Oxford University and later spent a year training at Martial Arts with the Tokyo Riot Police. He has won the Newdigate prize for poetry, the Somerset Maugham award for literature and the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.

In 1997, whilst on an expedition in Northern Borneo, he discovered a line of menhirs crossing into Kalimantan. In 1998 He was part of the team that caught the world's longest snake- documented in the Channel 4/National Geographic film and book Big Snake; later he was the leader of the expedition that was the first to cross Western Canada in a birchbark canoe since 1793. Most recently, in 2009-2010, he led an expedition that was the first to cross the 700 km Great Sand Sea of the Egyptian Sahara solely on foot.

He has also written for newspapers and magazines such as The Daily Telegraph, Maxim and Esquire, and has published several poetry collections, including one in 2003, with Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing.

Robert has published Real Men Eat Puffer Fish (2008), a humorous but comprehensive guide to frequently overlooked but not exclusively masculine pastimes, while his latest novel Dr. Ragab's Universal Language, was published to acclaim in July 2009. Robert now lives in Cairo, a move chronicled in his book Lost Oasis. He has lead several desert expeditions with 'The Explorer School'.

Robert has given lectures on the topic of 'Lifeshifting', an approach which emphasises the need to centre one's life around meaning-driven motivation. Drawing on experiences working with indigenous peoples from around the world, he has spoken on 'work tribes' and polymathy. He has also spoken on leadership. Some of these talks have been to companies such as Procter and Gamble, Maersk Shipping, SAB Miller and Oracle computing.

Reviews

[Julian Worker · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons and the English Lake District then this is the book for you. Even if you don't, then this book is well worth reading. It's an unusual travelogue about visiting 36 islands in some of the lakes of the English Lake District.

As you will have worked out, anyone visiting these islands has to paddle there and it's not always easy to get to the lake shore to start out on the journey to the island. Not all the lakes in the Lake District are conveniently located close to a car park, and part of the entertainment in the writing relates to the nights spent in cars and the trekking through the undergrowth to find the lake, accompanied by an inflatable packraft.

The book is packed with fascinating historical footnotes and philosophical insights.

[Ulrika Eriksson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Island hopping slows time right down. A day can seem like a week does in the ordinary world of laptops and lattes"
Equipped with packraft, waders and tent, Twigger, sometimes alone sometimes with friends, visits the Lake District north of Manchester to escape the grip and routine of everyday life, to slow down time and perhaps find an island to escape to if everything breaks loose in our society. His lightweight packraft takes him out to the 36 islands, which he explores and draws simple maps of. Quite nice and "scouty". For me, a swede, grown up with "allemansrätten", the right of public access, it feels strange to realize that mostly it is forbidden to put up a tent when you're hiking in England – and many other countreis. Twigger is tenting anyway but feels uncomfortable and makes sure no one is around when he puts it up. Unless he sleeps in the car in a parking lot where it is forbidden to park all night. So many prohibitions!
He writes about Arthur Ransome, a favorite childhood author, describes skilfully crafted outdoor equipment, tells the history of places and reflects and sighs about our modern electronic age.
"Chooce the change you want to be a part of. Don't confuse more information with real change."
"It is this reliance on the scientific invisible which has displaced the real invisible, the subtle and mysterious wonders of the natural world experienced first-hand"
I love this book because it gives me the urge to get out of my head and into the woods.

[Josh Murphie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. Flew through it - familiar locale maybe. I didn’t enjoy it much, it felt like the focus was in the wrong place. Tangents felt very much like tangents, moments of true clarity few and far between. Very bold of me to say, but didn’t understand the lakes (or maybe I just didn’t like the understanding) except in small bursts. Agreed with a lot of sentiment however, so 2.5.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well I'm not sure what rating to give this book. I did hope that it was going to be a book about the islands in the lake district and they didn't feature very much. The author seemed to be very enthused about Arthur Ramsome and his book 'Swallows and Amazons' and Enid Blyton. So that didn't help and the sentence 'that children learn at a young age about sexual attractiveness'. I'm not sure where he gets his information from or how relevant it was to his book.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

selles raamatus oli palju rohkem, kui ma oodata oskasin - tagakaanetekst ja põgus sirvimine lubasid, et üks mees külastab kõiki Lake Districti järvedes olevaid saari, ja juba see oli piisav põhjus lugeda. aga lisaks oma seiklustele (mis, tõsi, muutuvad veidi üksluiseks juba tükk aega enne, kui saartega järved otisa saavad - kui mitu korda me peame kuulma sellest, kuidas sa naudid oma kummiparve täispumpamise mehhanismi või mida arvad rahvuspargi liiklus- ja parkimiskorraldusest?) räägib Twigger meile siin väga palju Arthur Ransome'ist, nii "Swallows and Amazons" raamatusarja loomeloost ja prototüüpidest (inimeste, saarte, järvede, paatide jne osas) kui kirjaniku muust elust, mis oli mulle kõik suureks üllatuseks (mängis Leniniga malet ja abiellus Trotski sekretäriga).

kokku saab juba täitsa tummine lugu ja minu meelest oleks võinud sellega piirdudagi. või, okei, muud asjassepuutuvad kõrvallood (Lake Districti järvedel kiirusrekordite purustamised, Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter) muidugi sobisid sinna ka. aga aegajalt toimus lehekülgede kaupa üleüldist heietamist lapsepõlve, saarte ja matkamise üldisest olemusest, ja noh... ma saan aru küll, et omaette looduses kilomeetreid läbival inimesel tuleb igasugu mõtteid pähe ja mõned neist tunduvad väga erilised ja kirjapanemist väärt, aga sellele raamatule nad midagi juurde ei andnud.

mis andis juurde, olid pildid - käsitsi joonistatud kaardid ja muud sketšid sellest, kuidas seal kõik oli ja välja nägi. kasulikud ja meeleolukad!

mõne Ransome'i raamatu võtan nüüd Twiggeri tuules ka jälle ette, mul on neist umbes pooled veel täitsa lugemata.

[Nigel Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book represented 2022's Christmas gift that leapt straight to the front of my "next book to read" list & it didn't disappoint. The Lake District is one of our favourite places to visit, I love a travel book & who doesn't want to trespass onto a dense island, light a fire & camp overnight ? You could say, he pretty much had me at "Hello".
I'd never read of Robert Twigger's previous books & probably won't read anymore which may sound strange seeing as I loved this book, although I generally put that down to simply finding the challenge that Robert set himself perfect.
I'll avoid describing the book as this can be found elsewhere but Twigger has an easy-going writing style, threading his personal adventure with related history & at times, un-related narrative detours. Whilst I generally lapped up every page, had his adventure not been quite so reflective of something I'd love to do, in an area not so beloved to the reader (that's me by the way) I wouldn't have enjoyed it anywhere as near as much.
A huge part of why I enjoyed this book quite so much however, is Robert's inclusion of dozens of perfectly sketched, annotated maps of the lakes, islands & other noteworthy observations, whether they be birds, footprints or water-craft. Not only are the sketches both gorgeous to look at, theyr'e often funny but always informative. They really do provide the reader with a wonderful insight into size, layout & anything else that Twigger feels worthy of recording.
The one thing which I loved but do think the blurb fails to mention adequately is how much of the book refers to writer Arthur Ransome & his Swallows & Amazon's series of books. I found it fascinating but can imagine many not familiar with the Author or his work, maybe not so much.
Twigger does get a little too deep for this reader at times & this is probably the primary reason for maybe not grabbing a copy of another of his books but I think that says more about what I'm looking for in a bedtime book than the Writer. Despite the fact that Twigger does describe sleeping in a car, raft inlation & tea-drinking, I still would have loved a little additional detail to truly feel like I was there alongside him but again, perhaps many other readers would prefer the clever stuff over what time he went to sleep or what flavour pot noodle he favoured.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. Yes I gave it five stars but perhaps a better indicator was the fact that I bestowed it as my favourite Christmas present last year, no mean feat when you learn my wife also got me a mixed slab of craft beer from my favourite brewery ! Praise indeed eh.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a Travelogue but maybe better!

I’m off to paddle the Lakes next week and got this for any pointers from an author I like.
I did note some practical elements of use to me as a traveller, but in truth not many.
Was I disappointed? No!
The book is essentially about the need to adventure, the Twigger’s signature philosophy of doing so (on a relatively small scale), pack-rafting practicalities and so on.
Intertwined are very interesting facts about the various lakes, islands and associated characters. Most fascinatingly the Author Arthur Ransome.
It’s also about childhood, the pressure to grow up and all that entails, but retaining the need to seek simple pleasures in the outdoors, as an antidote to modern life. With many related cartoons and hand drawn charts.
It contains all this and more in a reflective, humorous style. Less one star due only to the somewhat random order of things (although representative of the whole maybe!)
Personally I loved it… but be aware a travel guide it isn’t - but so much instead!!! :)

[Stephen Dunstan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following two five star reviews I wonder about my three stars, but I liked it and wouldn't go further than that.

I've seen on reviews on other platforms that some have thought the title isn't clear about the fact that this is something of a homage to Arthur Ransome. I would agree with that, the inside cover does in one line say it's inspired by Ransome, Wainwright and Wordsworth but I can't even remember a reference to Wainwright in the whole book. Whilst some of the 36 islands referred to are very small I thought there would be more on them, and less on Ransome's eccentricities and foibles.

Strengths of the book include some sound advice about the importance of being with nature, and some very impressive turns of phrase in places. The major issue with it for me isn't the Arthur Ransome thread, but the large amount of repetitive account about inflating and using a 'packraft' which is interesting enough for the first island but not by the end.

(Not reflected in the score but for accuracy - the author makes reference to seeing two separate Golden Eagles and illustrates one on page 9. Golden Eagles are extinct in the Lake District so this seems extremely improbable.)

[Bryan Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall really enjoyable and fun to read. My perspective changed a bit, as a motorcyclist, when he admitted keying a motorbike's shiny petrol tank out of rage/outrage, but otherwise it was a fairly whimsical journey around the lakes visiting, or trying to visit, the generally tiny islands on the lakes. It was interesting for me as someone who lives nearby and regularly visits the locales he mentioned. The whole book was centred around some sort of parallel/quest relating to Swallows and Amazons and, while this was sometimes really interesting and informative, I felt it was given so much emphasis in the book that you'd really have to be a big fan of that book to enjoy this book to the max. I didn't come in to it from that angle and so at times the frequent meandering segues about that book, its characters and its author, became a little tiresome. But it definitely made me pay more attention to the islands on the lakes after reading it!

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a wanderful/wonderful quote from '36 Islands.... and a few other things too'. 'It was like being on a stakeout in a Le Carré novel but one which made no sense and smelt of socks. Wet socks.' Continue on to the foaming toothbrush. And 'In memory of Norman Burkett' whose name I was pleased to see since I like those cross examinations of Burkett's that I have read. It's the kind of book you can read when you are tired. The damp, the water, the tent and the 'boat' or 'boats' with their attendant mental reflections providing comfort. Only the new and mournful presence of ticks breaking the spell. Ransom's feet of clay were vaguely known to me so that was not a disappointment. Liked it very much. Recommend it.

[Andy Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Twigger visits the islands - all 36 of them - in the Lakes. Detailed description of paddling and hiking and camping appeals to readers like me who do such but to a lesser degree. But mainly this is a work of reflection - on childhood favourite author (Twigger’s and mine) Arthur Ransome, on the experience of exploration, on how we interact with nature and the world around us.

[Ruth Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired by Arthur Ransome, and armed with a packraft and a canoe the author visits all the islands in the Lake District. The book is part blog, part history, part philosophy and most definitely an ode to Arthur Ransome. I loved the hand drawn illustrations of the Lakes and Islands.

[Rakie Keig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great when it's about the islands; it's less wonderful when the author wanders off onto his little tangents and opinions. Your tolerance may vary.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed the islands and the lakes but it felt more like a book about Ransome.

[Emily Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes me excited for my next Lake District adventures

[Stephanie Chinneck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

[Steve Chilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a conventional travel book about the Lake District, but if you have read any other Twigger books you might have expected that. He merges his childhood memories of Arthur Ransome’s ‘Swallows and Amazon’ and his own exploration of watery places in the Lakes. He explores 36 small islands, mostly by canoe, and describes these places you are unlikely to have actually been to, with many a cross-reference to Ransome's world.