The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot

The Old Ways is a philosophical examination of the act of walking and how the landscape that surrounds us impacts who we are, following MacFarlane in his travels around the British Isles and further afield to Spain, Palestine, and Tibet. Robert MacFarlane is a generous writer, and his deep-dive style of presentation along with his beautiful prose makes his books a completely immersive experience. I read it twice in quick succession because there was so much information to take in I was worried I'd miss something, and I have no doubt I'll read it again.

Robert Macfarlane takes off on foot, and, as he walks along, he thinks, he explores, he ties ideas together, he contemplates. He travels to England, to Scotland, to Palestine, to Spain, to the Himalayas, and everywhere he goes, he shares what he knows, and what he knows is a huge web of information and a vast complexity of linked thought. You'd never guess a walk-and-talk could be so incredibly rewarding.

A book unlike any modern genre but also deeply rooted in the tradition of travellers that use their travel in the exterior world as a way to talk about the interior life.
To be taken at a slow walking pace. When you have plenty of time for contemplation. The audio version is read in an agreeable, deep richly rolling voice. Good before bedtime, I suppose.