Hello fellow traveller!
It’s Abi from Bradt and let's get started!
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I am writing this from the snowy surrounds of the Arctic Circle, the ever present sunlight sending weak flickers and glimmers across the waves.
It’s the kind of introduction my teenage self would have loved. But let’s face it, I’m not alone on an ice sheet, eyelashes tinged with snow. I’m comfortably indoors, with floor to ceiling viewing windows and, if you must know, a glass of prosecco and some kind of citron tart at my side. The dessert, obviously, not an inappropriate slur.
But my brush with the world of great explorers has left me thinking about the “great heroic age.”
I’m currently in Tromsø, the final home of Roald Amundsen, leader of the first expedition to the south pole and the first to reach both poles.
The official age of exploration may be a century or so behind us. But exploration continues, as it always does and will.
In the Bradt bookshelves, we have From Utmost East to Utmost West by John Blashford-Snell. Now, well into his eighties (and still planning future trips), he has gathered together in a single volume a collection of tales from Africa, Asia and the Americas, a mix of mostly new writing combined with some old favourites, extracts from some of the 100 or so expeditions he has led in pursuit of archaeological, anthropological, botanical, biological and zoological objectives.
Then there’s Juicy Crones by Jay Courtney, a unique title with an infectious enthusiasm for living life to the full, that blends adventure with feminism, women’s health with well-being, and autobiography with self-help.
Moving along the swashbuckling scale, we have The Country of Larks by Gail Simmons, who follows in the footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson as she walks from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire to Tring in Hertfordshire via Great Missenden and Wendover, tracing not only the changes in the landscape of the last 150 years but also those yet to come with the imminent arrival of the controversial HS2, the high-speed railway from London to Birmingham.
Because, of course, we don’t need to be caked in snow, ice, adventure and the threat of death to be explorers. Thankfully.
See you again next week, when we build on our reading list for the summer.
Cheers, Abi
Gear Guide: Binoculars
Bradt have partnered with Swarovski Optik to talk about birdwatching and how the right pair of binoculars can make or break a trip. In particular, a trip to the Faroe Islands.
The CL Pocket & CL Curio binoculars from Swarovski Optik are an investment worth adding to your packing list for to the Faroe Islands. Both are compact and portable while offering an excellent optical quality.
The changeable island weather can make storing and using equipment a challenge, but both the Pocket and Curio boast a functional temperature between -25 and +55 °C. In addition, their ability to withstand up to 4m of submersion in water makes them an ideal accompaniment when exploring the coast.
Find out more with this gear guide to the Faroe Islands.
Upcoming titles
Look out for these books arriving any day now and pre-order so you don't miss out:
Useful Tools & Talks
Until next week,
Abi
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