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The Old Ways

A Journey on Foot

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The Old Ways

Written by: Robert Macfarlane
Narrated by: Roy McMillan
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About this listen

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

SHORTLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE

The original bestseller from the beloved author of UNDERLAND, LANDMARKS and THE LOST WORDS - Robert Macfarlane travels Britain's ancient paths and discovers the secrets of our beautiful, underappreciated landscape

'The Old Ways confirms Macfarlane's reputation as one of the most eloquent and observant of contemporary writers about nature' Scotland on Sunday

Following the tracks, holloways, drove-roads and sea paths that form part of a vast ancient network of routes criss-crossing the British Isles and beyond, Robert Macfarlane discovers a lost world - a landscape of the feet and the mind, of pilgrimage and ritual, of stories and ghosts; above all of the places and journeys which inspire and inhabit our imaginations.

'Sublime . . . It sets the imagination tingling, laying an irresistible trail for readers to follow' Sunday Times

'Read this and it will be impossible to take an unremarkable walk again' Metro

'He has a rare physical intelligence and affords total immersion in place, elements and the passage of time: wonderful' Antony Gormley

 Europe Great Britain Hiking Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science Travel Writing & Commentary

Critic Reviews

A wonderful book: Macfarlane has a rare physical intelligence, and his writing affords total immersion in place, elements and the passage of time (Antony Gormley)
A naturalist who can unfurl a sentence with the breathless ease of a master angler, a writer whose ideas and reach far transcend the physical region he explores
[Mountains of the Mind is] a distinguished book that jolted my heart. Adventurous, passionate, intensely romantic . . . fizzes with insights (Roger Deakin)
A new naturalist to set beside the classics in our literature
The Old Ways confirms Robert Macfarlane's reputation as one of the most eloquent and observant of contemporary writers about nature
Macfarlane relishes wild, as well as old, places. He writes about both beautifully . . . I love to read Macfarlane
Read this and it will be impossible to take an unremarkable walk again
All stars
Most relevant
The old ways is a rediscovery of paths and how they shape us even if it seems that it’s we who shape them.

Numerous stories of the author and his friends walking along the pathways that line the woods of England + stories of poets and soldiers whose stories have been defined by walking in the woods.

I heard this as an audiobook on Audible and it’s fantastic, the way it’s narrated, it both, brings the words to life, as well as comforts you to calmness. Part of this book was heard in the backdrop of rather painful moments in my life. But the poetry and philosophy mixed with the stories acts like a balm.

Robert Mcfarlane is most excited when talking about birds, the skylarks, the wrens, the hawks, the birds of the sea. And that enthusiasm comes through in this book.

This book is one of a kind. It will take you to a journey within yourself and give rise to an inner urge to walk in nature and make our own pathways.

A book of poetry rather than prose.

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Possibly one of the best books of the year for me. The narration breathes new life in a spectacular collection of deeply experiential and philosophical writings on way faring.

Brilliantly written and performed

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