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Time on Rock

A Climber's Route into the Mountains

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Time on Rock

Written by: Anna Fleming
Narrated by: Anna Fleming
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Buy Now for ₹649.64

Buy Now for ₹649.64

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING AND THE BOARDMAN TASKER AWARD FOR MOUNTAIN LITERATURE

In Time on Rock Anna Fleming charts two parallel journeys: learning the craft of traditional rock climbing, and the new developing appreciation of the natural world it brings her. Through the story of her progress from terrified beginner to confident lead climber she shows us how placing hand and foot on rock becomes a profound new way into the landscape.

Anna takes us from the gritstone rocks of the Peak District and Yorkshire to the gabbro pinnacles of the Cullin, the slate of North Wales and the high plateau of the Cairngorms. Each landscape, and each type of rock, brings its own challenges and unique pleasures. She also shows us how climbing invites us into the history of a place: geologically, of course, but also culturally.

This book is Anna’s journey of self-discovery, but it is also a guide to losing oneself in the greater majesty of the natural world. With great lyricism she explores how it feels to climb as a woman, about the pleasures of the physical demands of climbing, about fear and challenge, but more than anything it is about a joyful connection to the mountains.

 Adventure Travel Europe Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science Travel Writing & Commentary
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Critic Reviews

"Refreshing . . . she writes beautifully about landscape, and her passion for these ancient formations is physical and poetic"
"Fleming has written a wonderfully intimate account of climbing, filled with the rough texture of rocks and the hard-won elation of reaching for the skies"
"Beautifully written. I loved it" (AMY LIPTROT)
"Echoing and honouring some of the classics of climbing literature, the book is a fine introduction to the genre"
"[Anna Fleming]'s fascination with language infuses her descriptions of the textures of various stones and the mountains they form. In this regard, Time on Rock can take its place next to Nan Shepherd's The Living Mountain . . . Fleming's book is full of awe and wonder . . . Vital"
"Engaging . . . Refreshing . . . Anna Fleming immerses herself in the mountains rather than conquering them. Like a climber scanning the crags for the next line, I'm left wanting to read more of her work"
"Climbing writing is a crowded field, but thanks to its carefully chiselled prose and bright, flinty intelligence, this absolute gem of a book . . . can hold its own against the most famous names in the pantheon"
"A climber's joy of insight and adventure" (ALASTAIR McINTOSH)
"It reminds me of Nan Shepherd, only the kind of Nan Shepherd I could go for a pint with" (HELEN MORT)
"Much more than a climbing memoir, Anna Fleming’s book is also a fascinating exploration of humanity’s timeless relationship with rock . . . both fascinating and beautifully expressed, in a series of glinting, lyrical epiphanies"
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