‘Which way’s the pub?’
Percy and stuffed toy. Spot the difference
With retired walkers on Exmoor, feeling free
Lucy with the tiny recording bit of the big mic
With Jonno, Toby and the Olympic torch. I’m trying not to cry
My Olympic swimming notes and famous highlighter pen
With Bert Le Clos and the lovely Mark Foster at the Aquatics Centre. ‘Unbelievable!’
Me and Mo doing the Mobot
Ask Ade at the Paralympics
With the Games Makers by Greenwich Observatory on the last night of the Olympics
We arrive at Deane. Andrew insists we can walk through the flood
Nearly home as the sun sets
Near Inkpen: Mum is dragged under a tree by Boris
Me, Mum and Alice in Team Blue
Text Permissions
Grateful acknowledgement is made for the following:
Copyright © Cousins, Dave, The Strawbs: ‘Grace Darling’ (1974), from the album Ghosts, used by permission of Sony/ATV.
Copyright © Du Maurier, Daphne: Rebecca (1938), used by permission of Curtis Brown.
Copyright © Du Maurier, Daphne: Vanishing Cornwall (1967), used by permission of Curtis Brown.
Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without the gentle persuasion, dedication and fine judgement of Joel Rickett and the team at Viking Penguin. I’d also like to thank Joel’s wife, Sian, who has read every word and helped with the structure of the book. Gill Heeley has again produced some wonderful drawings that I think bring the book alive, and Sarah Day has given her time and expertise to copy-editing – I am extremely grateful to both of them.
Lucy Lunt and Karen Gregor have been wonderfully supportive of the idea of me writing about walking, and thanks also to Gwyneth Williams, the controller of BBC Radio 4, for continuing to commission Ramblings, without which I would never have explored so much of the country. Thanks also to Lucy for reading the first draft, not insisting that I be nice about her and for offering factual corrections in her usual no-nonsense style.
My parents are getting used to being the butt of my jokes, and they don’t seem to mind, which is amazing. Most of all I want to thank them for giving me and my brother a home that we love and cherish. My sister-in-law, Anna Lisa, has been so supportive and has thrown herself and her children into the spirit of the book. Jonno and Toby have walked with me, and I know Flora will one day; I look forward to the adventures we will have together.
My poor brother has suffered constant teasing in the racing world for the stick he got in My Animals and Other Family – he will again, I fear, when this book does the rounds. I apologize to him for that, but also thank him for giving me at least a day to walk home with me and for allowing me (again) to abuse him in print. One day, I promise, we will do the whole of the Wayfarer’s Walk.
My heartfelt thanks to Alice, who has cajoled and chided me, supported me and not minded that I’ve painted her as a fire-breathing dragon. I should point out that she’s not – not all of the time, at any rate. We will continue to walk together, with Archie, enjoying life and being thankful that we get to spend it together.
THE BEGINNING
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VIKING
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
www.penguin.com
First published 2014
Copyright © Clare Balding, 2014
Line drawings copyright © Gill Heeley, 2014
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Cover images: Clare © Daily Mail/Solo Syndication; background: © Adam Burton/Robert Harding World Imagery/Corbis
All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-0-241-95978-7
* Not his real name, of course. At least I hope it’s not.
Walking Home Page 27
