Will Self on the Rural...

An interesting feature by Will Self.

There are plenty of things here that Geographers would recognise of course. One recurring theme here is that there are few places that have escaped the hand of man... Landscape as palimpsest is a recurring theme in the work that I do with colleagues.

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Ideal scenery

Check out this Robert MacFarlane tweet, and the replies that follow for a whole host of ideas on different people's ideal landscapes... Some wonderful images and brief descriptions ideal for sharing... "Tramlines and slagheaps, pieces of machinery, That was, and still is, my ideal scenery." WH Auden Question: what is your "ideal scenery"? pic.twitter.com/8QLS0HRZt9 — Robert Macfarlane (@RobGMacfarlane) July 6, 2017

The path more travelled

I'm currently reading Nicholas Crane's new book on the history of Britain's footpaths: how they came about originally following the drowning of Doggerland , and were then refined by successive waves of change: horses, the Roman invasion etc. It's a dense and scholarly work, with plenty of points of interest and relevance to geographers exploring the connections between people and the landscape. He's taking his book on the road in a series of talks, with three confirmed so far. Here's the description for his talk at Stanford's book shop at the end of the month . He's also speaking in Exeter and Stamford. Walking is a cornerstone of British identity and the most popular form of exercise in the UK. But how much do we know about the paths that we walk? What is their history? Why do they follow the routes that they do? Are they permanent? Can we designate more of them? The Path More Travelled is a coast-to-coast history of footpaths from the stone age paths...

'How to live on Earth'

Benedict Cumberbatch has explored some hopeful geographical stories for a new documentary which is now available to view on YouTube. There are some accompanying teacher resource and other materials to download if you are interested in using some sections with students.

"Look at it this way"

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