***Warning: waffly caffeinated intro alert***

The rain is rattling relentlessly on the roof of my shed and I’d quite like to be on a beach in Bali instead. But, I remind myself, this is also brilliant weather for getting out on runs – splashing and slithering through the season’s changing colours in the woods feels so good once you’ve overcome the doorstep mile challenge of actually getting out and beginning.

I’m nervous about Local. It marks a change in direction for me from encouraging my readers to go on adventures towards encouraging readers to go on adventures AND realise that the environment is in crisis AND that we each need to take responsibility for sorting that out.

It therefore is a book that will probably anger some readers over issues like land use, food, rewilding, and land access. It’s a nature-writing book about searching for nearby nature and wildness.

On the plus side, it’s a book that I’ve been working on for three years. I’ve done more research for this book than all my others put together.

It’s got 170 photographs in it (which makes me happy), and it’s 368 pages long (which makes me wince a bit, but at least there’s a decent kg:£ ratio for the bargain-conscious reader?).

I’ve also received lovely quotes from two authors I respect who have read the book:

• ‘Agile, wryly funny and wise’ – Robert Macfarlane, author of The Wild Places
• ‘The consummate roamer: big of heart, curious of mind, light of step’ – Amy-Jane Beer, winner of The Wainwright Prize

Local is available to pre-order now:

• Kindle
• Audiobook (or as a free podcast)
• Worldwide addresses
  
• UK addresses (you’ll receive the book before Christmas and a sneaky six weeks before official publication date)

***(‘Finally!’ I can hear you hissing with exasperation! ?)***

• Kenton Cool has climbed Everest 17 times. I really enjoyed being on his podcast this week, though it should really have been me interviewing him!
• If you want to know what it’s like to stand on Everest (or hundreds of other mountains) without having to get off the sofa, this photo panorama website is brilliant.
• Xavier Rosset made a film about spending 300 days alone on a Pacific island.
• When Paul Powlesland moored his boat on the Roding, the river was choked with slime and garbage. Now the community that sprung up around is keeping its waters clear – and Powlesland is turning to the next challenge: securing rivers their human rights.
• The power of language: words that don’t exist in English, but should.
• Faster, higher, longer: how female ultra-athletes started to beat men.
• The Mountain Bothies Association is a wonderful thing. The film I made cycling around bothies was one of my favourite ever. But the MBA needs help. It needs support. And it needs young new members to keep it alive and thriving. If you might be interested, please do support them!

Let me know if you have a relevant project that my readers would appreciate. Here’s what you guys have been up to recently:

✂️ A few quick snippets to start things off:

Here’s how Austin Kleon puts his newsletter together.

I like the Five Books newsletter.

BecomingX is, bizarrely, going to feature me once everyone’s bored of Roger Federer and Julia Roberts.

David Attenborough has written an important book.

And here’s a book of Tough Women Adventurers who are fearless, intelligent, compassionate and curious about the world.

OK, now onto some longer things that I hope you’ll enjoy (after getting in an early plug to recommend my books for Christmas. As a consumer I hate early Christmas messaging. As a writer it feels critical. Sorry!)

• Adventure Activism – the mechanisms through which adventures can seek change.
• After coming across mountain lion cubs, this hiker was stalked for six terrifying minutes by an aggravated cougar.
• ‍“Breaking Down the 268-Mile Pennine Way Record”, one of the best pieces I have read about preparing properly for an ultramarathon or extreme expedition.
• From garden streets to bike highways: four ideas for post-Covid cities – visualised.

I’ve realised this newsletter is an easy medium for me to help people get the word out about their projects.

Hit ‘reply’ if you’d like to put yourself forward for a shout-out.

First up: Campbell has started a blog about becoming a professional adventurer, and Mountain Training are looking for people to take their Mountain Leader courses. (I was doing mine back in 2000 when the country went into lockdown due to Foot & Mouth. I had been hoping to become an outdoor instructor. Instead I went for a long bike ride. Sliding doors…)

And finally… please listen to my podcast if you haven’t already tried it!

Alastair

(If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.)

Cheers,

Alastair