Let's not beat about the bush ... I really, REALLY, enjoyed Walking Home: My Family and Other Rambles by Clare Balding. It is a superlative memoir of an amazing woman who has been breaking barriers all her life, particularly in the area of presenting sport to the British public. Not only is it jam-packed with intimate, and often funny stories of the author and her closest family, but it is also a celebration of the joy and healing that a good walk can give. The narrative is wound around the many walks Clare has done whilst working on the BBC Radio 4 programme, simply called, Ramblings. Clare, who admits that she rarely says no to anything, took on presenting the programme having never really been a walker - she has ridden horses all her life, walking was something she'd always seen too slow an activity to take seriously. Why walk when you could gallop? However, Clare discovers, through participating in the programme, that walking helps to balance not only her own equilibrium, but that of others. She meets a wide range of people who may have all started walking for different reasons, but who have come to depend on it. There are some amazing walking groups out there, helping people with mental health issues, or bereavement. People find healing in putting one foot in front of the other, sometimes getting lost, having a good natter, or just listening to the sounds of the great outdoors while enjoying some fantastic scenery. She believes in the power of walking so much that she tries to get her own family to join her on a walking adventure taking in a 71-mile path that goes past their home on the Hampshire Downs - to varying degrees of success. The author shares her home life, too, and when she recounts the tale of her puppy being knocked down and killed, it is really moving. She does not hold back on sharing all the idiosyncrasies of her family. Her brother comes in for particular ribbing - for which she apologises, as only a sister can, at the end of the book. It probably helped that I was listening to the audio edition, read by Clare Balding herself, as she relates everything from the terrible driving of her Ramblings producer, to the uplifting days of the Olympics and Paralympics of London 2012. She has been through some amazing experiences, and met more than her fair share of sporting legends, yet she brings a real down to earth feel to everything, and her enthusiasm for people and life is totally infectious. So much so that I want to be her friend and go on rambles with her. Now, how do I do that without turning into a stalker ....?
My STAR rating: FIVE.
Length: 304 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.92.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio CD; unabridged audio download; ebook.
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