Nick Hunt

In Outlandish, acclaimed travel writer Nick Hunt takes us across landscapes that should not be there, wildernesses found in Europe yet seemingly belonging to far-off continents: a patch of Arctic tundra in Scotland; the continent's largest surviving remnant of primeval forest in Poland and Belarus; Europe's only true desert in Spain; and the fathomless grassland steppes of Hungary. From snow-capped mountain range to dense green forest, desert ravines to threadbare, yellow open grassland, these anomalies transport us to faraway regions of the world. More like pockets of Africa, Asia, the Poles or North America, they make our own continent seem larger, stranger and more filled with secrets. Against the rapid climate breakdown of deserts, steppes and primeval jungles across the world, this book discovers the outlandish environments so much closer to home - along with their abundant wildlife: reindeer; bison; ibex; wolves and herds of wild horses. Blending sublime travel writing, nature writing and history - by way of Paleolithic cave art, reindeer nomads, desert wanderers, shamans, Slavic forest gods, European bison, Wild West fantasists, eco-activists, horseback archers, Big Grey Men and other unlikely spirits of place - these desolate and rich environments show us that the strange has always been near.

Walking Europe's Unlikely Landscapes

Outlandish

Nick Hunt pays homage to Patrick Leigh Fermor by walking the same challenging route across Europe in this "glorious book."

In Patrick Leigh Fermor's Footsteps from the Hook of Holland to the Golden Horn

Walking the Woods and the Water

"Walking Europe's invisible map from Aeolus to Zephyrus is Nick Hunt's story of following the wind from the fells of Cumbria to the Alps, the Rhone to the Adriatic coast, to explore how these unseen powers affect the countries and cultures of Europe, and to map a new type of journey across the continent." -- provided by publisher.

walking Europe's winds from the Pennines to Provence

Where the wild winds are

An Adventure in Gonzo Ornithology

The Parakeeting of London

Walking Europe’s Unlikely Landscapes

Avreste mai pensato di imbattervi nella tundra artica in Scozia, di passeggiare all’ombra della foresta vergine in Polonia e in Bielorussia, di traversare steppe erbose sferzate da venti selvaggi in Ungheria o di esplorare canyon rocciosi del deserto in Spagna? In Sentieri di sabbia e ghiaccio l’acclamato scrittore di viaggi Nick Hunt ci guida attraverso le terre più insolite d’Europa, terre estreme che a un primo sguardo appaiono fuori posto. Più simili a exclavi dell’Africa, dell’Asia, dei poli o del Nord America, questi improbabili paesaggi rendono il nostro civilizzato continente più misterioso, esotico e ricco di segreti ancora da svelare. A fronte del rapido deterioramento climatico di deserti, steppe e foreste e all’inarrestabile fusione dei ghiacciai di tutto il mondo, questo libro rivela habitat stravaganti che sopravvivono nel nostro “giardino di casa”, insieme alla loro ricca fauna selvatica: renne, bisonti, stambecchi, lupi e mandrie di cavalli selvatici. Con una sublime scrittura di viaggio, Hunt segue un cammino sorprendente e ispirante, informato e letterario, attraverso paesaggi che stentiamo a credere esistano alle nostre latitudini, dimostrandoci che lo straordinario è molto più vicino di quanto immaginiamo.

nelle terre estreme d’Europa

Sentieri di sabbia e ghiaccio

Dove soffiano i venti selvaggi. Un viaggio all'inseguimento di Helm, Bora, Föhn e Mistral

SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD A Financial Times Book of the Year A Spectator Book of the Year A Daily Telegraph Book of the Year 'Travel writing in excelsis' -Jan Morris, author of Venice 'A thrilling and gorgeous tale, packed with meteorological wonder' -Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun Nick Hunt sets off on an unlikely quest: to follow four of Europe's winds across the continent... His wind-walks begin on Cross Fell, the highest point of the Pennines, as he chases the roaring Helm - the only named wind in Britain. In southern Europe he follows the Bora - a bitter northerly that blows from Trieste through Slovenia and down the Croatian coast. His hunt for the 'snow-eating' Foehn becomes a meandering journey of exhilaration and despair through the Alpine valleys of Switzerland, and his final walk traces an ancient pilgrims' path in the south of France on the trail of the Mistral - the 'wind of madness' which animated and tormented Vincent Van Gogh. These are journeys into wild wind, but also into wild landscapes and the people who inhabit them - a cast of meteorologists, storm chasers, mountain men, eccentric wind enthusiasts, sailors and shepherds. Soon Nick finds himself borne along by the very forces he is pursuing, through rain, blizzards, howling gales, and back through time itself. For, where the wild winds are, there are also myths and legends, history and hearsay, science and superstition - and occasionally remote mountain cabins packed with pickles, cured meats and homemade alcohol. Where the Wild Winds Are is a beautiful, unconventional travelogue that makes the invisible visible.

Nick Hunt

About

Books

Join the club