Pub Walks in Underhill Country by Nat Segnit is a cunning, hilarious and heartbreaking novel that takes the form of a guide for walkers but is really a whole lot more . . . 'Start by turning right out of the main entrance of Malvern Link railway station . . .' So begins Graham Underhill's guide to rambling in the West Midlands. But it is not many yards before Graham has gone completely off track, all but abandoning the route ahead to exult in his love for his beautiful if headstrong wife Sunita. Along the way Graham treats us to his intemperate views on mountain bikers, litter louts, landscape photographers, and the Highways Agency, who are intent on building a bypass through his home. At least he has Sunita. Or does he? With each walk it becomes clearer that the paths of Underhill Country lead into treacherous terrain. 'If Vladimir Nabokov had written episodes of The Archers (with a little script advice from W G Sebald), then he might just have struck a note that chimed with the peculiar music of this beguiling first novel' Independent 'A metafictional escapade . . . has both Nabokov and Alan Partridge as its forebears' Daily Telegraph 'Has echoes of Mike Leigh's best films and Paul Torday's smash debut, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' Daily Mail Nat Segnit lives in London. His journalism and stories have appeared in several national newspapers, and his play, Dolphin Therapy, and two co-written comedy series, Strangers on Trains and Beautiful Dreamers, were broadcast on Radio 4. Pub Walks in Underhill Country is his first novel.
Deals with 15 walks ranging from 2 to 10 miles, and which have been devised to suit the entire family. This book aims to illustrate the diversity which Warwickshire has to offer, exploring many of the lesser-known attractions of the county and encouraging walkers to discover more for themselves.
Walks in Walks covers 21 delightful walks in the historic county of Warwickshire. Ranging from 4.5 miles to 9 miles in length, several are rarely walked. Many pass through areas that have a rich social and industrial past: Atherstone, once the felt hat making heart of the country; Coleshill, a town granted a market charter by King John in 1207, at the same time as Liverpool, Leek and Great Yarmouth; Meriden, the geographic centre of England; the Stairway to Heaven on the Grand Union Canal at Hatton and Earlswood with its famous lakes. All walks have been walked in the past three years, some as recently as 2013