Welcome to Halfman, Halfbook for my stop on the Blog Tour for Vagabond by Mark Eveleigh and published by Summersdale.

About the Book

This incredible true story of one man’s 1,225-km hike across the Iberian Peninsula is a celebration of rural Spain along the road less travelled.

Inspired by a nomadic “vagabundo” he met decades ago, travel writer Mark Eveleigh eschews the fast pace of modern life and sets off on a solo hike 1,225 km across the Iberian Peninsula – from Gibraltar in the far south to Estaca de Bares, Spain’s most northerly tip – carrying just a backpack and a hammock.
Hiking through sleepy siesta-hour plazas, shady cork forests and heat-shimmering plains, the hours would be long, dusty and hot. But, as Mark passes through the many small villages and communities en route, his trek comes to be characterized most of all by the sharing of stories, the true kindness of strangers, and the unbridled freedom of the open road.

Recounting Mark’s fascinating nomadic journey through Spain’s least-visited region, Extremadura, Vagabond is a homage to the disappearing lifestyle of the vagabundo, as well as a celebration of rural Spain and its forgotten communities. It reminds us of the value of slowing down and finding connection with others, and the beauty that can be found in taking life one step at a time.

About the Author

British writer Mark Eveleigh bases himself between Bali and South Africa when he’s not chasing travel stories for the likes of the BBC, CNN, National Geographic Traveller and The Telegraph. He spent 16 years living in Spain and returned recently to fulfil his ambition to hike coast-to-coast – the long way – across the country with a backpack and his trusty hammock.

My Review

People have been walking across Spain for hundreds of years. The vast majority are following the well trodden pilgrim trails to add meaning to their personal faith; the Camino de Santiago is probably the best known of them.

Eveleigh wants to walk through Spain, but not on a pilgrimage. He is partly inspired by Laurie Lee but mostly by a nomadic vagabundo he met a number of years ago on a train, This man followed the same route that took him through the same towns and villages every two years.

Eveleigh has just passed his 5oth and felt the urge to travel again. He heads back to Spain where he spent 20 years of his life. He chose his route from Gibraltar to Estach de Bares and decided to walk over the summer when the daylight hours were the longest. He was going to go super lightweight with a hammock to sleep in and a plastic cover should there be any rain.

It felt a bit reckless but it was something that he needed to get out of his system.

Passing through the border between Gibraltar and Spain gave the first Brexit benefit as he now had to have his passport stamped. It would be 1.5 million steps before he would see the sea again. The walk out of Gibraltar felt uphill for the first 100 Km. One of his first mornings in Spain he wakes in his hammock that is tied between two olive trees and all he can hear is the sounds of bells and goats bleating.

Some of the distances that he undertakes each day are huge, he mentions reaching 43 km on some days and at one point in the book he says that he has walked nine marathons in eleven days. These long hikes each day mean that even the top notch boots he has can’t stop the plethora of blisters on both feet. Couple that with walking through one of the hottest summers on record in Europe, where the temperatures would kill thousands.

He had a routine of walking early in the morning, finding shade in the hottest part of the day, and walking later into the evening. The search for water would be constant. He finds some amazing places to each for what sounds like pennies, but often turns up just as they have stopped serving food for the day!

I really liked this book. Eveleigh is a generous man taking time to find out a little of the people he meets and places he passes through. I don’t think he slowed down for this walk at all; he was covering huge distances each day on his trek. I liked his minimal approach so he could get as close to the hobo lifestyle as he could, but he did have the luxury of a bank card, which most hobo’s wouldn’t have. IT is quite amusing in parts, I particularly thought his account of being caught singing in the middle of the road by a peloton was hilarious. Well worth reading.

Don’t forget to visit the other blogs on the blog tour

Buy this at your local independent bookshop. If you’re not sure where your nearest is then you can find one here

My thanks to Anne from Random Tours for the copy of the book to read.

Some other books on Spain I can recommend:

Slow Trains Around Spain by Tom Chesshyre
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee
As I Walked Out Through Spain in Search of Laurie Lee by P. D. Murphy
My Midsummer Morning: Rediscovering a Life of Adventure by Alastair Humphreys

Welcome to Halfman, Halfbook for my stop on the Blog Tour for The Volunteers by Carol Donaldson and published by Summersdale.

About the Book

When Carol’s world suddenly unravels, leaving her single and jobless, she stumbles upon an unexpected opportunity: leading a ragtag team of countryside conservation volunteers. At first glance, the prospect of nurturing Britain’s diverse wildlife in the great outdoors seems like a dream come true. However, reality paints a different picture: her office is a ramshackle porta- cabin overrun with mice and plagued by leaky ceilings, and the volunteers are far from impressed with her lack of practical skills.
Despite this rocky beginning, Carol gradually earns the respect of her eclectic group of volunteers, forging a tight-knit community that will grow to become essential to each member. This diverse group spans generations, from twenty-somethings to septuagenarians, with each of them looking to get something different out of volunteering, whether it’s a sense of purpose, a fresh start in life or a tick on their community service form. They also bring their unique quirks and life experiences to the mix.
Volunteer days soon evolve into the highlight of Carol’s week, as they bond over their love of nature, mental health battles, and the desire for companionship. As they work together outdoors, the team discover a simple yet powerful recipe for self-confidence, improved well- being and a newfound perspective on life’s challenges. This journey not only brings solace and new joys to Carol’s weeks, but eventually it helps her move on with her life, too.
The Volunteers is a heartwarming tale that celebrates the redemptive force of the woods and wildlife. It underscores the universal need for belonging and illustrates how, even in the most unexpected places, we can find a community to call our own.

About the Author

Carol Donaldson is a writer and naturalist. Originally from Essex, she has worked for many of Britain’s best wildlife charities and currently works as a freelance ecologist advising farmers across Kent and Essex to restore wetlands and rivers and manage land for waders. Her first book, On the Marshes, was published by Little Toller in 2017. She is a regular contributor to the Guardian travel pages and was BBC Wildlife Magazine’s Travel Writer of the Year in 2011. Carol lives in a very old and slightly crumbling house in Kent and enjoys wild swimming and dancing the Argentine Tango.

My Review

Donaldson’s plans had come to an abrupt end one Christmas Eve when she found out about her partner’s affair. He unkindly told her that it had been over for ages, but didn’t even think that it might have been the right thing to do and mention it to her before…

To add to her woes was her employment situation. It was a massive blow to her self-confidence and she was unsure of the route to take. She was sitting counting geese, a little freelance work that she had picked up, when her phone rang, It was the guy who had interviewed her last week and her was offering her the job. The money wasn’t what she was hoping for, but he wasn’t going to budge on that, but it was something. She accepted.

Her main task in the new position would be to manage the volunteers for the Kingsdown Partnership. The people would be looking after the habitats on council-owned land. She would be working out of a pretty dilapidated set of portacabins that leaked a lot and had a bit of a problem with mice.

The people that she was responsible for were a motley crew. They came from a range of different backgrounds. A lot of them were troubled in some way or other, with their own backstories and often a lot of baggage. However, this new role was a steep learning curve.

But they were a good bunch and mostly all seemed to get along. They could teach her as much as she could teach them. They didn’t take long to accept her. They had particular skills they were good at and she had to learn who was best at doing what task. That balance of skills and working with each other’s strengths and weaknesses meant they grew stronger and could support each other through the ups and downs of modern life.

What wasn’t helping her was her new boss… He wants her to clear her to-do list each month but is continually adding things to it without caring how long things take and not realising that it is an almost impossible task to do everything. As the portacabin collapses around them, it all comes to a head one day and she is signed off for two weeks.

Donaldson doesn’t know if she will have a job at the end. And if she doesn’t she is really going to miss her team of volunteers.

This is a touching story of a bunch of people from a diverse range of backgrounds coming together for society and the natural world and most importantly for each other. It is a story about friendships, companionship and mutual support and is full of life’s joys and tragedies. It will make you smile and maybe cry a little as you read it. I really liked it and can thoroughly recommend it.

Don’t forget to visit the other blogs on the blog tour

Buy this at your local independent bookshop. If you’re not sure where your nearest is then you can find one here

My thanks to Anne of Random Things Tours for the copy of the book to read.

Welcome to Halfman, Halfbook for my stop on the Blog Tour for All Boats are Sinking by Hannah Pierce and published by Summersdale.

About the Book

All Boats Are Sinking is a memoir of love, life and chaos on a narrowboat, perfect for fans of Dolly Alderton, Helen Fielding and Phoebe Waller-Bridge

“All boats are sinking, Hannah, just at different rates.”

After a break-up, some hit the gym; some cut their hair; others have a one-night stand. In the aftermath of her break-up, Hannah bought a narrowboat.

Newly single and plunged into life on the water, Hannah had to learn quickly how to grapple with exploding toilets, disappearing hulls, and the curious glances and questions from pedestrians on the towpath. But when career burn-out, a global pandemic and an ill-advised rebound relationship threatened to sink her, Hannah felt the need to escape. In a bid to let go of the past and restore her sense of self-worth, she embarked on a narrowboat odyssey which took her from the bustling streets of London to the tranquil yet dramatic waterways of West Yorkshire.

Suffering from an apparent magnetism to drama but buoyed by her brilliant friends, Hannah tells of the challenges of off-grid life as a single 30-something on the water. All this as she tries to balance the tension between owning her singledom and giving in to a deep desire to find love.

Peppered with lists, recipes, maps, footnotes and diagrams, and spanning hundreds of miles of the British waterways, it’s an uplifting and often hilarious story of adventure and personal growth, and of a woman trying to keep her boat and life afloat. And to answer that perennial yes, it’s cold on the boat in winter.

About the Author

Hannah Pierce has worked as an actor, pub manager, events promoter and live music programmer. She wrote, produced and performed in several theatre shows for young people and adults. Her one-woman theatre show on the valiant adventures of an online dater received critical acclaim. This is her first book.

My Review

Her relationship had been unravelling for a while and now it was finished. When there was no more to say, she stood up and left the flat. It was over and untangling thier lives would take time, but in this exact moment, she had nowhere to live. It was time to call on some friends for help.

Piece knew that she would never be able to afford to live in London by herself. Just a flat in certain areas of London costs at least £1200 a month, well beyond her means. Then she remembered her friend, Megan. She had started a theatre company with her a while ago, and while that had now finished, they remained friends, but Megan was living in London on a narrow boat. Perhaps that was an affordable option and a way of staying in London?

She mentioned it to her mum who is slightly aghast at the thought of it. After a little while they come around to the idea, so much so that her dad is doing all sorts of research on narrow boats. The hunt for a suitable boat begins and they find one that looks ideal. So she is the proud owner of Argie Bargie.

Living on a narrow boat brings a lot of delights and an equal number of challenges. One of the conditions of living on the London waterways is that you have to move every fortnight to a new mooring and it has to be a minimum distance away from the previous mooring. She had to do regular maintenance on the vessel, ensure that the prop was clear, learn how to steer the boat and to operate the locks on the canals.

She begins to fall in love with the way of life on the canals. Not only is it a low-cost way of living in the capital, but she starts to form meaningful friendships with other narrowboat owners. Romance is again in the air, as she begins to get involved with one of her managers at work. Life was very much on the up compared to a few months ago.

But life has a way of throwing curve balls. This curveball was one that was going to affect the entire planet. The pandemic had arrived…

The lockdown that was imposed on the country meant that movements on the canal were suspended, she could only move to get waste and dispose of waste. This meant that she could get to know her nautical neighbours so much better. They had each other’s back too, helping where they could in this uncertain time. She was made redundant from her job, but that was then revoked as the company furloughed the staff instead, Life was suddenly very different for her.

Having this extra time gave her time to think about and reconsider lots of things going on in her life. She wanted to head out of London on the canals and go north to visit her brother and his family. She also had to consider her current relationship as the guy she had hooked up with sounded an unpleasant type who was using his senior position to exploit her and others.

I thought that this was an enjoyable book full of Pierce’s watery escapades. Not everything that she does goes smoothly, and that makes for entertaining reading, but she does convey just how much fun it can be on a narrowboat. If you like travel books with more of an emphasis on the people and their relationships and interactions then this book is going to be right up your canal…

Don’t forget to visit the other blogs on the blog tour

Buy this at your local independent bookshop. If you’re not sure where your nearest is then you can find one here

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the copy of the book to read.