No one gets murdered - I promise. (500 Mile Walkies - Mark Wallington)

Member Name: nikkisly

Product:	500 Mile Walkies - Mark Wallington
Date:	18/11/00 (251 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Warm, funny and charming book.

Disadvantages: None

Anyone who has read any of my book reviews on dooyoo could be forgiven for thinking that I'm a warped,twisted individual who only reads about crime and it's gruesome consequences.So, in an effort to promote myself as a thoroughly nice person, here is a review about a book with no blood, gore or deviants to be seen. As an added bonus, it's actually funny. Very funny.

What does a young man do when he is trying to impress a girl at a party? Well, if you're Mark Wallington, you loudly announce your intention to walk the South West Coast Path and then find that you can't back out and have to go through with it for real.

This book is the tale of an epic walk around the South West by one man, alone except for a streetwise, London born and bred dog who believes that 'walkies' should be taken by bus. It is a voyage of discovery for both man and beast - that is Mark discovers how to cope with a flatulent dog in a small tent, which towns en route sell the best Cornish pasties and how difficult it is to watch the F.A. cup final when you're a long distance walker. Boogie the dog meanwhile gradually becomes accustomed to the joys of the countryside from a dogs point of view. (rolling in muck of any description, chasing wildlife and seducing tourists for the contents of their picnic hampers).

I have to admit a vested interest here as I actually live in the South West, so many of the areas described in the book are familiar places. However, this also enables me to see how accurate Mark Wallington's descriptions are and to whet my appetite to visit those places which aren't familiar. This book allows you to appreciate Cornwall from the comfort of your own arm chair, without having to actually get up and walk anywhere yourself. The author also has uncanny observational powers regarding people - he can pick out a quirk or eccentricity at 100 paces and exploit it in a way that is funny without being cruel.

D
oes he eventually win the girl of his dreams? I can't reveal that - but I will reveal that he and Boogie come back from their walk having changed from couch potatoes to enthusiastic adventurers, despite which prompted two sequels.

This is the ideal book for reading on cold, dark winter nights. It is funny and light hearted, yet, at the same time, strangely uplifting. Why not read it yourself this Winter and maybe by Spring you'll be tempted to emulate Mr Wallington.

' 500 Mile Walkies' , Mark Wallington.

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