Exploring Lake District Dales

Few contemporary writers have lingered longer or more thoughtfully among these landscapes than Terry Marsh. A single philosophical fragment characterises this exploration: “…A patient and watchful eye, an attentive ear and the ability to stand still and let Lakeland come to you will reward even the least valiant of explorers…”There is a quality at work here, one seldom met amid screes of guidebooks. He cheerfully confesses to being a tree hugger, and that an affectionate pat for standing stones “makes me feel grounded”. Sixty years of Lakeland exploration are distilled here: the result is a mature work that fuses writing and photography into a single artform honouring one man’s sense of place.Wordsworth’s “universe of Nature’s fairest forms” has rarely been so admirably served.

Terry Marsh is a seasoned writer and photographer of travel and walking guidebooks. He has a long association with the Lake District, having served for several years as a volunteer warden and written a number of extant guides, mainly walking guides, on the area. He is also the author of Exploring Scotland’s Islands, published by Bloomsbury (2024).