Available as Paperback, Hardback, eBook, Downloadable audio
A rock-climber’s eye view of the natural world, tracing a geological and personal journey across the British Isles
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE AND THE BOARDMAN TASKER AWARD FOR MOUNTAIN LITERATURE
With great lyricism, Anna Fleming charts two parallel journeys: learning the craft of traditional rock climbing and the developing appreciation of the natural world it brings her. Through the story of her progress from terrified beginner to confident lead climber, she shows us how placing hand and foot on rock becomes a profound new way into the landscape.
Anna takes us from the gritstone rocks of the Peak District and Yorkshire to the gabbro pinnacles of the Cuillin, the slate of North Wales and the high plateau of the Cairngorms. Each landscape, and each type of rock, brings its own challenges and invites us into the history of a place.
“Refreshing … she writes beautifully about landscape, and her passion for these ancient formations is physical and poetic”
observer
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“Fleming has written a wonderfully intimate account of climbing, filled with the rough texture of rocks and the hard-won elation of reaching for the skies”
guardian
“Beautifully written. I loved it”
Amy Liptrot
“Echoing and honouring some of the classics of climbing literature, the book is a fine introduction to the genre”
economist
“[Anna Fleming]’s fascination with language infuses her descriptions of the textures of various stones and the mountains they form. In this regard, Time on Rock can take its place next to Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain … Fleming’s book is full of awe and wonder … Vital”
spectator
Anna Fleming
Anna Fleming is a regular contributor to Caught by the River and has also published her work in various journals, magazines and anthologies. As well as writing for the Guardian, she keeps a blog, The Granite Sea, in which she writes about her experiences of the natural world. Anna is a qualified Mountain Leader who has also worked for the Cairngorms National Park Authority and completed a PhD with the University of Leeds. She lives in Edinburgh.
@annamfleming | thegranitesea.wordpress.com
