Never Mind the Quantocks will hit the shops at the end of the month

A broadcaster, music presenter and journalist is following up his bestselling book with a collection of tales from his wanderings on the British fells.

Stuart Maconie, host of BBC 6 Music’s Freak Zone, is described as one of Britain’s wittiest writers, a peerless storyteller and genuinely genial guide.

His Never Mind the Quantocks, to be published at the end of this month, is the follow up to Pies & Prejudice and Adventures on High Teas, and is a taken from his monthly column in Country Walking magazine.

The book, a collection in which his publishers say he ‘strides confidently from one hilarious anecdote to another with this collection of heart-warming essays exploring the British countryside,’ takes the reader from the Pennines to the Lake District to the drama of the Dorset coast; from the canals of the Midlands to the wildest Scotland, in an attempt to explain a passion for walking and the delights it can bring.

Maconie, who is an honorary member of the Wainwright Society, said: “Walking for me is a celebration of the joy of being alive, alone or with friends, epic expeditions or easy rambles, as long as it is outside where the free things are and where the perspective on life is longer and clearer and higher.”

In his new book, he muses on the all the festive walks, Lakeland favourites and pub treks that have made rambling one of his favourite past times for more than 30 years.

Included is the account of Maconie making his way over the Wainwright fells of the Lake District and hiking Hadrian’s Wall with colleague Mark Radcliffe.

Stuart Maconie’s Never Mind the Quantocks: How Country Walking Can Change Your Life is published by David & Charles in paperback, with a recommended price of £10.99.

Publication date is 30 March.