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  • Walking the Great North Line

  • From Stonehenge to Lindisfarne to Discover the Mysteries of Our Ancient Past
  • By: Robert Twigger
  • Narrated by: Robert Twigger
  • Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (25 ratings)

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Walking the Great North Line

By: Robert Twigger
Narrated by: Robert Twigger
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Summary

Robert Twigger, poet and travel author, was in search of a new way up England when he stumbled across the Great North Line. From Christchurch on the South Coast to Old Sarum to Stonehenge, to Avebury, to Notgrove barrow, to Meon Hill in the midlands, to Thor's Cave, to Arbor Low stone circle, to Mam Tor, to Ilkley in Yorkshire and its three stone circles and the Swastika Stone, to several forts and camps in Northumberland to Lindisfarne (plus about 30 more sites en route). A single dead-straight line following one degree, 50 west up Britain. No other north-south straight line goes through so many ancient sites of such significance.

Was it just a suggestive coincidence, or were they built intentionally? Twigger walks the line, which takes him through Birmingham, Halifax and Consett as well as Salisbury Plain, the Peak district and the Yorkshire moors. With a planning schedule that focused more on reading about shamanism and beat poetry than hardening his feet up, he sets off ever hopeful. He wild-camps along the way, living like a homeless bum, with a heart that starts stifled but ends up soaring with the beauty of life. He sleeps in a prehistoric cave, falls into a river, crosses a 'suicide viaduct' and gets told off by a farmer's wife for trespassing; but in this simple life, he finds woven gold. He walks with others and he walks alone, ever alert to the incongruities of the edgelands he is journeying through.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Robert Twigger (P)2019 Orion Publishing Group
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
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What listeners say about Walking the Great North Line

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Excellent thanks

Very good and compelling listen - I will follow more if Robert’s work written and audio.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A thoroughly enjoyable experience and journey

Don't miss a minute as you will miss miles, a journey not to be missed

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable but I’m easy to please

Thanks this was recommended to me after I’d read Alistair Moffat’s “To The Island Of The Tides” which is also centred on a hiking journey to Lindifarne. I enjoyed it and drew comparisons with “The Elfish Gene” by Mark Barrowcliffe. Personally I “get” the narrator but wonder whether it’d be improved by professional voiceover from a studio - for instance in chapter 8 (“Adam”) I hear roughly 15 seconds of sustained page-rustling. Overall 4/5 and I look forward to finding out more about the topic as well as the author and his other work.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great to share Robert’s journey

A great premise for a book and well executed.
I enjoyed Robert’s thoughtful reflections (whether profound or banal!)
Narration was pretty flawless.
Lovely poetic language.
Interesting descriptions, anecdotes and historical tales.
I’d like to visit some of the places in the book.
Quite a positive book and encouraged me to try to get out and have more outdoor adventures.
I laughed a bit too!

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing

I tried hard with this audiobook but couldn’t get beyond the first few chapters. You’ll either like it or hate it.

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1 person found this helpful