On Sacred Ground
by Andrew Terrill Published by Enchanted Rock Press, £14.95, paperback
ON SACRED GROUND is the second part of Andrew Terrill’s account of his epic 7000-mile walk from the toe of Italy to the northern tip of Norway. The first part – The Earth Beneath My Feet – told the story of the journey up Italy and through the Alps. On Sacred Ground takes up the tale in deep winter in the Austrian Alps and follows the author through Germany to Denmark then up the length of Norway to the Arctic, the ‘sacred ground’ of the title.
The story of this astonishing trip is enthralling and gripping as the author describes the difficulties and dangers, the high points and the low. Physically and mentally this was tough. Terrill is walking to experience wild nature, so his route stays away from towns and roads as far as possible and he camps at night. Indeed, the camps are important and he names each one.
Much of the walk takes place in winter, and the extreme cold, deep snow and often stormy weather are a huge challenge, requiring skill and fortitude. Terrill has the ability to draw the reader into the story, so much so that at times I almost forgot he did survive some of the incidents. Indeed, I shivered at points reading the book!
Norway is the climax to the walk and the written account. As Terrill heads north through the spring – almost as difficult as the winter, given the remaining deep snow and a big thaw – so his mood expands until the Arctic is reached and the intensity of the author’s feelings carry the reader on through the glorious Norwegian north to an ecstatic finish at the North Cape.
Along with The Earth Beneath My Feet, On Sacred Ground is one of the best books on long-distance walking I’ve read: it’s up there with the works of Colin Fletcher and Hamish Brown. I can give it no higher praise.