The pleasures of Sussex walking and wayfaring - new book

As she explains, the concept involves walking from place to place, often associated with the poor and needy, seeking food, shelter and a sense of hope.

Finding The Wayfarer: Physical, Spiritual And Poetic Survival comes from Tandem Publishing, priced £20 and available from Amazon and Waterstones etc.

“As somebody who loves to walk, I began to think about all the people who have walked on the land over the centuries, including the wayfarer, who, traditionally was somebody who was poor and needed help to survive. Indeed, we might see the wayfarer as a symbol of human struggle and resilience.

“The image of the wayfarer features in medieval illuminated manuscripts, quite often as a figure who is lame or disabled. And the combination of my own experience walking and that of others inspired me to research wayfaring and its history over time. As a result I have written a book, which includes lots of historical, literary and artistic references to wayfarers.

It will appeal to people as a lot of us, while taking it for granted, love walking. The book’s audience should also reach those who love history, local history ie Sussex, art and literature and travel.

“Most notably, the book has a strong Sussex theme. It features an ancient Norman family – The Warenne family founded by William de Warenne in the 11th century. The family originated in Normandy and, as Earls, held land there and throughout England, including in Sussex. They founded both Lewes Castle and Lewes Priory, for example. William de Warenne was a cousin to William the Conqueror and fought under him at the Battle of Hastings. The book also writes about Gundrada de Warenne and her burial: her tomb is now at the church of St John the Baptist in Lewes.”

The book also features a Sussex church, St George’s Trotton and the wall painting of the Seven Works of Mercy, which frame the seven chapters of the book.

“The book also features a walk I did from Newhaven to Lewes, with references to Virginia Woolf, the 18th-century writer on Sussex, John Burton, who complained of the mud, and the 18th-century poet of Woolbeding, Sussex – Charlotte Smith. More recent Sussex writers are included as well – E V Lucas, the author of Highways and Byways in Sussex (1904), who lived at Kingston, near Lewes and Hilaire Belloc who lived at Shipley and who wrote a book called The Four Men: A Farrago, which describes four characters walking across Sussex together. They all remind us just what wonders there are with both land and history in both East and West Sussex.”