'I loved this memoir' - Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path

'A whole new way of looking at a familiar landscape' - Neil Ansell, author of The Last Wilderness

'Simmons observes the natural world with precision and affection' - Times Literary Supplement

An old map. A lost pilgrimage route. A journey in search of our walking heritage.

On an antique map in Oxford's Bodleian Library, a faint red line threading through towns and villages between Southampton and Canterbury suggests a significant, though long-forgotten, road. Renamed the Old Way, medieval pilgrims are thought to have travelled this route to reach the celebrated shrine of Thomas Becket.

Over four seasons, travel writer Gail Simmons walks the Old Way, winding 240 miles between the chalk hills and shifting seascapes of the south coast, to rediscover what a long journey on foot offers us today. What it means to embrace 'slow travel' in the age of the car? Why does being a woman walking alone still feel like a radical act? Can we now reclaim pilgrimage as a secular act?

Blending history, anthropology, etymology and geology, Gail's walk reveals the rich natural and cultural heritage found on our own doorstep.

"Wandering the Old Way across 386km of the UK's south coast allows Simmons ample room to touch on history, folklore and modern politics. Along the way she also delves into what long walks, such as the old pilgrim trails, mean to us today and why being a woman walking along still feels like a radical act" - Wanderlust, Stanfords’ Staff Picks

"This is a book for the modern pilgrim, as well as nature and history lovers." - BBC Countryfile

"An absorbing tale" - Country Walking

"[Gail] is an engaging companion, bringing to life the places and people she meets en route and offering thoughtful reflections on what it means to travel - especially as a lone woman. Delightful." - Country Life

"Such a joy to read . . . the author makes a great walking companion, sharing opinion, nostalgia and wit in warm tones. The Old Way deserves hikers' attention and love; we are lucky to have a chronicler as companionable as Simmons to tell its story." - The Great Outdoors

"The pace is pleasantly unhurried. Simmons observes the natural world with precision and affection from the modest summit of Ditchling Beacon to the sopping lowland of the Weald" - TLS

"Simmons is a veteran travel journalist, and she conveys a sense of place deftly . . . a welcome addition to the ever-growing library of British walking literature" - Resurgence & Ecologist