Climbing up on Solsbury Hill, but is it a real place?

February 22, 2023 History britain, cicerone guides, cotswolds, damian hall, solsbury hill, walking, walking guides 8 Comments

As we drove back to the Cotswolds earlier this month, Peter Gabriel’s 1977 hit Solsbury Hill popped up on the car stereo, which prompted Edita to remark: “Is Solsbury Hill a real place? If it is then we should climb it.” So we did.

Did Rudyard Kipling’s explorer see Hamish MacInnes looking behind the ranges?

February 8, 2023 History eiger, everest, exploration, hamish macinnes, himalayas, mountain films, mountain literature, new zealand, rudyard kipling 2 Comments

The title of Hamish MacInnes’s book Look Behind the Ranges is taken from Rudyard Kipling’s poem The Explorer about a man who is urged to cross the mountains behind his home by an inner voice. But what would Kipling’s explorer have made of Hamish MacInnes?