I met Nick Penny at a gathering of the BB Society at Lamport Hall in July. His book, published by Bradt, immediately drew my attention because of its beauty and once we started talking, I discovered we had a similar fondness for walking locally, particularly in places not celebrated for their landscape or very well known for their cultural inheritance. I suspect that for many people the river Nene is best known for its association with Northampton and arguments over its pronunciation- which rival those that beset the inhabitants of Shrewsbury!
Nick Penny is a musical instrument maker, composer and sound recordist so brings to this journal of a year walking by the river an acute awareness of the heard environment. When so much nature and travel writing still concentrates mainly on what is seen, the author uses words to evoke listening and paying attention, and the harmful consequences of noise.
In an entry from February, he writes.
‘And I was once in a wood when a military jet flew over so low that I could see the pilot was wearing shades. In the middle of the quiet afternoon, the jet’s sudden blast of sound set off a startling rerun of a dawn chorus at full volume’.
One of the distinct features of the book is that thanks to a QR code it actually contains an accompanying soundtrack.
As the title indicates this is about responding to the call of the kingfisher and encounters with and information about the bird are threads that run throughout. But there are references to writers associated with the Nene, including BB and John Clare, and even Glenn Miller makes a welcome appearance. And I certainly learnt a lot about a river and its environment which is only a few miles from where I grew up – including the destruction of the largest inland lake in southern England.
I can see why Bradt opted to publish the book as it brilliantly combines nature with travel writing.
I would go as far as to acclaim it as a representative of travel writing which eschews travel. Not going very far but going deep and paying attention to writing. A very precious contribution in the light of the fragility of our world and the damage caused by international fidgeting.
- Call of The Kingfisher by Nick Penny is published by Bradt Travel Guides (£9.99). To order a copy go to www.bradtguides.com
Ian Tattum
Ian Tattum is a priest in the Church of England who writes occasional pieces about the people who shaped the history of science and human and animal travel-real and fictional.
