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Anna Fleming

Thursday 3rd February 2022

Venue
Topping & Company Booksellers of St Andrews, 7 Greyfriars Garden, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9HG
Doors Open
7.20pm
Start Time
8pm
Anna-Fleming-cover-1.jpg

Scottish-based writer and climber Anna Fleming joins us to talk about her new book, Time on Rock. In it, she charts two parallel journeys: learning the craft of traditional rock climbing, and the new developing appreciation of the natural world it brings her. Through the story of her progress from terrified beginner to confident lead climber, she shows us how placing hand and foot on rock becomes a profound new way into the landscape.

Anna takes us from the gritstone rocks of the Peak District and Yorkshire to the gabbro pinnacles of the Cuillin, the slate of North Wales and the high plateau of the Cairngorms. Each landscape, and each type of rock, brings its own challenges and unique pleasures. She also shows us how climbing invites us into the history of a place: geologically, of course, but also culturally.

The book is a guide to losing oneself in the greater majesty of the natural world. With great lyricism Anna explores how it feels to climb as a woman, the pleasures of the physical demands of climbing, fear and challenge, but more than anything, it is about a joyful connection to the mountains. With so many more of us discovering the wonders of climbing for the first time recently, Anna’s book is a timely and unique read. This is sure to be a really special evening!