‘Ashworth’s journey takes the reader from coast to coast in search of freedom’ Jessica Andrew

Jenn Ashworth emerged from lockdown with a compulsive need to walk – and to walk away. Armed with little more than the knowledge imparted by a two-day orienteering course and a set of maps, she embarked on Wainwright’s Coast to Coast walk.

Guided not just by Wainwright’s writing but also by daily letters from her friend Clive – facing an epic journey of his own – Jenn’s pilgrimage soon becomes more than just walking: a chance to reconnect and excavate, to re-engage with the act of caring for others and for oneself.

But the walk’s tricky terrain is not the only thing standing in Jenn’s way. As days go by, her balance begins to fail her and the act of putting one foot in front the other becomes a new exercise in caution. When a  heatwave forces her to pause her expedition and gives her an opportunity to investigate the new limitations of her body, Jenn is confronted with a life-altering diagnosis – and a new path.

Jenn Ashworth is a writer based in the North West of England. She writes short fiction, memoir and novels and teaches writing at Lancaster University. Her latest book is The Parallel Path, a memoir of care, grief and walking across the North of England.

“I first set out to do the coast-to-coast walk on a whim; not naturally outdoorsy, all I knew was that I wanted to be alone and outside for a while and explore the fells I’d been able to see from my bedroom window while I cared for my family during the pandemic. I followed in Alfred Wainwright’s footsteps and walked through the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, slowly understanding not only why the lockdown had exhausted me so much, but where these messages of Northern toughness, resilience and stoicism I’d been living with my entire life had come from. What I thought would be a story of solitude became one of care and friendship, one that prepared me for my next challenge; an unexpected illness that would confine me at home again and face an even tougher challenge than a 192 mile walk across the country. Now I had to allow people to look after me.”

Jon McGregor is a novelist living in Nottingham. His books include Even the Dogs, Reservoir 13, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things and Lean Fall Stand.