Walking home : my family and other rambles

Clare Balding's brilliant new book of very British adventures'Growing up on a racing yard, I used to know the geography of the UK only by racecourses.

A bit like my brother thought the seasons of the year were "Flat" and "National Hunt", I regarded Newmarket as the capital of the world and Lambourn as a major city of industry . . .'In the Balding family, walking just took too long - Clare galloped through the countryside and she galloped through life. Then, starting out in her broadcasting career, she was asked to present a series of walks with interesting people.

Some fifteen hundred miles of footpaths later, she's discovered the true glories of Britain and caught the walking bug. Now she wants to get her whole family hooked, by taking them on the 71-mile footpath that runs past their home on the Hampshire Downs. 'It will be a great family adventure,' she declares. 'Won't it?'This is a story of paths and people, of discovering the glories of Britain and Ireland, and of (mis)adventures with the family.

Along the way there are charming diversions and life-changing rambles, including her take on the 2012 Olympics. And, finally, this is Clare's story of walking home. 'Brilliant, magical, unmissable'Daily Mail'Clare Balding would be the ideal surrogate sister or auntie.

The joy of this book is Balding's sheer rapture for life, movement and never shutting up about it'The Times'Balding has won over the literary world with her two volumes of autobiography'Evening Standard'Even the most reluctant of walkers will be tempted to don wellies after reading Clare's wonderful descriptions... effortless charm'Express