Time on Rock cover art

Time on Rock

A Climber's Route into the Mountains

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £23.99

Buy Now for £23.99

About this listen

Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing and the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature.

In Time on Rock Anna Fleming 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 Cullin, 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.

This book is Anna's journey of self-discovery, but it is also a guide to losing oneself in the greater majesty of the natural world. With great lyricism she explores how it feels to climb as a woman, about the pleasures of the physical demands of climbing, about fear and challenge, but more than anything it is about a joyful connection to the mountains.

©2022 Anna Fleming (P)2022 Canongate Books Ltd Adventure Travel Ecosystems & Habitats Europe Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science Travel Writing & Commentary Western Europe
All stars
Most relevant
a stunning book, I enjoyed every minute, a lovely voice too , the descriptions really took me somewhere. I'm inspired !

poetic, thoughtful and humours

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I'm not sure what I was expecting but this was better. So much of this resonated with me, the language was open and captivating and I felt Anna narrated her story and thoughts excellently. I would highly recommend.

Refreshing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A very interesting insight into rock climbing and the type of rock structures Anna encounters. If you like reading books about nature and the great outdoors then you appreciate this book.

You don’t have to be a rock climber to read this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.