Join Bookends at the Skiddaw Hotel on January 18th for an evening with nature writer and climber Anna Fleming as she discusses her new climbing memoir Time on Rock followed by a Q&A session and book signing.

Following in the tracks of Nan Shepherd, this rock-climber’s eye view of the natural world offers a perfect antidote to the sport’s male-dominated history.

“It reminds me of Nan Shepherd, only the kind of Nan Shepherd I could go for a pint with” – Helen Mort

Anna Fleming charts her progress from terrified beginner to confident lead climber, and the way in which learning to climb offered a new relationship with both the landscape, and herself.

Anna takes us from the gritstone rocks of the Peak District and Yorkshire to the gabbro pinnacles of the Black Cuillin on Skye, the slate of North Wales and the high plateaus 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.

She delves into what it’s like to be a woman in such a male-dominated world – and the ways in which the climbing community is trying to shift that balance.

Anna offers an antidote to the macho, high-risk approach that the sport is known for, and considers the lessons we can all draw from climbing – from our approach to risk and relationships with our bodies, to the mindfulness and focus required.

The Skiddaw Hotel, 7pm, 18th January 2022

Tickets: £5 (available from Bookends Keswick – 017687 75277 and www.bookscumbria.com)