Thoughts on Brentor by famous and not-so-famous visitors………..

Yann Martel – Booker prize winner, author of Life of Pi

Yann Martel at the Brentor book group

Yann Martel at the Brentor book group  – Photo by Colin Dawes

I left my walking boots in Brentor because I can’t think of a place where history, geography, weather and pubs meet so pleasingly. Every time I arrive at Brentor the first thing I want to do is run out and walk, walk, walk. It’s nearly a savage walking, as if my feet were eating the land at every step, starved of that stark, blustery landscape with the magnificent vistas. The great number of walks one can do are like a menu. Do you want open plains or sheltered woods? Grass or rocks? Nature straight or sprinkled with druidic remains? The sea, perhaps? And yes, a pub for pudding at the end of every walk.
I find the land around Brentor the quintessence of rural England. Here the words Norman and Saxon still seem to have meaning, here the English way of life seems to survive with ease and naturalness.
And of course there are the animals, the sheep and ponies and Highland cattle that greet one with stony reserve. And the odd horse, with its towering rider.
I left my boots in Brentor so that I can always be sure to return. I hope to wear them out completely.

Yann Martel at the Brentor book group