Rain: four walks in English weather

No cover — Melissa Harrison: Rain (2017)

104 pages

English language

Published Aug. 26, 2017

ISBN:: 978-0-571-32894-9
OCLC Number:: 974502429

(1 review)

Almost every day, as natural and inevitable as breathing, weather fronts form, clouds gather and rain falls, changing how the English countryside looks, smells and sounds and the way the living things in it behave. It alters the landscape itself, too, dissolving ancient rocks, deepening river channels and moving soil from place to place. Rain is co-author of our living countryside; it is also a part of our deep internal landscape. Complain as we may, it is as essential to our sense of identity as it is to our soil. With a national obsession, a frequent inconvenience and an agricultural necessity, rain is what makes this land so green and pleasant; it's also what swells rivers, floods farmland and drives people out of their homes. But because it sends most of us scurrying indoors, few people witness what actually happens out in the landscape on a wet afternoon. Novelist and …

Almost every day, as natural and inevitable as breathing, weather fronts form, clouds gather and rain falls, changing how the English countryside looks, smells and sounds and the way the living things in it behave. It alters the landscape itself, too, dissolving ancient rocks, deepening river channels and moving soil from place to place. Rain is co-author of our living countryside; it is also a part of our deep internal landscape. Complain as we may, it is as essential to our sense of identity as it is to our soil. With a national obsession, a frequent inconvenience and an agricultural necessity, rain is what makes this land so green and pleasant; it's also what swells rivers, floods farmland and drives people out of their homes. But because it sends most of us scurrying indoors, few people witness what actually happens out in the landscape on a wet afternoon. Novelist and nature writer Melissa Harrison visited four parts of the English countryside in showery weather and, when others looked apprehensively at the sky and went indoors, put on waterproofs and headed out. In Rain, she blends these expeditions with reading, research, memory and a little conjecture in order to follow the course of four rain-showers as they pass over English soil.

2 editions

The Gnome King reviewed Rain by Melissa Harrison

Review of 'Rain' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I am a big fan of walking in the rain, there are a number of reasons; My dog hates the rain, it is very rare to see another person, the place seems to come alive, colours are more vivid and it is exhilarating to have walked in a storm. A couple of walks I remember well was an 8mile charity walk when my daughter was a cub, it poured it down the whole time, my waterproofs became saturated and clothes underneath soaked through, the second we got back to the car the rain suddenly stopped and the sun came out, typical! The second walk was on the Brecon beacons, coming down a mountain visibility became zero and we experienced some of the biggest drops of rain ever, my daughter hated it, but got through it by laughing at me as I was carrying the rucksack and kept falling over.

In …

I am a big fan of walking in the rain, there are a number of reasons; My dog hates the rain, it is very rare to see another person, the place seems to come alive, colours are more vivid and it is exhilarating to have walked in a storm. A couple of walks I remember well was an 8mile charity walk when my daughter was a cub, it poured it down the whole time, my waterproofs became saturated and clothes underneath soaked through, the second we got back to the car the rain suddenly stopped and the sun came out, typical! The second walk was on the Brecon beacons, coming down a mountain visibility became zero and we experienced some of the biggest drops of rain ever, my daughter hated it, but got through it by laughing at me as I was carrying the rucksack and kept falling over.

In this book Melissa Harrison has decided to spend a year getting wet by hiking in the rain and to see why people avoid it. She sees a whole new world, especially when the rain stops for a bit and the birds appear from nowhere to make the most of the break. This line sums it up perfectly:

"it seems to me that if you only ever go out on sunny days you only see half the picture, and remain somehow untested and callow"

There is a nice selection of topics covered here, different types of rain, misty being the worse I reckon, nature, science of weather and history of some pretty impressive storms. Also included are some quotes from poets/writers that have been inspired by the rain. This is a lovely little book and I highly recommend you read it and then go for a walk in the rain.

I spotted this in the glossary which made me laugh:

"Scotch mist: the kind of fine rain a Scotsman will barely notice but which will wet an Englishman to the skin"

Subjects

Country life
Rain and rainfall
Landscapes
Description and travel

Places

England