麻豆约拍

Virginia Woolf, sun hat firmly in place, scrambling along the dusty footpaths of Southern Spain.

An unexpected image of the very English, upright writer more commonly associated with Bloomsbury.

But in 1923 Woolf and her husband Leonard made an adventurous journey by boat, train, bus and mule to the remote mountain village of Yegen, where the British writer Gerald Brenan had made his home.

In a burst of intense, exploratory friendship, Woolf walked with Brenan through a landscape of goats and asphodels, opening up to him, and opening herself to the allure of Spain.

鈥淭he mind鈥檚 contents break into short sentences. It is hot; the old man; the frying pan; the bottle of wine鈥�.

She wrote about riding mules, about village sounds, and as she got into the rhythm of rural Spain fantasised about a new life abroad.

Virginia Woolf was the perfect exponent of the belief that walking clears the mind, expands the soul and strengthens the leg. To mark the centenary of Woolf鈥檚 first published novel, her biographer. Alexandra Harris takes us on four walks which inspired her, shaped her writing and character, and tell her story.

Harris begins by seeking out the paths where the determined walker would have tramped - through olive groves, past tangled vines, in thrall to the smell of orange blossom.

She鈥檚 accompanied in this Spanish sojourn by another writer, also seduced by the beauty of the Alpujarras, Chris Stewart, of 鈥淒riving Over Lemons鈥� fame.

Stewart was inspired 27 years ago to move to the area described in 鈥楽outh From Granada鈥�, Gerald Brenan鈥檚 classic portrait of Andaluc铆a, in which Virginia Woolf鈥檚 visit is also described.

They scramble up hillsides, leap into pools of icy water, and are deafened by the sound of cicadas, contemplating Virginia Woolf's time, walking and writing under the Spanish sun.

Producer: Sara Jane Hall

First broadcast on 麻豆约拍 Radio 4 in August 2015.

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