Who Are The Main Characters In The Old Ways: A Journey On Foot?

2026-01-06 05:05:31
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3 Answers

Xanthe
Xanthe
Favorite read: Running with Wolves
Helpful Reader Veterinarian
Macfarlane’s 'The Old Ways' is less about individual protagonists and more about the collective voice of walking. Sure, he’s the thread stitching it all together, but the book shines when he steps aside to let others speak—like the Tibetan pilgrims whose routes are prayers, or the chalk-carved figures of ancient Britain. Even his backpack, stuffed with maps and a battered copy of 'The Living Mountain,' feels like a companion.

What I love is how he treats memory as a character too. Dead poets, forgotten shepherds, his own younger self—they all walk alongside him. It’s the kind of book that makes you look down at your own feet and wonder whose paths you’re retracing.
2026-01-08 19:26:45
16
Quincy
Quincy
Favorite read: The Way Home
Reviewer UX Designer
If you’re expecting a cast list like in a novel, 'The Old Ways' might surprise you. Macfarlane’s writing is so immersive that the 'characters' aren’t just people—they’re the landscapes, the weather, even the tools he carries. His grandfather, a man deeply tied to the land, feels present in every chapter, a quiet mentor guiding his steps. Then there’s the artist Nan Shepherd, whose writings about the Cairngorms haunt the book like a benevolent spirit. Macfarlane’s encounters with modern wayfarers, like the fishermen navigating by stars, add this layer of immediacy.

But the real magic is how he makes you feel like you’re part of the journey too. You start noticing how your own local paths might hold similar stories. It’s not about who’s 'main' but about how walking connects us to something bigger. The book leaves you itching to lace up your boots and see what—or who—you might meet out there.
2026-01-09 08:34:16
16
Spoiler Watcher Assistant
The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot' is this beautifully meditative book by Robert Macfarlane, and honestly, it feels more like a tapestry of voices and footsteps than a traditional narrative with clear-cut 'main characters.' The most central figure is Macfarlane himself, wandering ancient paths across landscapes, but the book gives equal weight to the places and the ghosts of those who walked them before. He brings to life historical wayfarers like Edward Thomas, the poet who found solace in walking, and the mysterious figures of shepherd guides in the Himalayas. Even the paths—like the Icknield Way or the sea roads of the Hebrides—feel like characters, whispering their stories under his boots.

What’s fascinating is how Macfarlane blurs the line between human and non-human protagonists. The wind, the stones, the act of walking itself—they all take on roles. There’s a moment where he describes following the footsteps of a long-dead walker, and it’s like the past and present merge. It’s less about heroes and more about the dialogue between wanderers, living or otherwise. That’s what sticks with me: the sense that every journey is a conversation with countless others.
2026-01-09 16:58:28
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