_{“She travelled on the edge of the edge itself.” Ethel Crowley about Dervla Murphy}

Today I heard a mountaineer and expedition leader being asked if travel and adventure were still possible. He replied that they were, and the interviewer then went into detail about the adventurer’s various trips. I was impressed, but not in the way I am when I read of Dervla Murphy’s exploits.

Ethel Crowley is the editor of the recently published book Life at Full Tilt – The Selected Writings of Dervla Murphy. I have almost finished the book and my mind is out on stalks. How did Dervla Murphy survive her travels?

This is not to say that travel has to involve terrifying ascents, or being mugged by children in Albania, but it does seem to be part of what extreme travellers do, and Dervla Murphy was one of those. Truly extraordinary resilience, as well as such good ‘being there in the moment’ and ‘looking at others’ skills. She did the extraoardinary and the ordinary, from Bradford to faraway Siberia, and met the locals wherever she could, showing us herself and others, so we could think about ourselves.

That to me is real travel. It doesn’t have to be Everest. All you have to do is step outside your front door and start really looking. Life is the big adventure.

(The photograph above is of part of the press release that Eland Publishing sent me with the copy of Life at Full Tilt.)

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023