As all Austen readers know, her characters are champion walkers. Whatever the novel, the heroine will at some point go on a good, long walk. Persuasion is no exception as all the younger folk at Uppercross head over the hills to stretch their legs. We’re going to take the outing a bit further and take the major journeys of the novel on foot as well. You can decide how much you’re willing to take on and which direction you’d like to go. Feel like some time by the sea? It’s 17 miles to Lyme Regis. Spend your month there if you’d like. Do you prefer the society of Bath? That’s a little longer journey at 47 miles. Enjoy the concerts and parties! If you’re really just wanting to walk and then walk some more, you could walk to Lyme Regis and from there to Bath for a total of 77 miles. Don’t worry, you can send for a carriage at any time.

It doesn’t matter which destination you select. Anyone turning their log in before noon on Monday, February 22, will be entered into a drawing for a volume containing all of Jane Austen’s works.