A number of excellent walks across Kent have been outlined in a new book by author Brian J Rance.Chris Price leafed through.

As many a rambler will explain, there are walks and there are walks. Finding My Place by Woolwich-born author Brian J. Rance is a book for the seasoned saunterer, covering seven mammoth meanders through Kent and parts of East Sussex.

From the first page, it is clear that every step taken to produce this work has been a labour of love for Brian, now an assistant director of estates at Birmingham City University.

The book, which took more than 10 years to finish, follows the author’s exploits on several long-distance treks. Chapters include Rye and Beyond and Back Again, inspired by a walk in the autumn of 1999, and Around East Kent, set in the summer of 2008.

Even though he cannot really claim to be one, Brian regards himself as a Kentish Man and his affection for the countryside around the Garden of England shines off every page.

This love developed from visits to his parent’s caravan at St Mary’s Bay on Romney Marsh as a child.

Throughout the pages you get a sense of the author’s warmth for the area. The book is written as if he is discovering the landscape for the first time, much like Victorian writers such as Wainwright.

To curb the anxiety brought on at the thought of covering such huge distances, the book is illustrated with 85 plates. These have maps and historical information about the various points of interest and landmarks. It serves as a way of breaking up the walks, for example from Folkestone to Abbot’s Cliff or Gravesend to Higham, marking out sections that can be tackled in a day, rather than a week.

Brian’s views about the county he has such strong affection for are not blinkered. The book does not shy away from some of the less attractive areas of interest compared to the stunning countryside.

Instead, Brian embraces the county’s military and urban areas of importance, marking him out as a writer who is knowledgeable as well as passionate.

There are also a few illustrations of some of Brian’s own encounters in this very first person account. His etchings raise a smile and are not too dissimilar in style to those of Graham Clarke. Yet what truly sets this book apart is the odd place it occupies among its peers.

Neither a companion guide or a walking guide, it sits comfortably in a space between the two.

These are not the sort of walks to be taken on a Sunday afternoon stroll or without an Ordnance Survey Map, yet his amusing descriptions of “highly tattooed” locals at the Ocean Inn in Dymchurch who “made no effort to make space for me at the bar” make this a book worthy of a wider reading public interested in what life is like in the far reaches of the county.

Yes there are walks and there are walks, but as Brian J. Rance has proven in his debut work, there are walking books and there are walking books.

Finding My Place: Seven Long Distance Walks in Kent and East Sussex by Brian J. Rance is published by Book Guild Publishing and costs £12.99.