8. A Strange Alchemy

One summer following the Second World War, 16 year old Robert Appleyard set out on foot from his Durham mining village, desperate to see something of the world before he goes down the pit.

Acutely attuned to the rhythms and delights of the natural world, he sleeps rough and takes work where he can find it, until meeting Dulcie Piper, an eccentric older woman who lives in a ramshackle cottage looking out to sea.

Summer is in full swing in the meadow and at the shore, and Robert feels himself changing.

Novel written by Benjamin Myers.

As an old man, Robert looks back on the summer that changed the direction his life was to take, and the woman who opened his eyes to life's possibilities.

Abridged by Sian Preece.

Read by Kevin Whately.

Produced at BBC Scotland by Sara Davies.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2019.