Stars My Blanket

After the restrictions of an Edwardian girlhood, Beryl Smeeton cherished the freedom to travel alone, and became a globetrotter on an epic scale. Friendly and genuinely interested in the people of the countries she visited, she preferred to travel on crowded buses, in third-class train compartments and on foot. Just before the Second World War, she completed two remarkable journeys: in South America, a thousand-mile trek on horseback in the eastern foothills of the Andes, and in the Far East, a hike for several hundred miles through the hilly jungles of Burma and Siam ( now Thailand). With her infecious enthusiasm and great capacity for fun, she enjoyed even the roughest of experiences- being blown right off her horse in Argentina, and fording dangerous flooded rivers in Burma. When Beryl married Miles Smeeton, she continued her adventures, both on land and on board their famous yacht, Tzu Hang, with all the vitality and zest for life that show clearly on the carefree, independent trips she describes here, in her second book, with such glee.

After the restrictions of an Edwardian girlhood, Beryl Smeeton cherished the freedom to travel alone, and became a globetrotter on an epic scale. Just before the Second World War, she completed two remarkable journeys: a thousand-mile trek on horseback in the eastern foothills of the Andes; and a hike through the hilly jungles of Burma and Thailand.