Walking the Border by Ian Crofton

Walking the Border by Ian Crofton

In this book Ian Crofton makes a journey on foot from Gretna Green in the southwest to Berwick in the northeast, following as close as possible the Anglo-Scottish Border as it has been fixed since the union of the crowns in 1603. Much of the line of the Border runs through a wild, overwhelmingly unvisited no man's land - the sort of trackless waste perfect for keeping two belligerent peoples apart? During the course of his journey Ian Crofton considers a number of questions how 'natural' are borderlines? Sometimes they follow physical barriers, sometimes an arbitrary line on a map, the compromise made by some committee of distant diplomats.

'An amiable account by an amiable man of an amiable patch of Europe.. An altogether engaging book'

-- Roger Hutchinson * Scotsman *

'Although this book is pegged to a particular political and historic event - the recent Scottish referendum - it has virtues and insights that transcend the circumstances of its writing ... Crofton has kept neat limits to his exploration of border culture. I would encourage him to go deeper as well into this surrealist hinterspace... There is a lot of excellent natural description in this book, alongside a number of comic encounters with humans and livestock... It is a Mad God's Own Country ... excellent'

-- Stuart Kelly * Guardian *

 'The book is all the better for that easy pace, and its anecdotal style is complemented by some quirky photographs'

* Scotland Outdoors *

'compelling', '****'

* Scottish Field *

'As Crofton journeys its length he admires its fine scenery while considering its history and purpose - especially compelling in light of the recent referendum' - 

* BBC Countryfile *

'Not quite Scottish, not quite English, Crofton walks the line in more ways than one'

* The Daily Telegraph *

'An excellent modern travel tale that delves deep into the history and culture of a largely unexplored stretch of the UK'

* Trail Magazine *

Ian Crofton was born in Edinburgh and worked for Collins in Glasgow before moving to London, where he has been a freelance writer and editor for 25 years. Previous books include Brewer's Dictionary of Curious Titles; Brewer's Britain and Ireland (with John Ayto); Brewer's Cabinet of Curiosities, A Dictionary of Art Quotations, History without the Boring Bits; Science without the Boring Bits; A Dictionary of Scottish Quotations.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781780272078
ISBN 10	1780272073
Title	Walking the Border
Author	Ian Crofton
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Birlinn General
Year published	2014-09-12
Number of pages	272
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.