Upland by Ian Crofton
'Fascinating and lyrical . . . A beautifully written celebration of a lifelong passion' – Stephen VenablesThe relationship of people with hills and mountains has been complex, rich and varied – from awe and wonder to fear and loathing, from spiritual longing to peaceful acceptance.
As he explores our high places, Ian Crofton conjures up those who have been there before: Neolithic axe-makers, mass trespassers, shepherds, quarrymen, botanists, poets and pioneering cragsmen and women among them. At the same time, he is ever attuned to the present moment – a flash of bright moss in a bog, the swoop of an eagle above a skyline, a winter sun sinking into a sea of cloud.
Following an arc from the gentle Downs of southern England to the wild peaks of Scotland’s far north, Upland combines personal experiences with a keen curiosity about the history and nature of mountain landscapes, and the people who once worked and wandered among them. The result is a meditation on the enduring yet ever-changing hills, on the transience of human experience, and on the shifts and twists of time itself.
Locations included:
- Chilterns (following The Ridgeway)
- Malverns
- Snowdon
- Peak District
- Pennines
- Lake District
- Ben Nevis
- The Cuillin, Skye
- Assynt (Suilven)
- Cairngorms
'A fascinating and lyrical exploration of what the hills mean to those who have lived and worked among them, and to those who walk and climb among them today. . A beautifully written celebration of a lifelong passion'
-- Stephen VenablesIan Crofton's books exploring the interplay of landscape, nature and history include Walking the Border: A Journey between Scotland and England, rated by both The Guardian and Trail magazine as 'excellent'. His Fringed with Mud and Pearls: An English Island Odyssey was described by the BBC’s Countryfile as 'really engaging', and by Coast magazine as 'a fascinating study about what it means to exist on the fringes'; it was selected by the Telegraph as one of their top twenty travel books of 2021. Upland: A Journey Through Time and the Hills was published in May 2025.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781780279138 |
| ISBN 10 | 1780279132 |
| Title | Upland |
| Author | Ian Crofton |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Birlinn General |
| Year published | 2025-05-01 |
| Number of pages | 304 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |