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. |
| Note | Unavailable |