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A review by kingjason
Love of Country: A Hebridean Journey by Madeleine Bunting
4.0
My knowledge of the Hebrides at the start of this book was "they are somewhere north of Scotland"....turns out even that simple little fact was wrong, They are on the North West. I also knew they were made up of loads of little islands....almost correct, yes there are lots of little islands but Lewis/Harris is the 3rd biggest Island in Great Britain, so it turns out I know nothing.
Madeleine Bunting had been planning this trip for years, she had a map on her wall of the Hebrides as inspiration and like me she has this need to travel North to escape the South of England. She fully immerses herself, talking to anybody she can, trying to get a handle on Gaelic and even going on trips in rough seas on a small boat. The history of the place is incredible, before the Government started the clearances people had been farming these small islands for 1000s of years, their survival was amazing. Bonnie Prince Charlie landed here too, to kick of his campaign against the English. Another very interesting thing raised by Madeleine was to do with maps, on a map of the UK the sea is just a border, you don't realise it's vastness until you are out on a boat looking at a map of the sea which shows the land as the border. Made me chuckle.
This book has made me want to visit, the biggest appeal for me are the causeways between some of the islands, that would make for a great road-trip. This book is heavy on the history, politics and religion but not for one second does it get boring. A fascinating source of info on the Hebrides that I would highly recommend....plus it has maps (wooooooo).
Blog review> https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2019/06/08/love-of-country-a-hebridean-journey-by-madeleine-bunting/
Madeleine Bunting had been planning this trip for years, she had a map on her wall of the Hebrides as inspiration and like me she has this need to travel North to escape the South of England. She fully immerses herself, talking to anybody she can, trying to get a handle on Gaelic and even going on trips in rough seas on a small boat. The history of the place is incredible, before the Government started the clearances people had been farming these small islands for 1000s of years, their survival was amazing. Bonnie Prince Charlie landed here too, to kick of his campaign against the English. Another very interesting thing raised by Madeleine was to do with maps, on a map of the UK the sea is just a border, you don't realise it's vastness until you are out on a boat looking at a map of the sea which shows the land as the border. Made me chuckle.
This book has made me want to visit, the biggest appeal for me are the causeways between some of the islands, that would make for a great road-trip. This book is heavy on the history, politics and religion but not for one second does it get boring. A fascinating source of info on the Hebrides that I would highly recommend....plus it has maps (wooooooo).
Blog review> https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2019/06/08/love-of-country-a-hebridean-journey-by-madeleine-bunting/