A Summer in Kintyre: Memories and Reflections

In the idyllic summer of 2013 in Kintyre, the author's journeys by bicycle and on foot were also 'a journey through landscapes of memory and emotion'. The story begins in the rugged south-west, at the Inneans and Largiebaan, and ends in the north-east, at a little loch near Tarbert, with people, places and happenings a-plenty in between. The people include poets Seamus Heaney, Hugh MacDiarmid and George Campbell Hay, musicians Hamish Henderson, Dick Gaughan and Jack Bruce, as well as hill-walking companions, past and present. Incidents of drama on cliffs, episodes of irrational terror and spiritual calm in remote places, memories of the psychedelic Sixties, and a boat trip to Cara Island - haunt of the infamous 'Broonie' - combine with the author's characteristic ruminations, on history, natural history, folklore, place-names and genealogy, to illumine the landscapes. The book contains 62 illustrations and six appendices and is a worthy successor to Martin's By Hill and Shore in South Kintyre, published in 2011 by The Grimsay Press. It will engage the interest and imagination of all who cherish Kintyre and its outdoor delights, both natural and cultural.