Description

Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards

In The Hidden Ways, Alistair Moffat traverses the lost paths of Scotland – its Roman roads tramped by armies, its byways and pilgrim routes, drove roads and railways, turnpikes and sea roads – in a bid to understand how our history has left its mark upon our landscape. As he retraces the forgotten paths that shaped and were shaped by the lives of the now forgotten people who trod them, Moffat charts a powerful, surprising and moving history of Scotland.

Publisher Review

Praise for Scotland: 'A very readable, well-researched and fluent account * * Scotland on Sunday * * Praise for The Scots: 'Truly fascinating * * Scotsman * * Praise for The Border: 'Quirky, learned and utterly absorbing -- ALLAN MASSIE Praise for The Great Tapestry of Scotland: 'Not just visually stunning but intensely moving and occasionally very funny * * The Times * * A fine history of the wild, walkable country * * Wanderlust * * A treasure trove of stories * * The Great Outdoors * * Retracing and walking Scotland's lost paths makes Alistair Moffat reflect upon the country's history in a different sort of way . . . From Perthshire to Ballachulish, Moffat explores the land in a personal, inquisitive way and searches for evidence of the people who helped shape it * * Outdoor Photography * * The Hidden Ways makes us think about Scotland and its history in a completely different way . . . A truly fascinating read * * Sunday Mail * * This fascinating and compelling narrative will leave you spellbound and in no time you'll be looking for your hiking boots and waterproofs . . . An absorbing and thought-provoking addition to the literature of Scotland's byways * * Countryfile * * Our ancestors walked everywhere, unless they lived by a river or loch and travelled by boat, or were rich enough to keep a horse or pony. So Moffat will walk. He will walk over much of Scotland, following, sometimes struggling to follow, old roads that are now sometimes hard to find. This book is the story of a dozen such walks. This is a splendidly rich book - a treasure-house of information, memories and speculation -- Allan Massie * * The Scotsman * *