The Old Ways

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE The original bestseller from the beloved author of UNDERLAND, LANDMARKS and THE LOST WORDS - Robert Macfarlane travels Britain's ancient paths and discovers the secrets of our beautiful, underappreciated landscape 'The Old Ways confirms Macfarlane's reputation as one of the most eloquent and observant of contemporary writers about nature' Scotland on Sunday Following the tracks, holloways, drove-roads and sea paths that form part of a vast ancient network of routes criss-crossing the British Isles and beyond, Robert Macfarlane discovers a lost world - a landscape of the feet and the mind, of pilgrimage and ritual, of stories and ghosts; above all of the places and journeys which inspire and inhabit our imaginations. 'Sublime . . . It sets the imagination tingling, laying an irresistible trail for readers to follow' Sunday Times 'Read this and it will be impossible to take an unremarkable walk again' Metro 'He has a rare physical intelligence and affords total immersion in place, elements and the passage of time: wonderful' Antony Gormley

In 1725 an extensive military road and bridge-building programme was implemented by the British crown that would transform 18th-century Scotland. Aimed at pacifying some of her more inaccessible regions and containing the Jacobite threat, General Wade's new roads were designed to replace 'the old ways' and 'tedious passages' through the mountains. Over the next few decades, the laying out of these routes opened up the country to visitors from all backgrounds. After the 1760s, soldiers, surveyors and commercial travellers were joined by leisure tourists and artists, eager to explore Scotland's antiquities, natural history and scenic landscapes, and to describe their findings in words and images. In this book a number of acclaimed experts explore how the Scottish landscape was variously documented, evaluated, planned and imagined in words and images. As well as a fascinating insight into the experience of travellers and tourists, it also considers how they impacted on the experience of the Scottish people themselves.

In a land like ours, the old beliefs bring pleasure and wisdom... Exploring the legends, special places and treasured practices of old, Jo Kerrigan reveals a rich world beneath Ireland's modern layers. So many of today's Irish traditions reach back to our ancient past, to the natural world: climbing to the summit of a mountain at harvest time; circling a revered site three, seven or nine times in a sun-wise direction; hanging offerings on a thorn tree; bringing the ailing and infirm to a sacred well. Old Ways, Old Secrets shows us how to uncover the wisdom of the past, as fresh as it is ancient. 'Inviting, lyrical text and beautiful, atmospheric photographs ... A fascinating read.' Evening Echo on West Cork: A Place Apart

Are there any genuinely wild places left in Britain and Ireland? Or have we tarmacked, farmed and built ourselves out of wildness? In his vital, bewitching, inspiring classic, Robert Macfarlane sets out in search of the wildness that remains.

The unmissable new book from the bestselling, prize-winning author of Landmarks, The Old Ways and The Lost Words Discover the hidden worlds beneath our feet... In Underland, Robert Macfarlane takes a dazzling journey into the concealed geographies of the ground beneath our feet - the hidden regions beneath the visible surfaces of the world. From the vast below-ground mycelial networks by which trees communicate, to the ice-blue depths of glacial moulins, and from North Yorkshire to the Lofoten Islands, he traces an uncharted, deep-time voyage. Underland a thrilling new chapter in Macfarlane's long-term exploration of the relations of landscape and the human heart. 'He is the great nature writer, and nature poet, of this generation' Wall Street Journal 'Packed with stories based in geography, history, myth, gossip, legend, religion, geology and the natural world. Macfarlane's writing moves and enthrals' The Times on The Old Ways 'Irradiated by a profound sense of wonder... Few books give such a sense of enchantment; it is a book to give to many, and to return to repeatedly' Independent on Landmarks

Mark the passing of time and honor each season with sacred ritual and seasonal craftwork, ancient stories and traditional treats. Create a colorful mask for Samhain, make a honey cake for Imbolg, fashion a chaplet of flowers at Bealtaine, bake a Brigid's blackberry pie for Lughnasadh, even accompany your sabbat festivities with music from eight traditional musical scores--it's easy with Sabbats as your guide. Learn how to combine old customs with new expressions of your beliefs and your chosen tradition. Deepen your connection to the turning of the wheel as you celebrate the eight sacred seasons of the Witches' year.

'This book will bring back old times, take care of it,' wrote Florence Hopper, freelance journalist, in the front of her cuttings book. Found in the depths of a dark cupboard crawled into by her niece, after her aunt died, and now edited by her, it is a fascinating read.At first it was kept safe for the family to enjoy. Starting early in the 1930s the cuttings are a verbatim record of life in a busy market town and on the Wolds farms it served, including some on fishing disputes between onshore fishermen from rival East Coast towns, where the Wolds meet the sea with precipitous cliffs.The cuttings have been arranged in sections according to subject, each one being chronological; sheep farming, including lambing and shearing, the inevitable problems with weather, and some amusing conversations between farm-hands in dialect overheard by Florence when at Driffield cattle market are all in the farming section. She visited haunted houses in the winter of 1937, interviewing the owners who lived in them. The communities and children's sections, which include readers' comments quoted from letter written direct to the columnist, give us a picture of a wide and lively community which was changed completely by the outbreak of war in September 1939.