By walking all the way through Scotland from Kirk Yetholm in the Borders to Cape Wrath in the far North-West author & broadcaster Cameron Mc Neish witnesses at first hand the changes that have taken place in the landscapes of the country of his birth. From the rolling history drenched hills of the Borders he experiences the de-industrialisation of the Union & Forth & Clyde Canals between Edinburgh & Glasgow & the massive popularity of long distance walking on routes like the West Highland Way. Throughout the central highlands he records the changing use of landscape from the Romans to the contemporary shooting estates to the advent of Scotlands two National Parks & further north he walks in the footsteps of cattle drovers Jacobite armies poets & priests. But its north of the Great Glen that he records the biggest changes from the horrors of the Highland Clearances to large scale sheep farming & from the Victorian shooting estates to large scale wind farm industrialisation. But through all the changes one thing remains constant the natural beauty the grandeur & the sensational wildlife that makes Scotland one of the finest wildlife tourism destinations in the world. First of all I believed passionately that Scotland should have a long-distance trail that ran the length of the country " said Cameron "and secondly I wanted to walk through my own country of birth simply to get to know it better to weigh up aspects of its character & culture to remind myself of its history & factions its nuances & its remarkable diversity of landscape at a time when this small nation was beginning a process of re-discovery & questioning if it could go it alone outside the comfort zone of the UK. I wanted to re-discover this land of my birth for myself especially those areas that I wasnt so familiar with. To link the all various routes together has been the challenge of the Gore-Tex[registered] Scottish National Trail a route that I believe can stand comparison with the best walking routes anywhere in the world." The book is gloriously illustrated throughout by the photographs of landscape photographer Richard Else. It is a lavish book to keep & treasure. It is a celebration of all thats best about Scotl&." ...

An engaging new collection of recent plays from Scotl&.
Includes:: Wormwood by Catharine Czerkawaska; Brothers of Thunder
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The true Scot's insider's guide to the very best Scotland has to offer. Whether you live in Scotland or are visiting why settle for anything second-rate when you can be guided to so much that is superb? Peter Irvine's personal guide points you towards the best places to stay (whatever your budget) the best beaches the best ice-cream the best hill walks the best bakers the best spooky places the best seafood the best places for kids the best ceildhs & so the list goes on. However well you know Scotland Peter Irvine will guide you to something excitingly new. That's why it remains the only guide to Scotland that the Scots themselves buy. Scotland the Best was first published in 1993. Since then its reputation has grown & it has been widely praised in reviews won awards from the Tourist industry & above all delighted readers from all over the world. & it's also sold close to 250 000 copies! In this new edition every recommendation has been reassessed to see whether it is still worthy of inclusion & the selection criteria has become even more stringent. Clear colour mapping from Collins & website links for all entries a new look to the cover plus an exciting new picture section & new chapter intros make this a more vibrant book to have as your companion. Quirky personalized & informed Peter Irvine's guide gives you what other travel guides only claim to
- a true Scot's insider's guide.
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When Scotland Yards first detective branch was set up in 1842 crime was very different from today. The favoured murder weapon was the cut-throat razor; carrying a pocket watch was dangerous; the most significant clue at a murder scene could be the whereabouts of a candlestick or hat; large households (family servants & lodgers) complicated many a case & servants sometimes murdered their masters. Detectives had few aids & suffered many disadvantages. The bloody handprints found at two early murder scenes were of no help there being no way of telling whether blood (or hair) was human or animal. Fingerprinting was fifty years away DNA profiling another hundred & photography was too new to help with identification. The detectives had no transport & were expected to walk the first three miles on any enquiry before catching an omnibus or cab & trying to recoup the fares. All reports had to be handwritten with a dip pen & ink & the only means of keeping contact with colleagues & disseminating information was by post horseback or foot. In spite of these handicaps & severe press criticism the detectives achieved some significant successes. Joan Lock

Includes:: such classic cases as the First Railway Murder as well as many fascinating fresh reports weaving in new developments like the electric telegraph against a background of authentic Victorian police procedure. Charles Dickens said that Scotland Yard detectives gave the impression of leading lives of strong mental excitement. Readers of this book will understand why...

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When the Second World War ended England was bombed-out & starving with practically every saleable commodity rationed. It was the age of austerity & criminal opportunity. Thieves broke into warehouses hi-jacked lorries & ransacked railway yards to feed the black market; others stole recycled or forged ration coupons. Scotland Yard was 6 000 men under strength but something dramatic had to be done
- & it was. Four of the Yards best informed detectives were summoned to form the Special Duties Squad which became widely known as the Ghost Squad. They were told: Go out into the underworld. Gather your informants. Do whatever is necessary to ensure that the gangs are smashed up. We will never ask you to divulge your sources of information. But remember
- you must succeed. They did. Divisional Detective Inspector Jack Capstick a brilliant thief-taker & informant runner Detective Inspector Henry Clark who knew the south London villains as few other detectives did & in addition possessed a punch like the kick of a mule & Detective Sergeants Matt Brinnand & John Gosling who topped the Flying Squad war-time arrests set about their task using informants undercover officers & their own unsurpassed ability. In under four years they arrested 789 criminals solved 1 506 cases & recovered stolen property valued at GBP250 000
- or GBP10 million by todays standards. The Ghost Squad was a one-off. How the four officers accomplished this feat is divulged in this thrilling book using hitherto unseen official documents & conversations from people who were there.


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The guide describes 34 mountain walks in Scotlands far-west peninsula
- including Morvern Ardnamurchan & Ardgour
- & on the

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An introduction about the Womens Land Army in the First & Second World Wars is followed by reminiscences recorded recently by the editor of ten ex-Land Girls. It is co-published by NMS Enterprises Limited
- Publishing & the European Ethnological Research Centre (EERC) an independent unit within Celtic & Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh.
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As the glaciers of the last Ice Age receded humans ventured into the far north exploring a wild fertile territory. Nomadic hunter-gatherers at first they made the decision to stay for good
- to farm & to build. The landscapes they lived on were remarkable in their diversity. Vast forests of pine & birch ran through one of the worlds oldest mountain ranges
- once as high as the Himalayas but over millennia scoured & compressed by sheets of ice a mile thick. On hundreds of islands around a saw-edged coastline communities flourished linked to each other & the wider world by the sea the transport superhighway of ancient times. It was a place of challenges & opportunity. A place we know today as Scotl&. Over the past 10 000 years every inch of Scotland
- whether remote hilltop fertile floodplain or storm-lashed coastline
- has been shaped changed & moulded by its people. No part of the land is without its human story. From Orkneys immaculately preserved Neolithic villages to Highland glens stripped of nineteenth century settlements from a Skye peninsula converted to an ingenious Viking shipyard to a sheer Hebridean clifftop used as the site of a spectacular lighthouse Scotlands history is written into its landscapes in vivid detail. Scotlands Landscapes" tells the enduring story of this interaction between man & his environment. stunning new imagery from the National Collection of Aerial Photography comes together to build up a picture of a dramatic terrain forged by thousands of years of incredible change. These are Scotlands landscapes as you have never seen or understood them before."



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Following the success of his best-selling First Light Joe Cornish has now turned his attention to the magnificent scenery of Scotland's 6 000-mile coastline. He has travelled from the Mull of Galloway in the south to the tip of Unst in the Shetlands the northernmost point in the British Isles & from remote St Kilda out in the Atlantic to the Sands of Forvie National Nature Reserve on the North Sea to capture the enormous variety of scenery that characterises the Scottish seacoast. Some of the sites he has photographed like St Kilda or the sandstone peaks overlooking Loch Torridon belong to the National Trust for Scotland but many others are privately owned; some like the majestic Cuillins on Skye are well-known to tourists others are hidden coves or remote sea stacks that few visitors will ever have seen. Whatever the subject be it a wide Hebridean vista or fragmentary patterns of ice on a frozen beach Joe Cornish with his artist's eye & his dramatic use of light helps us to look at it afresh & reveals new & unsuspected beauties. In the text which accompanies his photographs he explains the aspects of each particular landscape that made it special to him its geology its flora its history or its associations. The result is a stunning book which will delight Cornish's legion of admirers & all those who have found enchantment on Scotland's wonderful coastline. ...

The hills & glens & wild coastline of Scotland s Highlands & Islands offer the ultimate escape one of the last corners of Europe where you can discover genuine solitude. Neil Wilson Lonely Planet Writer Our Promise You can trust our travel information because Lonely Planet authors visit the places we write about each & every edition. We never accept freebies for positive coverage so you can rely on us to tell it like it is. Inside This Book 1 author 53 maps 71 islands Countless scenes of striking beauty Inspirational photos Clear easy-to-use maps Detailed walk routes In-depth background Comprehensive planning tools Easy-to-read layout ...