This is a lovely well-written book, but it is only tangentially a wildlife and nature book so I’ll use a few words to tell you about it and leave it at that.
The author walks through some of the most attractive parts of Scotland, although mostly in rather dreary autumn weather, and tracks down places which feature in folklore. He camps a lot, stays in a few bothies and just now and again has a proper bath. To the extent that I felt that I got to know the author, I liked him – I liked him a lot. He’d be the type of person I’d like to meet by accident – it would be a treat. He visited quite a few places and landscapes I know north of the Great Glen, out west and along the A9.
Of course there is wildlife in this book – folklore is full of it – from Red Deer and Reindeer to Boar and Wolves, with Golden Eagles, Ravens and an old shark too.
As is often the case with a journey, particularly a lone journey, the occasional folk met along the way add brief changes of focus and variety to the narrative. It’s always exciting when the protagonist is given a lift by a strange character with a drink problem and I liked the impression made by the Americans from Iowa.
I really enjoyed my dip into Scottish folklore, the landscape that houses its memories and the tramping of the author’s boots on soggy ground.
The cover? I’d give it a 7/10.
The Bone Cave: a journey through myth and memory by Dougie Strang is published by Berlinn.
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Buy direct from Blackwell’s – a proper bookshop (and I’ll get a little bit of money from them)
