Along The Divide, Chris Townsend

Along The Divide by Chris Townsend (Sandstone Press) tells the story of what Townsend encountered in 2015, between the Scottish Independence referendum and the Brexit referendum, when he walked along the ‘wild spine’ of Scotland — along the Southern Uplands to the Central Lowlands, to the Great Glen and northern mountains. And yet despite this spectacular scenery at this book’s core, today it’s the page about Townsend’s new found love of Edinburgh that stood out, praising its tangled streets and art galleries, the castle and the National Library all looked upon from Arthur’s Seat.

Perhaps it’s a recognition of the good homo sapiens have done and can still do. A gentle reminder that as well as taking up our responsibility to care for the planet and heal the wounds we’ve inflicted in our uphill stomp towards unsustainable industrial growth, we can still express an honest love for the contributions we’ve made — the beautiful buildings and cultural landmarks as well as the hills that rise up between them.

Along The Divide was kindly donated by The John Muir Trust during our time at their Wild Space in Pitlochry back in February. also known as six years ago.

Chris Townsend is a passionate hillwalker and author of over 20 books and a long-term contributor to The Great Outdoors magazine. He is also currently Hillwalking Ambassador for the British Mountaineering Council.