Upland

<h3>'Fascinating and lyrical . . . A beautifully written celebration of a lifelong passion' – Stephen Venables</h3> <p>The relationship of people with hills and mountains has been complex, rich and varied – from awe and wonder to fear and loathing, from spiritual longing to peaceful acceptance.</p> <p>As he explores our high places, Ian Crofton conjures up those who have been there before: Neolithic axe-makers, mass trespassers, shepherds, quarrymen, botanists, poets and pioneering cragsmen and women among them. At the same time, he is ever attuned to the present moment – a flash of bright moss in a bog, the swoop of an eagle above a skyline, a winter sun sinking into a sea of cloud.</p> <p>Following an arc from the gentle Downs of southern England to the wild peaks of Scotland's far north, Upland combines personal experiences with a keen curiosity about the history and nature of mountain landscapes, and the people who once worked and wandered among them. The result is a meditation on the enduring yet ever-changing hills, on the transience of human experience, and on the shifts and twists of time itself.</p> <p>Locations included:</p> <ul> <li>Chilterns (following The Ridgeway)</li> <li>Malverns</li> <li>Snowdon</li> <li>Peak District</li> <li>Pennines</li> <li>Lake District</li> <li>Ben Nevis</li> <li>The Cuillin, Skye</li> <li>Assynt (Suilven)</li> <li>Cairngorms</li> </ul>