Upland: A Journey through Time and the Hills of Britain

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.

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 ...