The Hidden Ways: Scotland's Forgotten Roads

by Alistair Moffat

In The Hidden Ways, Alistair Moffat traverses the lost paths of Scotland - its Roman roads tramped by armies, its warpaths and pilgrim routes, drove roads and rail roads, turnpikes and sea-roads - in a bid to understand how our history has left its mark upon our landscape.

Alistair's travels along the hidden ways reveal not only the searing beauty and magic of the Scottish landscape, but open up a new means of understanding our past: in retracing the forgotten paths, he charts a powerful, surprising and moving history of Scotland through the unremembered lives who have moved through it.

Genres: Scotland, Nonfiction, Travel, History, Walking, Nature, Natural History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2017

About the author

Alistair Moffat is an award winning writer, historian and former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television.

Moffat was educated at the University of St Andrews, graduating in 1972 with a degree in Medieval History. He is the founder of the Borders Book Festival and Co-Chairman of The Great Tapestry of Scotland.

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has taken me on some marvellous journeys and I’ve enjoyed every step of the way. With Alistair Moffat as my guide, I’ve followed in the footsteps of Agricola’s invasion force over the Cheviots, I’ve walked with medieval pilgrims across Fife to St Andrews, I’ve travelled over Highland drove roads and Borders postal routes, and followed in the footsteps of fish wives carrying 50kg creels full of ‘caller herrin’ (fresh herring) on The Herring Road from the fishing port of Dunbar to the inland market town of Lauder - 29 miles in one day over hilly, rough territory in all weathers. And those are just the journeys that stand out for me. With his Pathfinder guides, he beats his way through gorse and forests, falls down embankments and gets many a soaking, all in the interests of walking in the shadows of history. He’s an entertaining companion and I defy anyone reading this not to want to pull on their walking boots and get out into the countryside and into the hills as quickly as possible.

Moffat is on a mission to open up the ‘hidden roads’ of Scotland, to make them accessible to all, to educate and to entertain us on the subject of our multilayered history. If this book is just a start, I can’t wait for what is to come. My first 5 star read of 2019.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moffat takes readers on a journey through some of Scotland's history by following ancient roads--or a rail route in one instance. From Robert the Bruce and Agricola to defending Scotland from German invasion during World War II, Moffat engages the reader by discussing not only the historic information but also the natural resources in the area. While each route contained an overview map of the route, the shortcoming of the book was the lack of photos to help readers unfamiliar with the area picture it. Some stories interested me more than others, but anyone who enjoys Scottish history will enjoy this travelogue. (3.5 stars)

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scotland has a rich and varied history, that if you know where to look, is very visible. Until recently most people there walked everywhere and the paths that they trod are still visible in the landscape if you know where to look. Alistair Moffat is one of those who has been looking for these historical routes in maps and books and most importantly on the ground.

His research has given us this book of ten walks scattered around Scotland each with a particular theme or historical event. Beginning with the path from Loch Tay to the Firth of Tay, called the River Road, Moffat walks and talks us through the history, culture and landscape as he walks the paths. From there he takes us along the Herring Road, the Rail Road, the Road to Ruin and the Road to Heaven.

I really liked the nice hand-drawn maps at the beginning of each of the ten journeys and this is a really enjoyable book about walking historical footpaths. He undertook all of them over the course of a year, in all weathers, with his maps and ever-present cheese sandwiches. More importantly, this is the beginning of a project, provided funding can be sourced, to find more of these routes and to make them safe for more people to walk along with proper signage and so on, with the hope of having public art and apps that tell the history as you follow in the footsteps of others from times past. I hope that the project gets the necessary funding they need for this.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hidden Ways is a journey through Scotland's historically significant but largely forgotten roads and paths. Alistair provides in-depth knowledge of the roads histories and the areas they pass through. It is written in such a way that you feel like you are there with Moffat.
I felt the book started off slow and it took me awhile to get into. However, soon I became invested in Moffat's journeys and learnt much about Scotland's past and the significance a simply road can have.

[FL · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bits of history were interesting enough, especially in the early chapters, but the actual travel writing was dull. It failed to evoke imagery or sense of place, hence why it took me three months to finish.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moffat takes walks on “lost routes” in Scotland and tells us about their history. I never really know how much I can trust his writing as entertaining as it is (and I am not just saying this because of the controversy around his DNA company and claims). He seems to hit on a hypothesis, starts by telling you “he thinks” that this is how it may have been but then in the course of writing he ends up convincing himself that it could have not been any other way. Entertaining yes, but also sometimes a tad annoying. Certainly gave me an idea where to holiday next in Scotland though. So there is that.

[Dr. des. Siobhán · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for my PhD and enjoyed the chapters about places that I knew best. While Moffat tries to weave historical figures and events into the narrative, I found myself both wishing for more comprehensible context as well as less focus on historical figures. I thought the nature writing aspects of the book are quite underdeveloped and the hikes suffer from overbearing historical frameworks. But that is just my personal taste, I found my mind drifting off and not seeing the journey in my mind, which is a bit sad. But maybe my mood's not right. The book is well researched and deserves all the praise. I reckon reading it in one sitting also wasn't a good idea...

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a lovely time reading this book on my own trip to Scotland! It gave me an appreciation for Scottish history and for the pastime of walking that I wouldn't have had otherwise (and I do love a good walk). It inspired me to walk some less trodden paths while I've been here - through bogs, across windy moorlands where there's no one else around but a handful of sheep, through ancient ruins. Part history, part travel memoir, this book was the perfect companion and Alistair Moffat's mix of meandering storytelling and self-deprecating humor made me laugh and smile multiple times reading this book.

[Alan Draycott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the ancient roads this book explores this book is very uneven. The exploration of long lost roads gives the author the chance to tell some wonderful and at least for this reader less well known aspects of Scottish history. Those aspects are superb. Balanced, informative, interesting, everything you need for a good history read.
But then the author lets himself down with the travelogue aspect of the walking of these roads which is pretty atrociously written and self indulgent. A brave editor or less egotistical writer could have a great read on his hands instead of a good one. Still the Scottish history from the Romans to the Campbells, to the agriculture workers and the everyman is well worth the read.

[Carol Hislop · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has given me lots of ideas for walks and the history of the roads was amazing. The book spans from the Roman invasions of Scotland right up to the Second World War and the defences that were put in place at that time. I liked the Drovers Road chapter the most and I'll always think about the sheepdogs making their own ways home throughout the length of Scotland. I was also thrilled to find out that I've been walking my dogs for years on a stretch of a pilgrimage route into St Andrews!

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I learned a lot whilst reading this book. The author weaves history into his walks very eloquently, and covers a great variety of periods of Scottish history.

I felt there was a little too much present day though. And not enough descriptions of the routes so someone could go out and recreate. Some images might have been nice, or even more detailed maps.

[Boy Blue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Moffat is the adorable uncle of Scottish history, he's filled to the brim with anecdotes to delight his audience but like any uncle he can also be interminably boring. Unfortunately, uncle Al seems to lack the ability to know which of his stories make us want to put pins in our eyes and which have us crying with laughter.

In Sea Kingdoms I found him to be strongest when describing natural environments. Someone obviously told him the same thing and so he decided to write a book about walking various parts of Scotland. Unfortunately, his skill with depicting scenery has not translated to a travel narrative well at all. There was just far too much mention of his cheese sandwiches, snuffling around for squares of chocolate in his backpack, and complaining about the gradient of the road and his gammy foot. I found it quite hard to imagine the scenery he was walking through even though it all should have been quite unique.

Another flaw of his approach is that he didn't set out to walk each trail, he'd drive to the trail in his oft mentioned Land Rover and then set out on foot until he got tired and catch a taxi back to where he started. There's few multi-day hikes and his general walking distance isn't that far. In the age of people running the length of Africa etc, commitment to the cause is probably a necessary component. I can see from the Afterword that his goal is to help set up some sort of pilgrim tracks in Scotland on the old ways. It's a great idea but he's not really beaten the path for those to follow. Hardly any of his own adventures showed the trails would be easy to make. Too much private land and treacherous terrain, not to mention a million motorways overlaid on ancient roads. If this was to be the book that launched a thousand walkers to walk the trails of Albion then it missed the mark.

We as the reader definitely benefit from Uncle Al not being a stuffy academic. It means we get flights of fancy like this poem about Maid Lilliard at the Battle of Ancrum Moor in 1545.

Fair Maiden Lilliard lies under this stane,
Little was her stature, but muckle was her fame;
Upon the English loons she laid mony thumps
And when her legs were cuttit off, she fought upon her stumps.

While his lack of academic fustiness does result in some funny moments it also means that Uncle Al gives airtime to things like dowsing, which sure, might have a basis in some sort of subconscious knowledge of terrain but Uncle Al just accepts that anecdotally it's been right for him and doesn't seek to explore why.

It probably would have been nice if Uncle Al had interacted a little more with his contemporaries, such as recent Scottish writers and naturalists. He seems most interested in drawing connections to medieval Scottish history or Roman history which is great but we really need some Nan Shepherd or even more recent writers.

But the main reason to read Moffat's work is the occasional story you get that just blows the mind.

In this book I'm thinking especially of this passage:

There exists a remarkable footnote to the droving years, a memory of journeys made not by the cattle or their masters. Most herds were guided by pastoral dogs, the ancestors of collies, sometimes six or seven of them working together around a large drove. When the reached East Anglia and Lincolnshire, many of the drovers made for the nearest port to buy a passage on a ship sailing north to Scotland. To save trouble and expense, they often left their dogs behind to find their own way home, moving up the length of England and Lowland Scotland, hundreds of miles. These unaccompanied dogs were seen passing through villages and they were fed by innkeepers and farm places where they had overnighted on the way south. The following summer the drovers paid for the food their faithful dogs had eaten the year before.

but there are many others:

During the bitter winter months of short days and long nights, the shepherds who worked in the hills at the heads of the valleys of the Borthwick and Tima Waters, the Ettrick, the Yarrow and Eskdalemuir held an annual chess tournament. Fiercely contested, the prize was an impressive silver cup. But contenders had to make more than an effort of the intellect to win it. The shepherds lived within a twenty-mile radius of each other around the heads of the valleys and each had to take turns to walk to his opponent's cottage to play. And there were no roads, only tracks up and down the hillsides and stony fords across burns and sikes. Fixtures generally took place at the full moon so that players could see to walk home. It must have been a long hike for the losers.

As already displayed with the first extract Moffat has a real soft spot for border collies and their progenitors. There are so many digressions about these hard working dogs.

I asked an old shepherd, splendid in his russet tweed suit, what his dog's name was.
'Blacker'.
Why?
'Because it's blacker than the last yin.'
Which sounded as though there might have been a lack of individual affection. Pride perhaps describes better what the old shepherds feel for their superbly trained dogs.
When I asked the old man if Blacker was particularly clever, he turned and looked at me with a withering eye.
'Clever?' he said.
'That yin could knit you a pullover.'

I'd not heard of Dunure Footprint but he's definitely the most prolific horse in history:

Perhaps the most famouse Clydesdale stallion was Dunure Footprint. He was a breeding phenomenon. At the height of his prodigous powers, he could cover 400 mares in a season, although he was falling off them by the end of the spring. It is reckoned that he sired more than 5,000 foals and consequently his progeny have dominated Clydesdale breeding for generations.

We also get this great section from Tacitus who put this famous speech into the mouth of Calgacus, the leader of the Caledonian Confederacy:

It is no use trying to escape their arrognace by submission or good behaviour. They have pillaged the world: when the land has nothing left for men who ravage everything, they scour the sea. If an enemy is rich, they are greedy, if he is poor, they crave glory. Neither East nor West can sate their appetite. They are the only people on earth to covet wealth and poverty with equal craving. They plunder, they butcher, they ravish, and call it by the lying name of 'Empire'. They make a desert and call it peace.

If those sorts of titbits interest you then maybe this book is for you. You will have to wade through a considerable amount of guff to get to it though, might be better to just walk the trails yourself?

[George1st · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing that shines through this wonderfully engaging and informative book is the love of history, nature and the story of people that Alistair Moffat possesses. His evocative writing on his journeys along these mostly long forgotten and little used pathways of travel somehow manages to create a portal between the past and present. Part travel journal part history of Scotland Moffat's 12 walks takes the reader to the heart and soul of Scotland.

We learn of Roman armies tramping north and medieval pilgrims on route to St Andrews hoping to see the bones of the first disciple called by Christ. Jacobites, women taking herring to market, lost rail lines and Second World War defenses are all encountered. Moffat displays the frustrations, joys and hardships that is inherent in such journeys as accompanied by his OS map he seeks to overcome the lack of signage, impediments and of course the weather. There is much gentle humour displayed throughout the book.

One of the aims of the book is to get people out there, exploring for themselves these lost paths of Scotland and after reading this book one certainly feels the urge to follow Moffat's not so well trod path.

[Alistair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half, eventually.
Alistair Moffat, a Borders baser historian, walks hidden historical paths and trails in Scotland. I don't know the writer, hadn't heard of him or read him before and I found it initially a bit of a slog. He's a slow walker and I think he reflected this in his style, a dawdling pace, with a lot of reflection. I am also not much of a history buff so have to really concentrate on passages which, I think, assumed a bit of awareness of the history he talks about. It was there, but it just took thinking.
But I worked into it. The walk to St Andrews, following a pilgrim tale, was the one which warmed me, and I don't really know why. I know St Andrews so it might be that. Whatever it was, it improved.
Small thing, but I also found the maps a bit wanting, ended up googling the places he was talking about.
All of it made for a learning experience though and I think it did achieve the authors aim - I do look at the places I walk differently, with a thought to what it was like when everyone walked and the world was a bit smaller and slower.

[Moira McPartlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more. I love the premise and I'm interested in the history and the walks but I found the writing hard to get into.

[Andy Weston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed this over the last couple of weeks, in 30 minute chunks at bedtime.
Moffat is primarily a historian, a fact which I knew from The Faded Map: The Story of the Lost Kingdoms of Scotland, and in these two books, he does not go into much depth about anything else. I'm keen for a bit of history, but its too deep for me in places.
He also bears his heart more than his fellow writers do, we get to know all about his idiosyncrasies; how he doesn't like butter on his scones, his religious views, his political leans on certain historical events, and how he absolutely hates OS maps.
The first chapter is by some way the best, as he follows the River Tay as it flows east from the heart of Perthshire. At Fortingall he encounters a graveyard with a Yew Tree aged between 2,000 and 3,000 years old. Recently it bore berries, apparently for the first time, making locals wonder if it has undergone a sex change. More than 500 graveyard Yew Trees in Britain are older than their churches.
The most desirable graves were those next to the tree. One such tree in Sussex in recent years was felled by a huge storm. Upended, its now visible roots had grabbed skeletal remains and pulled them closer and closer to the tree over the years.
Overall though, there is very little writing about nature.

[Cacey Cottrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started the book, I wasn’t sure if I would like it as I had hoped. I had first seen this book soon after it was published when I was in Scotland for the first time doing several long distance hikes. Six years later, I came back to do the Fife Coastal Path on my vacation and finally picked this book up on my way back to work. So the hype was there, but the first chapter felt so all over the place that I didn’t know how I was going to understand anything if the rest of the book was like this. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. However, several chapters dealt with deep history, much of which I didn’t have a strong knowledge of so was in the weeds a bit at times. Will have to go back to some chapters after reading up a bit more to understand them better. I really appreciated the chapters covering areas I had hiked before or navigated in, especially those in Fife that I just hiked through. Plus, the little tidbits about perspectives while hiking, many I had found to be true on my own walks. While I may not have been sold on all the walks, it was pretty enjoyable to learn some history, some culture and what it is to walk through Scotland. 8/10 would recommend

[Estelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even in a landscape with an abundance of footpaths, bridleways and byways, a lot of paths are hidden from the public eye. The situation in Scotland is a bit different. Public rights of way are not marked and identified as such on Ordnance Survey maps. There is no definitive map in Scotland - unlike England and Wales - and rights of way can be lost through a non-use for 20 years or more. In The Hidden Ways Scottish historian Alistair Moffat unveils ten forgotten roads, about half situated south of the Antonine Wall. The Scottish Borders are Moffat’s ancestors territory.

Each hidden or forgotten way is neatly embedded in its history, which is interesting. Moffat is not really a rambler, but het has a good eye for the road and the landscape, often referring to marks on the old Ordnance Survey Pathfinder series. He clearly prefers these one and not the more recent Explorer maps. Sometimes I have the impression Alistair Moffat is in a hurry, willing to end the trip as planned and not spend an extra day along his interesting selection of hidden ways.

The Hidden Ways supposed to be also be a project, but the website gives just an overview of his book and a nice video preview on his walk on the old Roman Dere Street.

I am looking forward reading his book on Lindisfarne, the island of tides.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly interesting and entertaining look through Scottish history via the medium of the 'lost roads' scattered around Scotland. The author has walked these himself, which gives the book a delightful mix of historical fact and the authors own experiences.

I learnt a great deal from this book, before my knowledge of Scottish history was limited to that surrounding the various Jacobite uprisings, but this book allowed me to discover the rich breadth of history that Scotland has to offer from the Romans to the Second World War.

Would heartily recommend to anyone interested in Scottish history, who perhaps wants a different method of learning about the history of the country.

[Gerry Grenfell-Walford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this gentle and diverting amble through the byways of a country that is on the other side of Britain (I live in West Cornwall). It's through walking that we experience the landscape, and through experiencing we engage with those around us and those who have gone before. It's like a trifle or layer cake of history and geography. As a bit of a Mediaevalist nerd I found the section on St Andrew's absolutely fascinating. Naturally more of these walks tend to be in the Scottish Borders - Moffat's home country- and I would have liked to have seen forays in Galloway or Caithness. Still what there was was a nice bit of infotainment to fill in the evenings before bed.

[Graeme Whitton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and it has inspired me to want to visit some of the more remote places in my own country. Not sure I'd walk as far as he did but it'd be fun to do some bits. The reason I've only given it 3 stars is that I did find the writing a bit difficult at times and he did, as others have remarked, sometime s make the landscape fit HIS ideas on where the roads might have been. Enjoyable, all the same, and I'd be happy to read further updates.

[Marni Switzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alistair Moffat has a way of describing the hidden ways of Scotland in a way that makes you feel like you are walking the roads, trails and hills and with him. As someone who is going on a walking holiday in Scotland in a few months, I appreciated learning a little more of the history of this beautiful and sometimes wild place.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A most enjoyable and interesting book. It’s a subject that in the past has fascinated me and the way he interlaces the history with his own experiences makes for good reading. The is no way I would attempt to walk all these old roads, but the Herring Road looks a good candidate as it is near where we will be living by the autumn. I will be reading more of his work in the future.

[Tom Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some fascinating Scottish history. Covers a lot of ground and history even if some of it is a little loosely linked to the walks. A few of the chapters such as the WW2 one and the Roman invasion really stood out. Mildly disappointed that the majority of the walks are based around Edinburgh and the eastern borders. Nae Glasgow and not much west coast?

[Margaret McCulloch-Keeble · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I found it informative without being patronising. I lost myself in checking Google maps and my husband's old OS maps to try to find some of these routes. I've visited one or two of the spots mentioned and enjoyed thinking about them again. I hope some of the pathways do eventually get opened up as long distance footpaths and who knows maybe I'll get to walk one or two.

[Larn E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very readable, notwithstanding a few weird comments (possibly racist at one point?) and the author’s reputation having gone downhill in relation to some highly public untrue comments made relating to his business ventures (which are mentioned a couple of times in the book, indirectly). Needed more visuals/maps really.

[Callum Featherstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book with lots of details about Scottish history, sometimes found it difficult to read (maybe I'm just thick) but the author provided plenty explanation of the Latin & Gaelic words or phrases
And thanks to this book I've now got a few more to read from the authors recommendations.

I would love the chance to actually get out and walk some of these routes.

[Armelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and often interesting, but really more of a history book than a travel book, which was a disappointment to me.

Also, the little maps at the beginning of each chapter were frustratingly useless unless you already know the geography of Scotland.

[Diana Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting account of the author’s long walks along some of the ancient roads of Scotland. Highly descriptive you can imagine the landscape and history as you read. I admire the stamina of Alistair Moffat, the miles he covered over some challenging terrain.

[Josep Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a rare book: both interesting and accessible, it made me want to follow the footsteps of the author... which is what a book like this is supposed to achieve.