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The Scottish Islands
Packed with information on access, anchorages, points of historical or natural interest, and things to see and do, this fascinating compendium provides indispensable information for touring, browsing, reference, and for all those travellers who wish to sail to some of the most beautiful and remote places in the world.
Hardcover
First published September 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 10, 2020
This book is an encyclopedia of all of Scotland's thousands of islands. Each island of more than 40 hectares in area - roughly 160 in total - is given its own section, with paragraphs on its history, geology, wildlife and landforms & settlements of interest; as well as a list of possible spots to land and moor a boat. This covers all those larger ones inhabited today, right down to green lumps which have never seen permanent habitation. Hundreds more even smaller islets and skerries smaller than 40 hectares are mentioned, perhaps with a separate paragraph if one harbours a notable feature - a ruined chapel or Iron Age fort maybe, or an impressive sea cave. A map of each island and its surrounding waters is provided, and Haswell-Smith's own watercolour drawings, printed in vibrant colour, are interspersed throughout the book. Locations like Skye which are connected by road to the mainland are not considered to be 'islands' by the author, but most are included in appendices anyway. Likewise for islands like Staffa or the Flannan archipelago which are smaller than 40 hectares but would have been too interesting not to include.
Each island's section follows the same structure of paragraphs; this can become repetitive but Haswell-Smith manages to keep things fresh with his lush and colourful prose. Here and there he tells of local island legends, or of a particularly characterful island local he got to know, or how he got into difficulty in a storm while navigating to a particularly remote island. Such friendly anecdotes give the book another angle: as well as functioning as an encyclopaedia it can also satisfy the armchair traveler; I read it in this capacity. I imagine it would also be of use to someone wishing to explore some of the most remote, uninhabited islets - if not to provide navigational and geographical information then to spark some ideas, at least. I believe 'island bagging' is becoming quite popular nowadays.
I particularly enjoyed Haswell-Smith's focus on the islands' toponymies. He provides translations of the names of the islands themselves, as well as the names of their landscape features: mountains, valleys, hamlets, satellite skerries. Interestingly, most of the islands' names are derived from Old Norse due to early Viking influence (with the common suffix 'ay' - in 'Berneray' for example - being transliterated from 'øy', meaning 'island') while the landforms and settlements usually have Gaelic names. Some of the translations are quite poetic, and it's nice to appreciate a multitude of rough and raw Gaelic words.
Be aware: the prime purpose of The Scottish Islands is to celebrate the smaller, often-overlooked islets. Of course, the larger, densely-populated islands are still given their own sections, but those sections are not necessarily larger in proportion to their larger land areas. For example, Mull is given nine pages, while Tanera Mór - one of the Summer Isles, less than one hundredth the area of Mull - is given three. The maps have a similar problem: those showing the smaller islands are much more detailed than those of the larger islands. The author himself writes a disclaimer about this disproportionate representation; his reasoning is that there already exist plenty of books and travel guides about the larger islands, so he prefers not to repeat information they already contain. This makes perfect sense, but reading it as an armchair traveler I was somewhat vexed by the more scanty coverage of those larger islands I myself had visited - those I had a personal connection with.
In spite of this, I still found it an enjoyable read, simultaneously satisfying my obsessions with maps, islands and mountains.
Each island's section follows the same structure of paragraphs; this can become repetitive but Haswell-Smith manages to keep things fresh with his lush and colourful prose. Here and there he tells of local island legends, or of a particularly characterful island local he got to know, or how he got into difficulty in a storm while navigating to a particularly remote island. Such friendly anecdotes give the book another angle: as well as functioning as an encyclopaedia it can also satisfy the armchair traveler; I read it in this capacity. I imagine it would also be of use to someone wishing to explore some of the most remote, uninhabited islets - if not to provide navigational and geographical information then to spark some ideas, at least. I believe 'island bagging' is becoming quite popular nowadays.
I particularly enjoyed Haswell-Smith's focus on the islands' toponymies. He provides translations of the names of the islands themselves, as well as the names of their landscape features: mountains, valleys, hamlets, satellite skerries. Interestingly, most of the islands' names are derived from Old Norse due to early Viking influence (with the common suffix 'ay' - in 'Berneray' for example - being transliterated from 'øy', meaning 'island') while the landforms and settlements usually have Gaelic names. Some of the translations are quite poetic, and it's nice to appreciate a multitude of rough and raw Gaelic words.
Be aware: the prime purpose of The Scottish Islands is to celebrate the smaller, often-overlooked islets. Of course, the larger, densely-populated islands are still given their own sections, but those sections are not necessarily larger in proportion to their larger land areas. For example, Mull is given nine pages, while Tanera Mór - one of the Summer Isles, less than one hundredth the area of Mull - is given three. The maps have a similar problem: those showing the smaller islands are much more detailed than those of the larger islands. The author himself writes a disclaimer about this disproportionate representation; his reasoning is that there already exist plenty of books and travel guides about the larger islands, so he prefers not to repeat information they already contain. This makes perfect sense, but reading it as an armchair traveler I was somewhat vexed by the more scanty coverage of those larger islands I myself had visited - those I had a personal connection with.
In spite of this, I still found it an enjoyable read, simultaneously satisfying my obsessions with maps, islands and mountains.
Currently reading
December 25, 2025I won't be reading this textbook like a novel. I'll be reading it piecemeal so I expect it will be on my currently reading shelf for some time.
October 9, 2015
The most comprehensive book of maps that I could find of these beautiful islands. I love the way the author has divided the area for little "chunks" of the islands. I could easily flip back to the main map for each island and see its orientation to the rest. I love these maps!
However, I have read an older edition of this book than the one listed here on goodreads, and will be searching for the updated one. I can't wait!
However, I have read an older edition of this book than the one listed here on goodreads, and will be searching for the updated one. I can't wait!
October 13, 2014
A marvelous book for the armchair traveler and the trip planner. Detailed information on 162 islands. Supplemented by lovely watercolor illustrations and pen and ink drawings. This is essentially a reference book but every page has some fascinating information that will keep reader entranced for hours.
February 22, 2013
One of the most beautiful books I have on my bookshelf. A beautifully illustrated and perfected book about each of the Islands of Scotland.
January 29, 2017
This is my favourite book of countless books I've read. The amount of loving detail draws me in again and again, the poor old book is getting quite battered now but much loved. Wonderful.
April 14, 2017
Not so much a book to read as one to sink into, preferably with a map beside you to help plan trips. The diversity of islands around Scotland is quite breathtaking, both in terms of their sizes and inhabitants, but also in terms of their ownerships (who knew Buddhist monks favoured islands in the Clyde?).
It's hard to read this book without being reminded of DH Lawrence's short story "The man who loved islands". Anyone who loves them won't be disappointed.
It's hard to read this book without being reminded of DH Lawrence's short story "The man who loved islands". Anyone who loves them won't be disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews