Native Stranger: A Journey in Familiar and Foreign Scotland

by Alastair Scott

After ten years of wanderlust which took him to nearly seventy countries around the world, Alastair Scott decided it was time to make 'home' his destination. Resolving to explore Scotland and the Scottish people in as much depth and breadth as possible, the author drew up an itinerary which would take him from the outermost isle to the innermost city, sampling the experiences of modern Scotland in all their diversity.

Encompassing issues of the land, eccentrics in castles, the state of the Gaidheal, homelessness in Edinburgh, and all the idiosyncrasies of history, development and decline in between, Scott's journey covered four thousand miles of island, mountain and lowland. The variety of place and circumstance was exceeded only by that of the characters encountered en route. The result is a detailed and engrossing portrait of contemporary Scotland, and of one man's rediscovery of his native land.

Genres: Travel, Cultural, Scotland

352 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 1996

Reviews

[Del · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been dipping in and out of this over the last few months, and I've enjoyed taking my time with it, because it's acted as a sort of time capsule. I first read this back in the 90s when I picked it up in my local library. Travel writers weren't really a thing back then, not like they are now anyway - I hadn't even heard of Bill Bryson at this point - so the idea of some guy tramping around Scotland and reporting on anything and everything seemed like a novel idea to me. I remember being slightly bemused by some of his views (the specifics escape me these days, it's just an impression I remember being left with). Reading it again all these years later, I still found some things I was at odds with him on, but I'm probably closer in age to what he was when he wrote this, and I found we agreed on most things. Although, who's to say Scott himself hasn't changed his mind on a variety of the topics he touched on here, in the years that have passed. It's a likelihood I find pleasing.

The book is a stark reminder of how much Scotland has changed since its publication. The independence movement is referenced at a few points throughout, but only in passing, which seems crazy considering how the last couple of decades have panned out, politically, for the country. The indy debate, though, is only a small part of what Scott wants to discuss though; he's more interested in national identity in general: The Debatable Lands, so called because they had changed hands with every change of fortune in the medieval Scottish-English Wars, were where I perceived the greatest degree of Scottish consciousness. Yet even here, where I had expected national feeling to be most rampant, it was dressed in local colours. The precedence of belonging was always: first town or island, then region, then country. And the further people lived from the seat of government, the more deeply rooted their local allegiances became. With the exception of national displays of eating and drinking (Burns Night and Hogmanay), our country's customs and festivals, such as the Common Ridings and Highland Games, are all primarily municipal celebrations. On deeper reflection, my initial disappointment at not finding a greater display of national awareness across the country gave way to a growing sense of reassurance, for the preservation of our smallest differences, I realised, could only add to the enduring distinction of the whole, of being a Scot. Scottish consciousness is safest with local roots.

Politics aside, though, it's everything a good travelogue should be; moving, enlightening, amusing, infuriating... and featuring an assorted cast of vagabonds and eccentrics.

[Colin Slider · Rating 3 out of 5]

as an expat Scot myself I could relate to much of the book - but would have preferred more depth rather than just fleeting glances - tried to fit in too much