The Summer Walkers: Travelling People and Pearl-fishers in the Highlands of Scotland

by Timothy Neat, Hamish Henderson (Contributor)

The Summer Walkers is the name the crofters of Scotland's north-west Highlands gave the Travelling People - the itinerant tinsmiths, horse-dealers, hawkers and pearl fishers who made their living 'on the road'. They are not gypsies, but are indigenous Gaelic-speaking Scots, who, to this day, remain heirs of a vital and ancient culture. The Summer Walkers documents an archetypal and vanishing way of life.

Genres: History, Scotland, Folklore

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1996

About the author

Timothy Neat was born and brought up in Cornwall. He completed a degree in Fine Art at the University of Leeds and moved to Scotland in 1968. From 1973 to 1988, he lectured in History of Art at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee. During his time there, he became the founder-editor of a fine-art periodical called Seer.

Also well known as a filmmaker, Neat made a number of independent films and documentaries, including The Summer Walkers (1976), Hallaig (1984), Play Me Something (1989) and Walk Me Home (1993).

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

Really loved this book, its lavish illustrations and its varied portraits of a wide cross-section of individuals. It felt unbiased in its presentation, although I'm sure that's an error in my own perception. I had one wacky experience in the middle of reading it when, during some description or other of Hamish Henderson turning up to interview people, I *longed* to have done my folklore fieldwork in the middle of the 20th century rather than at the end - just found myself longing for the simple application of notebook and tape-recorder, willing ears and an isolated community. I am not really an academic folklorist nor a fieldworker and this is kind of a false nostalgia, but it's a testament to the strength of this book that not only does it document the folk culture of the mid-20th century Travellers, but it also documents the folk culture of the scholars who were interested in recording their lore.

Impossible for me to read this without bringing my own agenda to it. But it's a loving, honest and thorough collection of individual portraits of people who knew and enjoyed a way of life that has changed drastically in recent years (due to a number of things, but notably changes in transport and education laws).

This book also gives a terrific ethnographic overview of the Scottish pearl fishing industry (if you can call it that) in the twentieth century, the factors that caused its demise, and a bit about the ecological state of the Scottish river mussel (now desperately endangered) today.

[Elinor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating piece of historical research into two distinct types of summer nomads who once roamed the Scottish Highlands: the "Travellers" who behaved more like gypsies (although they are not Roma gypsies, but ethnic Scots with roots going back to ancient times, often called tinkers); and the "Pearl Fishers" who once made their living by finding pearls in the mussels that thrived in the Scottish rivers (alas, mussels are sadly depleted now and pearl fishing is banned).
In the early days, they travelled by horse and wagon and slept in tents; in the latter years, they drove cars but still camped out. This entire way of life petered out in the 1970s and now most of their descendants are settled in permanent homes.
The book made history come alive through the first-person accounts of those who lived through the glory days of travelling around Scotland every summer, and the liberal use of old photographs.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book. An invaluable treasure.

From The Summer Walkers: Travelling People and Pearl-Fishers in the Highlands of Scotland by Timothy Neat.

Nineteen fifty seven was a summer with a good deal of sunshine. We had wonderful times. I had the Landrover, I could drive where I pleased but I enjoyed joining in, working with the horses, putting up the big bow-tents, loading the carts for the road, being there to capture the essence of life as the Travellers lived it. I remember one milky white night when we were camped on a little plateau, high above a cliff looking out across the Pentland Firth. The tents were set out along a gently sloping piece of lawn-like grass about what seemed an endless sea of heather: Ailidh Dall was playing the pipes. Couples began dancing. An eightsome reel got underway. All the family joined in, and the lines of the dancers gradually widened and the couples swinging spread out in great parabolas down the slope and away into the heather. It as a night that will stay imprinted on my mind as long as I live. So far north in summertime the darkness is always incomplete; on a clear night one has to look hard to see the stars. I danced with Essie. She was sixteen then, with Mary her mother, with Black Anne, with her daughter Joanne. The tents were humped round a semi-circle and at a short distance, the horses watched us. With the heather in bloom, the perfume coming off ‘the flower on the mountain’ seemed to become substantial in the dewy air. I went back to my small tent thinking, ‘Life is good – life is very good like this.’

– Hammish Henderson, collector of songs and stories, p. 75

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister lent me this book, good read but what I really enjoyed reading was the section on Beurla Reagaird, I speak it Beurla Reagaird and heard it spoken, but this is the first time I actually see it in print as in a book [It's in the Glossary Section of 'The Summer Walkers']

[Smathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book about Travellers and Pearl Fishers in the north of Scotland, the way they lived, their occupations and values. The characters were recorded in the mid-late 20th century talking about themselves and their ancestors. Commonly perceived as impoverished and ignorant, they actually had a rich culture of music and storytelling and many were strictly God-fearing.
Their way of life has died out but elderly Scottish people will remember the ‘tinkers’ who were very much appreciated for bringing goods and skills to remote locations, as well as for their songs and stories.
The Pearl fishers found pearls in freshwater mussels in Scottish rivers. They are still much prized and valuable, but nearly impossible to find nowadays.

[Stephen Twist · Rating 3 out of 5]

As may be seen from the two months it took for me to complete, for me it was not a riveting read, perhaps because of my lack of reference to and empathy with the characters that abound. But for a glimpse back to the lesser-known 20th century travelling people of the Highlands, Timothy Neat's richly illustrated book provides a cornucopia of songs, poems, tales and stories, each account recorded in the voice of the teller. As such, it is a significant and important record of the lost breed of Highland travellers and tinkers, and of the Highland streams that the pearl fishers trawled for river mussels.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am interested to learn more about Scottish Travellers. I read folklore from Duncan Williamson and Shelia Stewart, it was wonderful to hear more of their history. I specifically enjoyed the chapter on Deaths, Cures and Medicine, to hear personal accounts of the health difficulties that were encountered while travelling and the remedies that are used to heal all sorts of aliments. Enjoyable and educational read!

[Allegra Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fascinated by this study of itinerant pearl fishers in Scotland. The photographs, the oral histories, the legends. A life on the road, a livelihood looking for treasure. It's not an easy life, but it's an adventurous one. Captivating.

[Morag · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful insight into a lost way of life. I've travelled the same roads many times and now i'd like to do it all again with a bow tent instead of a bus.