In this episode I talk to Will Herman about his new book Northern Horizons. The book explores the hills of Cumbria and Scotland in a series of personal reflections illustrated with the author’s photography. Will has been a fell racer, a runner, a kayaker and a climber - but his book is primarily about mountain experiences themselves. He takes us on long and often unusual routes which are woven with detail of these precious places and some of their wider human and geologic history.

Northern Horizons will be published by Scottish Mountaineering Press on 17th February 2025. Much more than a guidebook, we are transported to the hills, and for many this book will both trigger memories and bring inspiration for future adventures. 

In discussing the book we delve into the history of the land: the Clearances, deforestation, changing land use as well as changing modern attitudes to these wild spaces which are increasingly commodified and commercialised. 

Northern Horizons can be pre-ordered online, and will be in bookshops from the 17th February.

Will has a website at www.runswithaxes.com which gives further information on his writing and photography.

Correction - I translated A’Chailleach as ‘witch’ when it is more accurately ‘the old woman’. The stories in the book The Bone Cave by Dougie Strang that I mention often feature a witch figure ‘A’Chailleach’.

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