Silver Travel Book Club - January 2021
92 people found this feature helpful
Each month, we'll explore a different destination, and lucky Silver Travel Book Club readers can win a free copy of the month's book.
This month
the Silver Travel Book Club – proudly sponsored by Viking – is reading The Summer Isles: A Voyage of the Imagination by
Philip Marsden.
A lyrical and evocative account of Philip Marsden’s personal solo journey in a wooden sailboat from Cornwall to a small Scottish archipelago, The Summer Isles: A Voyage of the Imagination resounds with colourful characters and poetic descriptions.
Giving a fascinating insight into the history, literature, and mythology of the Celts and their land, the author takes readers on a journey to the mysterious harbours and haunting headlands that he so skilfully navigated on his voyage along the wild west shores of Ireland and Scotland.
Explore the entire British Isles during
Viking’s British
Isles Explorer cruise, with
overnight stays in Bergen and Greenwich. See the famed Shetland ponies on
Shetland Island, keep an eye out for the Loch Ness Monster in the Scottish
Highlands and enjoy an exceptionally rare glimpse into the Scottish royal
history of Broomhall House in Edinburgh. In the Orkney Islands, you may choose
to partake in a whisky tasting at Highland Park, the world’s most northerly
whisky distillery, or try your hand at making your own craft gin. And in
Belfast explore the majesty and mystery of the Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. Follow in the footsteps of the Beatles while in Liverpool,
discover the rich history of Dublin, and witness Welsh culture in Snowdonia on
this 15-day itinerary.
For full details of the itinerary, dates
and prices please click here.
And for information on other Viking holidays on rivers and oceans around the world please click here.
How to win a copy of 'The Summer Isles' by Philip Marsden
Simply add a comment at the end of this page to tell us what the British or Irish coastlines mean to you. What are your own memories and experiences of beautiful, wild Celtic or other locations?
The five best entries will win a copy of this book.
Read more about all of our Silver Travel Book Club books.
92 people found this feature helpful
Read more
What are your thoughts?
To leave a comment, please Sign inOther Members' Thoughts - 52 Comment(s)
Want to relax go to somewhere peaceful in The Lake District, or for something for adventurous there are many places to choose if you enjoy Fairground rides, An animal or two, or maybe indulge yourself with some special food like a clotted cream tea or maybe a special seafood salad with crab, prawns, whelks, cockles etc. What more could you wish for maybe a visit to an Historic House or Castle and visit the wonderful gardens and may buy a plant or two.
Later taking the short ferry to Clare Island,I meandered along the quiet deserted one and only road. Isolated, scattered cottages a woman sitting at a spinning wheel in her garden, I stop and we pass the time of day, she is spinning wool from her own sheep, the pale pink y orangey colour of the wool comes from its being soaked in rhubarb root which she proudly shows me. .
Time stands still in this part of the world and for a a short while so did I
Seventy years earlier, in May 1945, a few days after the end of war in Europe, my Dad ‘s ship, HMS Byron, was anchored in Loch Eriboll. Thirty-three U Boats sailed into the loch to surrender to the group of Royal Navy ships waiting there. Dad wrote a letter home describing the wild beauty of the loch and its surroundings.
We found that the loch had changed so little in seventy years that we could identify features he’d mentioned in his letter, including a white cottage nestled into the hill that sloped down to the water. It was such a peaceful scene that was hard to imagine the loch crowded with ships and submarines, all bearing scars of war.
West of Loch Eriboll we found coves of pristine sand and grassy cliffs covered with orchids. A minibus bounced us 11 miles over rough tracks to Cape Wrath. The view was picture- perfect: the sea pushing against cliffs that marched to a misty horizon. On a stormy day it would have been a fearful sight, but the sun shone on gentle waves. Past and present came together and I could almost see, in the distance, a wartime convoy on its way to Russia, protected by my Dad’s ship.
I also walk up and down the coast with my dog, enjoying the ever changing scenery. This coast has the third highest tidal range in the world which makes for rapid changes which adds to the interest
I love the feel of the sand between my toes as well as the tickle of soft springy grass on the headland. Eating locally caught fish, straight out of the package, [with salty chips], in the company of my wonderful husband just finishes off a perfect day.
Anthony