An island hopping adventure
Jonny Muir is an adventurer, runner, writer and proponent of UK-inspired travel. Bemused by a weatherman branding the west coast islands of Scotland “nowheresville” , Jonny decided to prove him wrong, quit his job and embarked on a journey which has sparked a new book…
His background dictated that this would be no ordinary adventure. In 2006 he visited the UK’s 91 historic county tops in a continuous 5000-mile cycling and walking adventure over a three-month period. His first book, Heights of Madness, published in 2009, is an account of that unique journey.
Publishers release
His new book, Isles at the Edge of the Sea, is a celebration of these islands, from the people who inhabit such fragile, wild places, to the ever-changing vistas created by the collision of land, sea and sky. Jonny discovers lands of immense beauty, teeming with wildlife, boasting deep, bloody histories – isles that would not look out of place in a faraway ocean, but actually lie on our doorstep.
An enthusiastic advocate of travel in the UK, Jonny found himself irresistibly drawn to the hundreds of wondrously-shaped islands that rise off the western fringe of Scotland. Isles at the Edge of the Sea is the story of his solo journey through this extraordinary island maze, a riveting and intensely personal travelogue of a young man’s exploration of the Firth of Clyde and Hebridean islands.
At the Jura race
Quitting his job and trying the patience of his girlfriend, Jonny sets out from Arran with a single objective: to reach the distant St Kilda archipelago, a group of hauntingly-beautiful isles at the western extremity of the UK, known as ‘the islands on the edge of the world’.
On the way Jonny attempts to finds his inner peace on Holy Island, takes part in a punishing foot race across the mountains of Jura, confronts the Inaccessible Pinnacle on Skye and walks along the white-sand beach on Berneray that became the face of a Thai tourism campaign.
But island life is not without its challenges. ‘Man-eating’ midges live up to their reputation on Rum. An Atlantic storm threatens to rip his tent to shreds on Barra – with him inside. Wicked weather lashes the Outer Hebrides, leaving Jonny’s prospects of reaching St Kilda balanced on a knife-edge.
Jonny said:
“The west coast islands of Scotland are spectacular. There is beauty here like nowhere else: white-sand beaches, astonishing sunsets, shimmering lochs, jagged mountains and rugged moor, all beneath vast, empty skies. Many times I was left thinking that there was nowhere on Earth I’d rather be.”
Eilidh Smith of Sandstone Press commented:
“Jonny has an amazing ability to convey the rich experiences and moments of discovery of place and self in an engaging and thought provoking way. This is more than a diary of his trip, at every turn there is a personal, life-enhancing insight that manages to reflect his wonder and delight at what he discovers. I don’t think anyone reading this book would not feel immediately compelled to visit the islands in Isles at the Edge of the Sea, unless they already live there, of course. Lucky folk.”
Sandstone Press is a publisher of non-fiction and fiction books. Based in Highland Scotland, the company is characterized by high editorial and design standards, internationalism and a strong engagement with the contemporary world using modern methods. For more information visit www.sandstonepress.com
Isles at the Edge of the Sea is published by Sandstone Press, RRP £8.99 ISBN 978-1-905207-61-9
