In the Land of Giants: Journeys through Dark Age Britain

433 Pages·2015·60.42 MB·English

by  Max Adams

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www.headofzeus.com
MEIGLE
FOR SARAH, WITH LOVE
Wondrous is this stone wall, wrecked by fate;
The city buildings crumble, the works of giants decay.
Roofs have caved in, towers collapsed,
Barren gates are broken, hoar frost clings to mortar,
Houses are gaping, tottering and fallen,
Undermined by age.1
KILMORY
Contents
Cover
Welcome Page
Dedication
Author’s note
Prologue: It is written
CHAPTER ONE: The kingdom of Dál Riata: Rothesay to Kilmartin
Interlude Gilsland to Haltwhistle
CHAPTER TWO: Marches: Telford to Wrexham
Interlude Haltwhistle to Hotbank
CHAPTER THREE: Looking for giants: London to Sutton Hoo
Interlude Once Brewed to Warden Hill
CHAPTER FOUR: Eda Frandsen: Falmouth to Mallaig
Interlude A Corbridge circular
CHAPTER FIVE: Heroes: Wareham to Yatton
Interlude Walking on the Wall on the spot
CHAPTER SIX: Time among the Britons: Anglesey to Bardsey Island
Interlude The Tyne : Hexham to Ovingham
CHAPTER SEVEN: Sense of place: Donegal
Interlude Ovingham to Newcastle
CHAPTER EIGHT: Speed: Meigle to Canterbury
Interlude Newcastle to Jarrow
CHAPTER NINE: Midwinter: York to Whitby
Postscript: Who are the British?
Preview
Acknowledgements
Plate section
Front endpaper map
Back endpaper map
Appendix One Journey distances
Appendix Two Timeline
Notes
Recommended reading
About In the Land of Giants
Reviews
About Max Adams
Also by Max Adams
An Invitation from the Publisher
Copyright
Author’s note
A FEW WORDS of explanation are required. The ten journeys took place over
seventeen months between October 2013 and March 2015. With two exceptions
they appear in chronological order. The sea voyage on Eda Frandsen and the
motorbike trip, both for logistical reasons, took place out of kilter. I have put
them where I intended they should be and hope that the reader doesn’t find the
result disconcerting. The interlude walks took place as and when I could fit them
in.
At the end of the book is a record of the mileages for each walk: these include
accidental diversions and getting lost; all have been measured with a map wheel
apart from the sea voyage, for which the data were kindly supplied by James
Mackenzie; and the two bike trips, which I measured on the bike’s milometer.
All the photographs in the book were taken on the journeys as described.
Inline photographs illustrate the text where appropriate; the gallery sections are
divided into themes, and readers are invited to make of them what they will. The
family of the young boy who accidentally jumped into the frame of a photograph
taken at Din Lligwy will, I very much hope, forgive me for including the image
in the gallery. He seemed to evoke perfectly the spirit of the place.
The maps are intended to give an idea of the routes taken and the distances
covered each day. I have added some Early Medieval detail where appropriate.
With one exception I have used as my base maps the very excellent Reader’s
Digest Atlas of Great Britain, long since out of print but a jewel of cartography
and a treasure of information.
At the very end of the book is a short section of recommended reading.
Explanations of potentially unfamiliar words have been incorporated into the
Notes (pages 433–42) as appropriate.
Prologue: It is written
Hadrian’s Wall—Birdoswald fort—the Dark Ages begin—life after the end of the
Roman Empire—natives and legions—granaries and mead halls—St Patrick and
Arthur—Gildas and Bede—‘the Ruin’—a series of journeys