Comment

The Debatable Land

the Lost World Between Scotland and England
Jul 31, 2018INVS rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I anxiously waited for this book & am reluctant to turn it in on time because it's packed with historic fact & a bit of trivia that not all might enjoy. Once I knew he was writing about an area I tried to cross - Carlisle to Durham or any point on the east coast rail line - I had to read this. I love the delightfully named places like Skurrlywarble or learn what 'cock a snook' means. On page 89 regarding tracing boundaries....'so minutely recorded that they seem to rise from the darkness of Border history like gold leaf on a medieval parchment.' Beautiful visual use of language. Page 92 describing the #127 bus route scenery...the road descends into a ravine which is currently patrolled by an untethered Alsatian, a friend neither to walker or cyclist.' LOL till the tears ran because of the visual imagery. The first time I learned what/who Reivers were was from a painting & postcard by Tom Scott 'A Reiver's Ride' at Hawick Museum, so this too drew me in. Now I have a bit of the family history for the inhabitants, familiar names to any American. Nixon, Armstrong, Elliott, Graham are a few. Sometimes I skimmed, often I dug out the OS map or old timetables, journal notes & always a good map Great Britain. Yes, I enjoyed the read.