Ian Crofton was born in Edinburgh and after a long career working away once again lives in Scotland, his new book contemplating the potential rupture of two countries, Scotland and England, together since 1603. He walks along the border, set when King James I/VI ascended the throne over 400 years ago, a wild land, ideal border country perhaps – but what are borders, set by their geography or political map-drawing? Our world is beset with border conflict, why now – why us?
Walking the Border A Journey Between Scotland and England Synopsis
In this book Ian Crofton makes a journey on foot from Gretna Green in the southwest to Berwick in the northeast, following as close as possible the Anglo-Scottish Border as it has been fixed since the union of the crowns in 1603. Much of the line of the Border runs through a wild, overwhelmingly unvisited no man's land - the sort of trackless waste perfect for keeping two belligerent peoples apart? During the course of his journey Ian Crofton considers a number of questions how 'natural' are borderlines? Sometimes they follow physical barriers, sometimes an arbitrary line on a map, the compromise made by some committee of distant diplomats.
Ian Crofton was born in Edinburgh and worked for Collins in Glasgow before moving to London, where he has been a freelance writer and editor for 25 years. Previous books include Brewer’s Dictionary of Curious Titles;Brewer’s Britainand Ireland (with John Ayto); Brewer’s Cabinet of Curiosities, A Dictionary of Art Quotations, History without the Boring Bits; Science without the Boring Bits; A Dictionary of Scottish Quotations.