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    Between the Sunset and the Sea: A View of 16 British Mountains
    Between the Sunset and the Sea: A View of 16 British Mountains
    Between the Sunset and the Sea: A View of 16 British Mountains
    Audiobook18 hours

    Between the Sunset and the Sea: A View of 16 British Mountains

    Written by Simon Ingram

    Narrated by Robbie MacNab

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    ‘I watched the mirror for a last view, for now, of the frozen mountains of Glen Coe. As the road bent and the outline of Buachaille Etive Mor slid into sight, I did what I always did, and always would. I felt for that flutter of awe and that indefinable, unmistakable quickening of the pulse.’

    In the late 18th century, mountains shifted from being universally reviled to becoming the most inspiring things on earth. Simply put, the monsters became muses – and an entire artistic movement was born. This movement became a love affair, the love affair became an obsession, and gradually but surely, obsession became lifestyle as mountains became stitched into the fabric of the British cultural tapestry.

    In his compelling new book, Simon Ingram explores how mountains became such a preoccupation for the modern western imagination, weaving his own adventures into a powerful narrative which provides a kind of experiential hit list for people who don’t have the time nor the will to climb a thousand mountains.

    For some of these mountains, the most amazing thing about them might be the journey they’ve taken to get here. Others, the tales of science, endeavour and art that have played out on their slopes. The mythology they’re drenched in. The history they’ve seen. The genius they’ve inspired. The danger that draws people to them. The life that clusters around them, human and otherwise. The extreme weather they conjure. The adventure they fuel. The way that some raise the hairs on the back of your neck, and trigger powerful, strange emotions. And moreover, what they’re like to be amidst, under, on – just what that indefinable quality is that the British mountains wield which takes possession of you so powerfully, and never goes away.

    Ingram takes us high into the rafters of Britain’s most forbidding, unflinching and unchanging wild places through all the seasons of the year – from the first blush of spring to the deepest, darkest bite of the mountain winter. From Beinn Dearg to Ben Nevis, he takes us on a journey spanning sixteen of Britain’s most evocative mountainous landscapes, and what they mean to us today.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateMar 12, 2015
    ISBN9780008119720

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    Reviews for Between the Sunset and the Sea

    4.5/5

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    • 4/5
      Whilst Britain may not have the same dramatic peaks as the Alps or other mountain ranges, the mountains that it does have are no less significant. But they have not always been held in this regard. Until the advent of sightseeing and the picturesque they were considered to be the leftovers from the hand of creation. It was only when people started to climb them that they started to take on a greater importance.

      Seeing mountains is one thing, but the only way to truly appreciate them is to climb them. As part of this book, Ingram sets out to climb 16 of them; Beinn Dearg, The Black Mountain, Cadair Idris, Crib Goch, Cnicht, Cross Fell, Schiehallion, Ben Loyal, An Teallach, The Assynt Hills, Askival, Ladhar Bheinn, Loughrigg Fell, Great Gable, Ben Macdui and the highest of them all Ben Nevis. As he walks and climbs, he explores what makes them noteworthy, through their history and their place in mountain folklore. There are chapters on the weather, where he walks across the Peak District hoping to experience and hear the legendary Helm Wind, on art where he meet a third generation artist who now explores the texture of mountains in his pictures. Other chapters cover the advent of the sport of rock climbing and where contour lines were conceived, and of course the Ordnance Survey is mentioned frequently. The chapter of Terror is about Ben Macdui and the unreal things that happen to people whilst on the mountains, from hearing footsteps in the snow as they walk, to voices and other creepy things. The chapter on Danger is about the astonishing kill rate of our hills. Even though they are substantially smaller than others, the problem here is the weather and the way it changes so rapidly from calm and dry to driving wind and rain. The final chapter, Summit, is the assent of Ben Nevis in the depths of winter, and is a fitting end to the book.

      Thought that the title of the book was slightly odd, it didn’t really fit with the central premise of the book. It did also take a couple of chapters to get into, but after that you really pick up Ingram passion for these mountains. The research and detail that he has gone into are good too. Some of the subject he covers I know of because I have read around the subject, but there were lots of other things in the book that I didn’t know of. I liked the way he used each climb to introduce and talk about each subject, but this is primarily a book about climbing and you feel that you are with him every step of the way.