On This Holy Island

Almost 500 years ago, pilgrimage was outlawed in England. In this book acclaimed travel writer Oliver Smith travels across Britain to create an entirely modern pilgrimage - finding the holy places across the country that time has left behind. He travels by foot, recording the landscape and people he meets as he re-discovers places that have been considered sacred in Great Britain. He uncovers the stories of individuals, religions, cults and others who had locally sourced their ''Gods'' on home soil. Partly a history of pre-Christian Britain, about which almost nothing is known, partly a reflection on the roots of the British people and the nation, and a paean to the role of spirituality, sense of place and need for meaning in our lives - this book is an evocative and enlightening journey through the sacred places long since forgotten. On a Holy Island is a personal journey that will be divided into ten ''Gods''. These are Gods of many guises: prehistoric, postmodern, personal, literary, mystical and mainstream - most never considered in each other''s company. They are all connected by Smith''s walk and each tells us something about British culture, nostalgia, beliefs and sense of place. This is not a definitive list but instead Smith''s own curated ''pantheon'' - extraordinary stories chosen because they tell us something about the national character of Britain. The locations linked to these ''Gods'' follow the natural westward trajectory, from London towards Wessex and Wales. It''s an example of a journey that goes deeper rather than further and will inject fresh meaning into familiar places and the role of spirituality in our history.>

Auteur
Oliver Smith is an acclaimed travel writer working mostly for the Financial Times, The Times and Outside Magazine in the USA. For 10 years he worked for Lonely Planet Magazine. During his time there he won Travel Writer of the Year at the Travel Media Awards, was AITO Travel Writer of the Year on three occasions, and was nominated for PPA Writer of the Year.

Résumé
* A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST SUMMER TRAVEL BOOK OF 2024 * "Excellent.immensely well-researched and playful. Smith has written something special." -- Patrick Galbraith, The Times "Imaginative and engaging" -- Country Life Acclaimed travel writer Oliver Smith sets out to radically reframe our idea of 'pilgrimage' in Britain by retracing sacred travel made across time, from murmurs of ritual journeys in the depths of Ice Age to new pilgrimages of the 21st century. He embarks on an epic adventure across sacred British landscapes - climbing into remote sea caves, sleeping inside Neolithic tombs, scaling forgotten holy mountains and once marooning himself at sea. Following holy roads to churches, cathedrals and standing stones, this evocative and enlightening travelogue explores places prehistoric, pagan and Christian, but also reveals how football stadiums and music festivals have become contemporary places of pilgrimage. The routes walked are often ancient, the pilgrims he meets are always modern. But underpinning the book is a timeless truth: that making journeys has always been a way of making meaning. So often, Oliver finds, "the unravelling of a path goes in tandem with the unravelling of the soul."