Since time immemorial, water has been a major theme in myth, religion and folklore throughout the world. Not surprisingly for a country with a coastline of almost 12,000 miles, as well as a plethora of rivers and lochs, Scotland is an especially rewarding place in which to explore the spiritual dimensions of what is at once the most mundane and mysterious chemical compound on the planet.

In this book, Ian Bradley journeys to different watery locations – from healing wells, springs, river sources and bogs to the seashore, islands and whirlpools – to explore the legends, superstitions and rituals that have grown up around them. Drawing on religious, spiritual and philosophical beliefs from a wide variety of sources as well as history, legend and traditions ancient and modern, he underlines the crucial importance of water over thousands of years, but especially now in the current ecological crisis, when we are increasingly conscious of its preciousness and vulnerability.

 

Locations include:

Kingsbarns beach in North-east Fife * The source of  the River Clyde in South Lanarkshire * The Sound of Iona * Holy wells in the Borders * River North Esk on the boundary between Angus and Aberdeenshire *  Loch Awe in mid-Argyll * Carsaig Bay, Argyll  * Diversions and digressions lead as far north as Caithness, Sutherland, Orkney and Shetland, and as far west as Lewis and Barra.



Ian Bradley has written over 40 books and is well-known as a  broadcaster, journalist and lecturer. He is also a Church of Scotland minister and a respected academic whose enthusiasm shines through in all that he does. He is the author of the bestselling The Coffin Roads: Journeys to the West.