We have been thinking about overseas holiday plans for next year and part of that is time in the Hebrides and the Shetland Islands. On a recent visit to the library I borrowed this book.
It is a wonderful book for the traveller to the Hebrides as it gives such detail about what to expect but it also includes excerpts from some fiction that Peter May has written. I had not heard of this author but he has won awards for his writing and is well known in the UK for his work in television.
The fiction that is mentioned in the travel book Hebrides led me to check out the title at my local library. The first in the Lewis Trilogy is The Blackhouse and I read that at lightening speed. There were so many instances of experiences I had as a child in the highlands of Caithness. I loved the book and even though it was crime fiction there was so much detail about life on the islands that you would enjoy the book even though you were not a crime fiction fan.
I immediately reserved the remaining two books in the trilogy and promptly finished them.
I have checked out the internet for ideas for our trip next year and have discovered that there is a trail you can follow that visits places mentioned in the books. I include the link here at The Lewis Trilogy.
The picture above is an example from the website.
When I first started looking for ideas on travel in the Hebrides
this was the page from a book on travel in Scotland that I was going to base our journey around. I will now be looking into the holiday in much more detail.
I highly recommend the Lewis Trilogy.
Gippsland Granny 
Great to know your research is going well!
You will need to read those books Kate. So many memories of life in the highlands.
That’s very exciting, the Hebrides are beautiful (although watch out for midges, especially on Harris which has a lot of boggy ground in the interior). I’ve heard of Peter May but haven’t read those books, I must check them out in the library. There was a TV crime series here called ‘Shetland’ which was based on books by Ann Cleeves. I enjoyed the TV show better than the books, but you might be interested to read them as part of your research.
Thanks Lorna. I have read the Ann Cleaves books and the Shetland series is showing on Foxtel here at the moment.
I have discovered the series Vera and am thoroughly enjoying that.
Peter May does talk about the midges in his books. I have memories of the midges when my uncles went peat cutting and we went along to help.
One of my favourite areas of the UK…….I cycled all of the outer and inner isles, and ended up on Iona……a magical place in itself.
it looks like a magical place to cycle.
We are so looking forward to our trip which is still in the planning stage.