Travel/Adventure

4000m
Climbing the Highest Mountains of the Alps
by Dave Wynne-Jones

This is the engrossing story of the seasons the author spent climbing 4000m mountains in the different regions of the Alps. It is also about the people with whom he climbed who found time out of their day-to-day routine for this extraordinary activity. He explains the reason for this fascination whi... more...

Across the Edge
Pushing the Limits across Oceans and Continents
by Peter Clutterbuck

Author, photographer and explorer Peter Clutterbuck’s love of adventure developed as a child growing up within the British Army. Subsequently, Peter’s thirst for adventure, and his work as an engineer in the energy sector, have taken him to 105 countries on all seven continents, includin... more...

An Expedition Handbook
with Mountaineering Case Studies
by Dave Wynne-Jones

‘Dave Wynne-Jones has an impressive record of leading expeditions all over the world… …this book hands on some of that hard won expedition experience especially through the recounting of real events. An entertaining and insightful read’. Declan Phelan, President of the Eagl... more...

Argonauts of the Western Isles
by Robin Lloyd-Jones

The west coast of Scotland casts a spell on anyone with a taste for adventure, a feeling for the past or a love of the wild, uninhabited places. With tidal currents of awesome power running between fascinating patterns of islands, it is a challenging place for any type of small craft. Robin Lloyd... more...

Beautiful Beasts, Beautiful Lands
The fall and rise of an African national park
by Mark Infield

When Lake Mburo National Park in Uganda was created in 1983, thousands lost their land and livelihoods. Three years later people reclaimed the land and set out to destroy the park and its wildlife. Reduced in size and settled throughout, the park seemed lost. This was the challenge faced by Mark Inf... more...

c/o Cunard House
88 Leadenhall Street, London EC3
by Bill Ferguson

This is an unusual maritime story in that the author looks at life from the lower echelons of a merchant ship’s company and the relationship between officers and crew, deck department and the catering staff, recounting his life and experiences with people and places in Australia, New Zealand a... more...

Dangerous Animals of Southern and Eastern Africa
by Jeff Williams, Patricia Goodwin

This book provides a comprehensive, detailed, evidence-based review of the seven animals officially described as 'dangerous' by the professional association of Field Guides in South Africa. To this number the authors have added crocodiles. The text embraces the anatomical, physiological and ... more...

Fallen Pieces of the Moon
by Robin Lloyd-Jones

A kayak trip in Greenland's Nuuk fjords through an area of amazing beauty Turreted fairytale peaks, glistening snowfields, waterfalls plunging over immense cliffs into the sea, a million tons of ice capsizing - this is the setting for Fallen Pieces of the Moon, an account of a kayak trip alon... more...

Footsteps in the Snow
by John Dudeney

Footsteps in the Snow recounts a life shaped and dominated by Antarctica, a multi-facetted account of a life dedicated to Antarctic science, policy and governance. It is also the story of growth from callow youth to Antarctic professional in the most challenging of environments. Joining the Briti... more...

Halcyon in the Hebrides
by Bob Orrell

To celebrate 60 years of sailing Scottish waters, the author single-handedly sailed Halcyon, a 32ft wooden yawl, from Fairlie on the Clyde, round the Mull of Kintyre by way of numerous inner islands to Barra in the Outer Hebrides and to the Atlantic side of the islands, not often visited by cruising... more...

Journey into Africa
The Life and Death of Keith Johnston, Scottish Cartographer and Explorer (1844-79)
by James McCarthy

This true and dramatic story begins with the finding of the last expedition diary of a forgotten Edinburgh cartographer - Keith Johnston. The diary was lying in the Royal Geographical Society of Scotland's storeroom and concerns his last, fatal expedition into the interior of Africa. Johnston's fami... more...

Kayaking the Sea Roads
Exploring the Scottish Highlands
by Ed Ley-Wilson

Kayaking the Sea Roads is a personal journey by sea kayak into the heart of the sea roads that make up our Scottish Highlands and islands. Blending the intensity of the journey with a careful observation of the natural world and first-hand knowledge of the challenges of living and working in this pl... more...

Mangroves and Man-Eaters
and other wildlife encounters
by Dan Freeman

‘…In this entertaining book, which is as much about people and places as it is about wildlife, you’ll read of hair-raising encounters with giant crabs, lions and killer bees. But rest assured, with Dan Freeman you are travelling with the best of guides…’ Extract from... more...

Mediterranean
A year around a charmed and troubled sea
by Huw Kingston

Huw's journey around the shores that gave birth to Western Civilisation is a modern odyssey that reminds us not only of this but also that a real and endlessly fascinating world is still out there… Quote from Tim Macartney-Snape, first Australian to climb Mount Everest and only perso... more...

Monkey Puzzle Man
Archibald Menzies, Plant Hunter
by James McCarthy

'This richly detailed account of the life and travels of Archibald Menzies is a most welcome addition to the literature of botanical exploration. ...we now have a satisfyingly comprehensive account of the life of a Scot who travelled the world as a surgeon naturalist in the Royal Navy'. Ext... more...

Motorbiking Mountain and Steppe, Forever Eastward
by Malcolm Dunkeld

Across Europe to Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and onward to Siberia, Japan and Australia, this is a work that is rich in many dimensions. In essence it’s a travel story about an eight-month, long and gruelling motorbike ride, but it contains so much more. The author paints a picture with evocative ... more...

My Arctic Summer
by Agnieszka Latocha

Spitsbergen is the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago which is situated between the Greenland and Barents Seas, approximately 600 miles from the North Pole. In the 16th century the islands were visited by Barents' expedition and in the ensuing centuries were used primarily as a base for ... more...

On Foot in the African Bush
Adventures of Safari Guides
by Jeff Williams

Safari guide Jeff Williams has brought together a treasure-trove of stories of dramatic events that occurred whilst guides were leading parties through the bush on foot. Often these were recounted during evenings sitting around a campfire with friends and guide colleagues, swapping yarns and sharing... more...

Oriental Endeavour
by Dave Creamer

As a sequel to the successful Rats, Rust and Two Old Ladies, the story of Oriental Endeavour begins when the author delivers a tugboat from Avonmouth to Buchanan in war-torn Liberia. Four years later, he is asked to command one of two tugboats for delivery from West Africa to Singapore and, despite ... more...

Polar Mariner
Beyond the Limits in Antarctica
by Captain Tom Woodfield

Captain Woodfield made 20 seasonal voyages to the Antarctic on three research ships between 1955 and 1974. Starting as a Junior Deck Officer he worked for The Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey which in 1964 became the British Antarctic Survey. He played a paramount role in the gradual change from... more...

Rats, Rust and Two Old Ladies
by Dave Creamer

Delivering two 38-year-old Mississippi river tugboats halfway around the world from Bahrain to Trinidad would not be every ship master's dream employment. However, for Captain David Creamer, the seven-week voyage of the Justine and Martha was not only unique, but a memorable experience he was un... more...

Running South America
with my Husband and other animals
by Katharine Lowrie

It is the story of two everyday runners, Katharine and David, who decided to take on a continent and learn how to run again – barefoot, pushing their bodies and minds to levels they had never considered possible in a bid to become the first in the world to run the length of South America, to g... more...

Scott's Forgotten Surgeon
Dr. Reginald Koettlitz, Polar Explorer
by Aubrey A. Jones

'...In this year celebrating the centenary of the conquering of the South Pole … it is more than fitting to have one of the unregarded figures of Antarctic history brought into the limelight of remembrance'. Extract from Introduction by Dr. Ross D.E. MacPhee, American Museum of Natura... more...

Solo Round Scotland
The first single-handed circumnavigation by boat and bike
by Alan Rankin

In April 2006 the author became the first person to single-handedly circumnavigate Scotland by boat and bike. Setting out on this ultimate adventure from Kirkcudbright on the Solway Firth, Alan sailed around Scotland on a 50-foot yacht to the north-east coast of England. After 16 exhausting days on ... more...

That Curious Fellow
Captain Basil Hall, RN
by James McCarthy

Son of a scientifically-minded Scottish aristocrat, Basil Hall joined the Royal Navy at the age of 13 in 1802. His first naval engagements in America and Spain during the Peninsular War are described, as are his travels in India and the Far East. His renowned interview with Napoleon, while still a p... more...

The Arctic
by Richard  Sale, Per Michelsen

This stunningly beautiful and informative book celebrates the Arctic, one of the last great wildernesses on the planet; a place where animals have survived for thousands of years protected only by fur and feathers. Humans also survive in the Arctic, but only those who have adjusted to the climate ov... more...

The British Beach Guide
Collected Perspectives from around the Coast
by Ian Brighouse

From all around the coast, from the remote wildness of Cullykhan in Aberdeenshire to the bustling working harbour at St Ives in Cornwall, from the vast empty sands of North Norfolk to Anthony Gormley’s iron men at Crosby beach on Merseyside, the author has asked individuals what the beach mean... more...

The Fabulous Flotilla
Scotland’s Adventure on the Rivers of Burma
by Paul Strachan

The Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, known in colonial Burma as the ‘Fabulous Flotilla’, was the largest privately-owned fleet of ships in the world. It was an entirely Scottish enterprise with nearly all its investors, management and ship’s officers drawn from Scotland.  Over 1,20... more...

The Immeasurable Wilds
Travellers to the Far North of Scotland, 1600-1900
by Alastair  Mitchell

Towards the end of the 18th century the attention of mapmakers, explorers and travellers turned to the north of Scotland. The mountains that rise north of Stirling formed a formidable barrier for anyone wanting to visit the Highlands, and travellers to the Far North were even rarer: there were no ro... more...

The Joy of Climbing
by Terry Gifford

The Joy of Climbing is the result of a search through Britain, Europe and America for the esoteric gems at the easier end of climbing. This special selection demonstrates the sheer fun and enjoyment of climbing. The articles have been especially chosen to provide a stimulating but achievable challen... more...

The King of Lokoja
William Balfour Baikie the Forgotten Man of Africa
by Wendell  McConnaha

William Balfour Baikie was a surgeon, naturalist, linguist, writer, explorer, and government consul who played a key role in opening Africa to the Europeans. As an explorer he mapped and charted large sections of the Niger River system as well as the overland routes from Lagos and Lokoja to the majo... more...

The Magnetism of Antarctica
The Ross Expedition 1839-1843
by John Knight

This under-documented expedition was a pivotal moment in the annals of polar exploration and was the starting point, in historical terms, of revealing the great unknown continent of Antarctica. It was the first time in nearly 70 years since Captain James Cook had circumnavigated Antarctica, that a R... more...

The Mountains Look on Marrakech
A trek along the Atlas Mountains
by Hamish Brown

After an initial visit of three months to the Atlas Mountains in 1965, well-known travel writer, climber and photographer Hamish Brown has been back every year since, and this book is something of a love story about one man's lifelong devotion to the Atlas Mountains and the Berber Highlanders wh... more...

The Nearly Man
by Mark Bridgeman

The Nearly Man is the true, yet almost unbelievable, story of one man’s incredible life, beginning in rural Scotland in the reign of Queen Victoria, and ending on the west coast of Canada in the 1970s. In one of the 20th century’s great untold stories we travel with Francis Metcalfe on a... more...

The Storm Leopard
by Martyn Murray

'Books such as this must be published and reach a wide audience'. George Schaller, author and world-renowned conservation biologist 'A very-well written meditation on all aspects of travel in Africa'. Peter Matthiessen, American novelist and non-fiction writer, twice winner of the... more...

The UN's Lone Ranger - Combating international wildlife crime
by John M.  Sellar

Illegal trade in wildlife is now recognized as one of the most significant criminal activities in the world, bringing billions of dollars in illicit profits to organized crime groups and networks, which are acknowledged to control much of this trafficking. Until 2011, John M. Sellar was the most sen... more...

Three Men on the Way Way
A Story of Walking the West Highland Way
by Hamish Brown

The West Highland Way is Scotland’s first official Long Distance Route and runs near 100 miles from Milngavie to Fort William. It was nicknamed the 'Way Way' by a trio from Fife who set off to walk it in the year of the Millennium. This is not a guidebook but an account of their experi... more...

Underwater Potholer
A Cave Diver's Memoirs
by Duncan Price

Duncan’s curiosity has got him into a lot of tight spots – quite literally!  As a teenager, Duncan really wanted to be an astronaut but took to the exploration of inner space instead.  Only a dozen men might have stood on the moon but Duncan has squeezed into many places that n... more...

Walking Scotland's Lost Railways
Track Beds Rediscovered
by Robin Howie, John McGregor

Scotland still has hundreds of miles of ‘dismantled railways’, the term used by Ordnance Survey, and the track beds give scope for many walks. Some track beds have been ‘saved’ as Tarmacadam walkway/cycleway routes while others have become well-trodden local walks. The remain... more...

Wild Places, Wild Encounters
Exploring Edinburgh’s Living Landscape
by Glen Cousquer

This is a book about reconnecting to nature wherever we find ourselves living and the personal benefits that can ensue. It explores how we can appreciate the natural world on our doorstep in line with the latest research from a range of disciplines, including ecology, outdoor and environmental educa... more...

World of Geology
Travels to Rocky Places
by Tony Waltham

A core component of the natural world is the geology, in the rocks and the landforms that have been created by their erosion. The plants that cover so much of the world’s land areas, ant the myriad animals that inhabit each environment, form the wonderful world of nature, but the backdrops to ... more...