Francis Thompson

The essential guide book for the discerning tourist and island devotee, which describes everything the visitor needs to know about the islands' heritage, landscape, climate, weather, flora and fauna. It contains information on all the key places of interest, from areas of outstanding beauty such as the mountains, freshwater lochs and moorland to historical landmarks such as the Callanish stone circle. It is illustrated with over 100 colour photographs, including a map of the islands. ‘The best guide books I have ever seen…pleasant to handle. With superb colour photography and an informative text.’ Glasgow Herald ‘…excellent…beautifully illustrated with bright, crisp, wonderfully composed colour photographs…’ The Countryman

From the Butt of Lewis in the north to Barra Head in the south, the Western Islands form a unique part of Scotland: a rocky chain of islands 130 miles long, cut off from the Mainland by the Minch as effectively as the Channel separates Britain as a whole from the rest of Europe. Despite their diversity in history and landscape, Harris and Lewis, North and South Uist, Benbecula, Barra and the smaller islands have been united by the struggle against a sometimes harsh environment, and the first to maintain their independent economic and cultural identity—whether against the 'Fife Adventurers' in 1598, or the land clearances of Victorian times which saw so many 'superfluous' Islanders dispatched overseas. But The Western Islands of Scotland is not a nostalgic look at a people in retreat. Illustrated with outstanding color and black-and-white photographs which emphasize the megaliths, castles, crafts and seamanship, Francis Thompson records a linguistic and cultural heritage which is now staging a forceful comeback after centuries of retreat. Many famous names have had connections with the Islands–MacAulay and Gladstone among them–while the traditions of the folktale and the ceilidh continue to produce successors to the Gaelic bard Ian Lom and the storyteller Donald MacPhee. Francis Thompson concludes with a look at the appeal of the Islands to outsiders, many of whom are attracted to crofting as a self-sufficient, "green" form of farming.

An authoritative exploration of the otherworld of the Highlander, happenings and beings hitherto thought to be outwith the ordinary forces of nature. A simple introduction to the way of life of rural Highland and Island communities, this new edition weaves through second sigh, the evil eye, witchcraft, ghosts, fairies and other supernatural beings, offering new sight-lines on areas of belief once dismissed as folklore and superstition.

A pocket-sized illustrated version of the Francis Thompson's classic poem, "The Hound of Heaven."

In its short lifetime of 100 years, the crofting system of landholding has had profound effects upon Scotland. In this book, the author presents vivid descriptions of crofting life, past and present, in a deeply-researched social history.