Scottish Hill and Mountain Names


Book Description




Scottish Hill Names


Book Description

This book explains the origin and the meaning of the names of Scotland?s hills, as well as how to pronounce them. It also brings together many of the legends and stories behind particular hill names. A thoroughly researched, completely revised and expanded second edition which builds on the success of its predecessor - Scottish Hill and Mountain Names. Many new names are detailed, including a significantincrease in the coverage of Borders hill names and old forms of many hill names from 17th and 18th century maps brought to bear in explanations. The hills of Scotland are a significant part of the landscape and the names of these hills reflect the rich social and cultural history of Scotland over the past 500 years and all who have been there. These names are alegacy of the past and this book opens the door to this fascinating world.




The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming


Book Description

In this handbook, scholars from around the world offer an up-to-date account of the state of the art in different areas of onomastics, in a format that is both useful to specialists in related fields and accessible to the general reader. Since Ancient Greece, names have been regarded as central to the study of language, and this has continued to be a major theme of both philosophical and linguistic enquiry throughout the history of Western thought. The investigation of name origins is more recent, as is the study of names in literature. Relatively new is the study of names in society, which draws on techniques from sociolinguistics and has gradually been gathering momentum over the last few decades. The structure of this volume reflects the emergence of the main branches of name studies, in roughly chronological order. The first Part focuses on name theory and outlines key issues about the role of names in language, focusing on grammar, meaning, and discourse. Parts II and III deal with the study of place-names and personal names respectively, while Part IV outlines contrasting approaches to the study of names in literature, with case studies from different languages and time periods. Part V explores the field of socio-onomastics, with chapters relating to the names of people, places, and commercial products. Part VI then examines the interdisciplinary nature of name studies, before the concluding Part presents a selection of animate and inanimate referents ranging from aircraft to animals, and explains the naming strategies adopted for them.




The Munros


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The Relative Hills of Britain


Book Description

How many hills are there in Britain? Has anyone climbed them all? Where is there for hill walkers to go in the south of England? What is a hill anyway? The answers to these and other questions will be found in The Relative Hills of Britain. This book dispenses with the common assumption that a hill must be at least 2000ft high to be worth climbing. Instead it concentrates on listing all the hills that are relatively high compared to the surrounding land, rather than compared to sea level. This approach leads to some interesting results: for example, the highest points in the Cotswolds and Chilterns, Campsies and Quantocks are all included, as well as the main summits on numerous Scottish islands, whereas well- known mountain summits such as Cairn Gorm, Bowfell and Carnedd Dafydd do not qualify. As well as being an invaluable reference work for all walkers, this book contains a fascinating collection of not too serious facts and figures about the Marilyns, as these relative hills have been called. The book is illustrated by a set of photographs and a large number of very clear maps, which make it easy to locate all the hills in each region.




The Last Hillwalker


Book Description

From somewhere out in the vast whiteness of the blizzard we hear a cry for help. Instinctively the three of us turn and head across the mountainside. We find two men and a woman, huddled together in the snow, unable to descend the steep icy slope between them and safety. The woman asks if we are experienced in conditions like this. My friends and I have tackled a few winter hills in the Lake District and bumbled up easy rock climbs, but we have never been in a full Scottish winter snowstorm. I laugh and assure her that this is nothing to mountaineers like us. Soon our hills will be empty and one day the last hillwalker will disappear over the horizon. In the 21st century we are losing our connection with the wild, a connection that may never be regained. The Last Hillwalker by bestselling author John D. Burns is a personal story of falling in and out of love with the hills. More than that, it is about rediscovering a deeply felt need in all of us to connect with wild places.




Scottish Land-names


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Caleb's List


Book Description

Shortlisted for the 2013 Saltire Society Scottish First Book award. Edinburgh. 1898. On the cusp of the modern age. Caleb George Cash: mountaineer, geographer, antiquarian and teacher stands at the rocky summit of Arthur's Seat. This is the story of Caleb, me and the Scottish mountains visible from Arthur's Seat. Somehow the Cashs or the Calebs didn't sound right so I have called the hills on Caleb's list The Arthurs. More than just a climbing book this is the story of a survivor. Caleb's List is a beautifully descriptive account in which Kellan MacInnes intertwines his own personal struggle with HIV with the life story of Victorian mountaineer Caleb George Cash, beginning with the moment in 1898 when Caleb stood at the top of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh and made a list of 20 mountains visible from its summit, from Ben Lomond in the west to Lochnager in the east. MacInnes stumbled upon this long forgotten list of hills, now dubbed the Arthurs, and in this book he sets a new hillwalking challenge ... climbing the Arthurs. Drawing on history, literature and personal experience, MacInnes offers both practical and emotional insight into climbing these hills, in an account that is a must-read for hillwalkers, visitors to Edinburgh and lovers of Scotland all over the world. This is not just a book about hillwalking and history. At its heart this is powerful landscape writing that explores the strong bond between a person and the hills they love . . . The author writes with skill and considerable authority. ALEX RODDIE, author Caleb Cash himself is an important if neglected figure in the history of the Scottish outdoors and the author's personal story gives the book an emotional power unusual in a guidebook. An excellent book. CHRIS TOWNSHEND, author A triumphant debut. THE GREAT OUTDOORS A tribute to the healing power of the Scottish landscape and to survival against the odds. THE SCOTSMAN




Scottish Place Names


Book Description

Containing almost 2000 entries, a history and geography of Scotland. Towns, villages, islands, mountains, lochs and rivers of Scotland.




Scottish Place Names


Book Description

The Scots language is a world of wonderful, historic and evocative words, full of a rich variety that can fit any occasion. And where better to find this use of Scots than in the land itself. In Scottish Place Names Maggie Scott of Scottish Language Dictionaries takes you around the country from Dumfries to Shetland to explain the meanings of the place names that make up today's Scotland. Through a trip to Scotland's towns and cities, up and down the hills and mountains, along the rivers and lochs, through the forests and glens, all the way around the Scottish coast and back to the names of the streets where we live today, Scottish Place Names is a fascinating, entertaining and informative guide to Scots language and to Scotland.