Sacred Britain
A Guide to Places that Stir the Soul
By Martin Symington
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Hardback, 240 pages
Published: October 2011 ISBN: 9781841623634 Format: 216mm x 135mm Status: Available £16.99
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Britain is packed with places to visit that can be called 'sacred'. Many are tourist sites, such as Iona, Lindisfarne and Stonehenge. Many more are out-of-the-way pilgrimage destinations, druidic circles, holy wells or obscure islands that few people would find without this book. Some are only recognised as 'sacred' by people with a special interest: Karl Marx's tomb in Highgate cemetery or the island on Althorp where Princess Diana is buried. This book journeys from pilgrimage sites with tombs of martyrs and scenes of medieval miracles to the remote islands of Iona, Bardsey and Lindisfarne, as well as to modern Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic shrines. It visits pre-historic stone circles and ancient chalk hill carvings such as the phallic Cerne Abbas giant. As well as sites of myth, legend, and apparition it covers shrines to philosophers and locations revered for their connections with art, music, literature, sport and crime. Series: Bradt Travel Guides Rating: 5 / 5 stars - 3 vote(s). |
Press Reviews:
‘A fascinating take on travel in the British Isles from a guide book publisher sacred to all travellers.’
Sandi Toksvig, author and TV and radio presenter
So often when we visit the sacred sites of Britain we admire the architecture of a building, or the natural beauty of a site, but don't get beyond that. But there are occasions when we are moved by the sense of the transcendental that sacred places can inspire. That is far more likely to happen if we take this guide with us on our travels round Britain and read the stories that Martin tells so well, the stories which enable readers to understand how and why there are so many British sacred places.
Sir Mark Tully, BBC Radio 4 presenter and former BBC foreign correspondent
'Martin Symington leads us - ever so quietly - to a selection of Britain's sacred places .... This is a wonderful, timely guide'.
Nicholas Crane - BBC Countryfile Magazine
‘Impeccably researched and beautifully written, this is an incredible journey across the length and breadth of the land and down through the mystical ages. A wonderful travel companion for anyone about to embark on their own pilgrimage through sacred Britain.’
Glasgow Herald
‘New book Sacred Britain sheds light on many of the intriguing places dotted around the British Isles.’
Daily Express
‘....author Martin Symington also travels ancient pilgrims’ routes to the Holy Isles and uncovers some of Britain’s most intriguing sacred prehistory on Land’s End Peninsula’
Wanderlust
'This is a fascinating guide to places of pilgrimage - not only for people of all faiths, but also for fans of everything from royalty to the Red Devils of Manchester United.'
Good Book Guide
‘So often when we visit the sacred sites of Britain we admire the architecture of a building, or the natural beauty of a site, but don't get beyond that. But there are occasions when we are moved by the sense of the transcendental that sacred places can inspire. That is far more likely to happen if we take this guide with us on our travels round Britain and read the stories that Martin tells so well, the stories which enable readers to understand how and why there are so many British sacred places.
Sir Mark Tully, BBC Radio 4 presenter and former BBC foreign correspondent.
‘So often when we visit the sacred sites of Britain we admire the architecture of a building, or the natural beauty of a site, but don't get beyond that. But there are occasions when we are moved by the sense of the transcendental that sacred places can inspire. That is far more likely to happen if we take this guide with us on our travels round Britain and read the stories that Martin tells so well, the stories which enable readers to understand how and why there are so many British sacred places.
Sir Mark Tully, BBC Radio 4 presenter and former BBC foreign correspondent.
Reviewed by: angie on 3rd January 2012 11:11AM
I feel I have known this author for years, because his travel reports from all over the world crop up everywhere.
Now I am reading about Martin Symington’s travels around Sacred Britain and finding the scope of treasures he unearths to be as unexpected as they are extraordinary. His take on Glastonbury, for example, is intriguing and original. So are Karl Marx’s tomb, Marc Bolan’s Rock Shrine and the Hindu temples in Leicester.
Far more than a guide to Sacred Britain, this is a joyous read!
Reviewed by: quirkytraveller on 25th October 2011 3:31PM
I love this book! It epitomises a very special kind of travel - the kind spiritual places, legends, recommendations, stories and practical info means I want to read it as a travel book, not simply as a guide, so keep dipping into it.
Last weekend I went to Lincoln on a blog trip and visited Lincoln Cathedral for the first time. Thsi book gave me a lovely insight into the place - plus I found the devilish 'Imp' which I'd never have noticed without this book's mention.
Highly recommended book :-)
Introduction vii
1. London 1
Westminster Abbey 2, Diana, Princess of Wales 5, Marc Bolan’s Rock Shrine 9,
Twickenham Stadium 10, Bevis Marks Synagogue 12, Highgate Cemetery 15,
Central London Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre 17, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir 18
2. Southeastern England 21
Bradwell-on-Sea 21, Canterbury 23, The Long Man of Wilmington 27, Winchester 29,
Stonehenge 34, Bhaktivedanta Manor 38, Amaravati Buddhist Monastery 40
3. Southwestern England 45
The Avebury complex 45, Bath Spa 49, The Cerne Abbas Giant 53, Glastonbury 55,
Tintagel 61, Walking The Saints’ Way 64, Marazion and St Michael’s Mount 66,
Land’s End Peninsula 70
4. Central and Eastern England 75
Lincoln 75, Leicester’s Hindu, Sikh and Jain temples 79, Uffington White Horse 83,
Rollright Stones 86, Little Gidding 90, Ely 92, Walsingham 96
5. Northern England 105
Lindisfarne (Holy Island) 105, The Farne Islands – Inner Farne 110, Jarrow 113,
Durham 119, Cumbria’s stone circles 124, The medieval monasteries of North
Yorkshire 128, York 136, Chester 141
6. Wales 147
Holywell 147, Anglesey (Ynys Môn) 151, Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli) 154, St David’s 157,
Caldey Island 161, Llanthony Priory 164, Tintern Abbey 167
7. Scotland 171
Orkney Islands 171, Callanish and the Western Isles 177, Iona 181, St Mungo and
Glasgow Cathedral 186, Whithorn 189, Kagyu Samye Ling Tibetan Centre 192,
St Andrews 196, The border abbeys 200
Appendix 206
A guide to the sacred sites in this guide 206, Sacred tours 209
Index 211
Martin Symington is a UK-based freelance travel journalist and author. His writing has won many awards, including the British Guild of Travel Writers' Travel Writer of the Year in 2005.
‘So often when we visit the sacred sites of Britain we admire the architecture of a building, or the natural beauty of a site, but don't get beyond that. But there are occasions when we are moved by the sense of the transcendental that sacred places can inspire. That is far more likely to happen if we take this guide with us on our travels round Britain and read the stories that Martin tells so well, the stories which enable readers to understand how and why there are so many British sacred places.
Sir Mark Tully, BBC Radio 4 presenter and former BBC foreign correspondent.
Reviewed by: angie on 3rd January 2012 11:11AM
I feel I have known this author for years, because his travel reports from all over the world crop up everywhere.
Now I am reading about Martin Symington’s travels around Sacred Britain and finding the scope of treasures he unearths to be as unexpected as they are extraordinary. His take on Glastonbury, for example, is intriguing and original. So are Karl Marx’s tomb, Marc Bolan’s Rock Shrine and the Hindu temples in Leicester.
Far more than a guide to Sacred Britain, this is a joyous read!
Reviewed by: quirkytraveller on 25th October 2011 3:31PM
I love this book! It epitomises a very special kind of travel - the kind spiritual places, legends, recommendations, stories and practical info means I want to read it as a travel book, not simply as a guide, so keep dipping into it.
Last weekend I went to Lincoln on a blog trip and visited Lincoln Cathedral for the first time. Thsi book gave me a lovely insight into the place - plus I found the devilish 'Imp' which I'd never have noticed without this book's mention.
Highly recommended book :-)
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