On This Holy Island
A Modern Pilgrimage across Britain
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On This Holy Island
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Narrated by:
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Oliver Smith
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By:
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Oliver Smith
About this listen
Bloomsbury presents On This Holy Island written and read by Oliver Smith.
*** A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST SUMMER TRAVEL BOOK OF 2024 ***
“Excellent…immensely well-researched and playful. Smith has written something special.” — Patrick Galbraith, The Times
"Imaginative and engaging" — Country Life
Acclaimed travel writer Oliver Smith sets out to radically reframe our idea of ‘pilgrimage’ in Britain by retracing sacred travel made across time, from murmurs of ritual journeys in the depths of Ice Age to new pilgrimages of the 21st century.
He embarks on an epic adventure across sacred British landscapes – climbing into remote sea caves, sleeping inside Neolithic tombs, scaling forgotten holy mountains and once marooning himself at sea. Following holy roads to churches, cathedrals and standing stones, this evocative and enlightening travelogue explores places prehistoric, pagan and Christian, but also reveals how football stadiums and music festivals have become contemporary places of pilgrimage.
The routes walked are often ancient, the pilgrims he meets are always modern. But underpinning the book is a timeless truth: that making journeys has always been a way of making meaning. So often, Oliver finds, “the unravelling of a path goes in tandem with the unravelling of the soul.”
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Critic reviews
'Smith is one of the best and most thoughtful travel writers working today. I loved this sensitive, astute, and delicately written account of his journeys to these most sacred places— standing stones and holy islands, crypt-like caves and sports stadia—disparate sites united by their profound effects upon the human psyche. Pilgrimage speaks to something soft and raw and yearning inside all of us, something powerful that goes so often unspoken. Smith bottles it on the page.' (Cal Flyn, author of 'Islands of Abandonment: Nature Rebounding in the Post-Human Landscape')
What listeners say about On This Holy Island
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. Felmingham
- 01-07-24
A great listen
I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting, as I'm not into travel writing as a rule. Very well written & interesting. The author did a pretty good job with the narration too. I enjoyed his visits to many different 'island' spots throughout the UK that I either had visited myself or had heard a lot about.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- milesphoto
- 31-03-24
Fascinating stories written with warmth
Smith takes us to places steeped in significance of all kinds, from the most remote pub (that he finds closed) to Stonehenge, exploring what attracts ‘pilgrims’ to visit. He’s a talented travel writer, not over romanticising and with an eye for detail. He brings out the best in those he meets. There’s humour, pathos and a sense of timelessness. Indeed he travels back several thousand years at one point, vividly telling a tale of landscape and people.
I found the story of the battle of the bean field especially interesting and moving; a piece of recent history with which I should’ve been more familiar as it happened in my adult lifetime.
There’s no narrative thread as such so you could pick and choose chapters if you wish.
I was wary of an audio book narrated by the author but he does a good job although sometimes the pauses separating sub headings from narrative aren’t long enough. A very minor gripe. I listened to the whole book in four sittings.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Bill
- 20-10-24
Poetic
Fascinating. Well researched. Eye opening. Hugely informative. Beautifully and poetically written and read. I loved it.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- DMC
- 01-11-24
New Age nonsense
Uncritical acceptance of New-age nonsense that undervalues the significance of our stone age ancestors
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Minigrem
- 30-07-24
How dreary he makes the UK sound
Little variance in voice tone but it suited the narrative I suppose. The occasional intrusion of the authors personal prejudices were irritating, if our writers are this negative about the UK , we are sunk!
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1 person found this helpful