Alistair Moffat: Walking the History of England and Scotland

A former director of both the Edinburgh Fringe and STV, and founder of the Borders Book Festival, Alistair Moffat is an author of high acclaim. Through his histories of Scotland and its regions, as well as investigations into Scot's genetic inheritance, Alistair has proven himself a great chronicler of the past.

This time round, Alistair comes to the bookshop to delight us with tales and lore from the border between Scotland and England, which he discusses in his latest work Between Britain.

Between Britain

The border between Scotland and England is rich in history. It has been the site of battles, treaties, castles and crossroads. It is also a place where both countries display their nationalism: Saltires flying in the north, the Cross of St George to the south. But it can also be a lens through which to look at the changing history and identities of these two countries.

Alistair Moffat is a life-long borderer and the ideal guide on this one-hundred-mile journey. We begin just north of the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Already the battlelines have been drawn - the town having been grabbed by the English from Berwickshire in 1482 and never given back. From here we will head west as our tour travels backwards and forwards through history. In all, we will walk through eight centuries before we reach journey's end at the mouth of the River Sark.

About Alistair Moffat

Alistair Moffat was born in Kelso, Scotland. He is an award-winning writer and historian, and was Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and is former Rector of the University of St Andrews. He is founder of Borders Book Festival and Co-Chairman of The Great Tapestry of Scotland. His many books include The Highland Clans (also published by Thames & Hudson), To the Island of Tides: A Journey to Lindisfarne and The Hidden Ways: A History of Scotland's Forgotten Roads.