About this item
For those who go in search of the isolation, silence and adventure of wild places it is -- perhaps ironically -- to the man-made shelters that they need to head; the outposts: bothies, bivouacs, cabins and huts. Part of their allure is their simplicity: enough architecture to shelter from the weather but not so much as to distract from the immediate environment around.From the Cairngorms of Scotland to the fire-watching huts of Washington State, from Iceland's Houses of Joy to the desert of New Mexico, and from the frozen beauty of Svalbard to the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, Richards visits the outposts and witnesses the landscapes, and asks: why are we drawn to wilderness? And how do wild places become a space for inspiration and creativity?
About the Author
Dan Richards' first book, 'Holloway', co-authored with Robert Macfarlane & illustrated by Stanley Donwood, was published by Faber in 2013.In 'The Beechwood Airship Interviews' (HarperCollins, 2015) , Dan explored the creative process, head-spaces and workplaces of some of Britain's most celebrated artists, craftsman and technicians including Bill Drummond, Dame Judi Dench, Jenny Saville, Manic Street Preachers, Jane Bown & Stewart Lee.'Climbing Days', his third (Faber 2016) , saw him set out on the trail of his pioneering great-great-aunt and uncle, Dorothy Pilley & I.A. Richards. Following in the pair's foot and hand-holds, Dan travelled across Europe, using Dorothy's 1935 mountaineering memoir as a guide. Ending up atop the mighty Dent Blanche in the high Alps of Valais.Dan's fourth book, 'Outpost: A Journey to the Wild Ends of the Earth', was published by Canongate in 2019.In a series of personal journeys, the author considered the appeal of far-flung outposts in mountains, tundra, forests, oceans and deserts. These are landscapes that speak of deep time, whose scale can knock us down to size. Their untamed nature is part of their beauty and such places have long drawn the adventurous, the spiritual and the artistic.For those who go in search of the silence, isolation and adventure of wilderness it is - perhaps ironically - to man-made shelters that they often need to head; to bothies, bivouacs, camps and sheds. Part of the allure of such refuges is their simplicity: enough architecture to keep the weather at bay but not so much as to distract from the natural world.Following a route from the Cairngorms of Scotland to the fire-watch lookouts of Washington State, from Iceland's 'Houses of Joy' to the Utah desert; frozen ghost towns in Svalbard to shrines in Japan; Roald Dahl's Metro-land writing hut to a lighthouse in the North Atlantic, Dan explores landscapes which have inspired writers, artists and musicians, and asks: why are we drawn to wilderness? What can we do to protect them? And what does the future hold for outposts on the edge? Dan has written about travel, literature, art and music for publications including The Economist, Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Monocle, Slightly Foxed, and The Quietus.He lives in Edinburgh.
