Avail Yourself Adrift In Caledonia: Boat-Hitching For The Unenlightened Drafted By Nick Thorpe Available As Audiobook

this book the author takes you with him as he hitchhikes his way in a variety of boats more or less around Scotland, During this patchwork voyage, you will get to know him personally, I can say that I feel he's a man worth meeting,

And his trip is worth taking, There are interesting places to learn a bit about, interesting bits of experience to hear of, and interesting people whose lives are quite diverse and colorful,

Threaded throughout this voyage are thoughtful musings about the deeper meanings of life's voyage, and though the conclusions are few the author's ruminations might well strike a chord of recognition within you.


My copy of this book will now make its own way to a friend who I feel sure will appreciate what it has to offer bon voyage!

I wanted to like this book so much, but in the end, it just seems very selfserving and selfcentered.


The author leaves his wife, who has recently lost her father, and embarks on a haphazard trip around Scotland in which, as they say, "wherever where you go, there you are".
Would have loved more about the people he meets amp places he sees, . . and less pontification.

Do yourself a favor and track down a copy of H, V Morton's "In Search of Scotland" so much funnier, honest, and filled with more of Scotland, I would have preferred if the author laid off trying to turn every minor experience into a philosophical metaphor something he acknowledges at the end I think, I picked it up thinking it would be mostly about the people he meets and maybe they'd talk about their craziest boating experience or their own philosophies, You get some of that but you get a whole lot more of Nick's introspection, It's more memoir than journalism, and I didn't exactly click with the author so I was pretty disappointed, Still had some cool stories but I wish he spent more time on interviews and less on pondering, This is a joyous travel account, Thorpe "hitch hikes" on boats around the entirety of Scotland, The variety of his experiences is surprising and makes for an interesting account, Thorpe is a wonderful writer and weaves Scottish history and culture throughout his account, Thorpe also shares his own

religious questions throughout his travels, resolving things nicely by the conclusion, I really enjoyed this. A leisurely exploration of the waterways of Scotland, and the boats, and the people, A bit like a literary and more northern version of Griff RhysJones's TV series 'Rivers', Was disappointed by a couple of factual mistakes, The author's perspective was interesting but not enlightening Thought it was interesting reading this book not for the adventure but analysing Nick lol the similarities between Saint Cormac and Jonah to him were hilarious.
Lessons to be learnt. If you enjoy humorous travel books, I'm tempted to say think of a water based Bill Bryson or this really strongly reminds me of "Around Ireland with a Fridge" by Tony Hawks, you'll love this.
This is a funny travel book, following Nick's engagingly haphazard hitchhiking trip by boat around Scotland,

Wonderful insightful descriptions of the settings and the characters encountered along the way, Unbelievable hospitality and trust from a wide range of vessels,

No nautical knowledge at all required to enjoy this! An enjoyable read about travelling in Scotland by boat, hitching rides with whatever boats will have him.
Lots of snippets f history and interesting characters, and some spiritual ponderings as well, I enjoyed his silly idea of catching boat rides around Scotland, A true wanderer. Nick Thorpe just wants to belong, Despite having moved to Edinburgh a decade ago, he is dogged by a sense of being “not so much immersed in my adoptive country as floating on the surface of it”.
To remedy this, and despite a certainty that it is “about as sensible as hacking off a limb to see what it felt like”, he embarks on a circumnavigation of Scotland as a boathitcher.


En route he ingratiates himself with everyone from recovering junkies, a lighthouse keeper, and the crew of HMS Vengeance, to American canal tourists, and a man with dungarees coveted by Mick Jagger.
Its a pleasantly paced read of distant horizons and the proverbial characters, but its almost entirely devoid of humour, Instead, we get inner meanderings and a ceaseless search for symbolism in all things, He cant seem to take on board that sometimes a canal is just a canal,
Nick Thorpe charts his journey around Scotland's waterways, using any and every vessel available, from a canoe to a nuclear submarine, Along the way he stops and meets the folk who lie at the heart of this odyssey: sailors and visionaries, boaties and eccentrics, not to bad, nice little read : Nick Thorpe is an award winning writer and journalist, A contributor to the Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, Scotsman and BBC Radioamong others, he has covered stories ranging from Russian presidential elections to the coca wars of Bolivia, for which he was shortlisted for the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism.
His latest book, Urban Worrier: Adventures in the Lost Art of Letting Go Little Brown, Junis the story of his quest to find balance and fulfilment by sampling everything from naturism to monasticism, Buddhism to ballooning.
Pitch perfect, wrote the Scotsmans reviewer, Thorpes epiphany is profound and affecting, and it is the counterpoint of poignancy and comedy that makes this very personal sear Nick Thorpe is an award winning writer and journalist.
A contributor to the Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, Scotsman and BBC Radioamong others, he has covered stories ranging from Russian presidential elections to the coca wars of Bolivia, for which he was shortlisted for the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism.
His latest book, Urban Worrier: Adventures in the Lost Art of Letting Go Little Brown, Junis the story of his quest to find balance and fulfilment by sampling everything from naturism to monasticism, Buddhism to ballooning.
"Pitch perfect," wrote the Scotsman's reviewer, "Thorpe's epiphany is profound and affecting, and it is the counterpoint of poignancy and comedy that makes this very personal search for peace so utterly life affirming, "Adrift in Caledonia: Boat hitching for the Unenlightened Abacus, charts hismile journey around Scotland on other people's boats, It was serialised on BBC Radios Book of the Week programme in March, Eight Men and a Duck, his critically acclaimed first book, recounts his voyage to Easter Island by reed boat and was published by Abacus in, Nick grew up near London but moved to Scotland nearlyyears ago, He lives in Edinburgh with his wife and young son, sitelink www. nickthorpe. co. uk sitelink.