Atlantic Britain

The Story of the Sea a Man and a Ship

Adam Nicolson

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Paperback

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English

Harper Collins
20 January 2005

History; Marine engineering; Boating

Accompanied by an eight-part series, this is the story of Adam Nicolson’s adventure in a small boat around the western coast of the British Isles.

Early in the year, Adam Nicolson decided to leave his comfy life at home on a Sussex farm and go on an adventure. Equipped with the Auk, a forty-two-foot wooden ketch, and a friend who at least knew how to sail, he set off up the Atlantic coasts of the British Isles: Cornwall to Scilly, over to Pembrokeshire and the west of Ireland, to the Hebrides and its offliers, St Kilda and North Rona, before heading on to Orkney, and finally to the Faroes, a two hundred mile leap out into the autumn winds of the North Atlantic.

But the book is not just a travel journal. Adam Nicolson writes of his own yearnings for the sea and for wide open spaces. His year is strung between the competing claims of leaving and belonging, of thinking that no life could be more exhilarating than battling a big gale driving in out of the Atlantic and of wanting to be back, in harbour, safe, still and protected. Running throughout the book is a dialogue within the author himself between the attractions of home and not home, the certainties of what you know and the seductions of what you don't.

Reflective and poetic, this book is full of rich experience. It is a story passionately engaged with the beauty and marvels of the wild Atlantic coast, but is also a self-portrait of a man in the middle of his life who is determined to find out what it’s all for.

By: Adam Nicolson
Imprint: Harper Collins
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 12mm
Weight: 140g
ISBN: 9780007180868
ISBN 10: 0007180861
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 20 January 2005
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Adam Nicolson is the author of many books on history, travel and the environment. He is the winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and the British Topography Prize and lives on a farm in Sussex. This is his third book for HarperCollins -- his previous two being Sea Room and Power and Glory.

Reviews for Atlantic Britain: The Story of the Sea a Man and a Ship

This beautifully crafted piece of work from the author of 'Sea Room', takes us on a wild and wondrous journey along the shores of Britain's western seaboard. Leaving his friends and family behind on the mainland, Adam Nicolson sails from Cornwall to undertake a six-month voyage into the unknown. From the moment he leaves the safety of the harbour, his account never flinches from the physical horrors and dangers of sailing: he is beset by chronic seasickness, thrown overboard by a freak wave, and the unpredictable storms he endures make you truly appreciate the comfort of your armchair. Somehow, Nicolson allows us to feel the extraordinary enormity of the sea and the spirituality which it goes with it. Peaceful walks on tiny islands and intriguing encounters with fascinating people complement the treacherous nights he spends alone at the wheel. 'Atlantic Britain' is both a delightful and romantic read which, at times, unfurls like an eloquent poem. Its lyrical yet bold style makes it the most unorthodox love story you are ever likely to come across. (Kirkus UK)