Along the Borders: In search of what divides and unites us

Nationalities are often strongest on the border, where people define themselves in opposition to their neighbours. Flags fly, dialects become stronger, and the distance between ‘us’ and ‘them’ grows. But borderlands are also the spaces in between, where centuries of history and culture merge and collide to create complex and shifting identities. Along the Borders chronicles Richard Collett’s multi-year journey, by bus, boat, train, plane, car and on foot, through hundreds of miles of borderlands. Exploring Cornwall, the Welsh Marches, the Midlands, the Anglo-Scottish border, the Scottish Highlands, Shetland, Northern Ireland and the Kentish coast, this is not just a book about the United Kingdom’s borders and boundaries: it’s about the people that live there. Collet speaks to a vivid cast of characters, from Cornish nationalists to town criers, from pub landlords to battle reenactors, and charity workers helping refugees on a search for national and personal identity in an increasingly fragmented United Kingdom. By looking to the borderlands, we can discover the essence of what Britain is and what it isn’t. What it has been and what it can be. Ultimately, this is a book about how our borders and boundaries are bridged, and how they bring us together.