Travel writer Richard Collett is a self-confessed border addict and loves nothing more than having a foot in two different countries and smelling the fresh stamp on his passport.
And his enthusiasm shines through in the Doubleday published Along the Borders where he merges British history with contemporary politics and culture.
Richard has devoted his time to exploring the UK’s borderlands and frontiers to discover what it is that brings us all together, despite a sense that regional identities are being lost.
He makes sure there’s fun on the way too and his book allows him to introduce the reader to the people and characters he meets on his travels.
The journey takes Richard from the banks of the River Tamar, a natural boundary dividing Anglo-Saxon Devon from Celtic Cornwall for a thousand years, to the English-Welsh borders, where Offa’s Dyke has separated the two countries since the 8th century.
He then travels north to the Anglo-Scottish borderlands, Orkney and Shetland and across the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland.
Along the way he meets interesting folk like Karen, a teacher and head of St Keverne’s history society and passionate about local culture. The village is where the Cornish rebellion of 1497 began and Karen is keen to keep the story alive and to ensure people remember the leader Michael An Gof, a blacksmith who was executed for his troubles.
Richard meets Welsh speakers teaching their language in England and migrant charity workers helping refugees. He looks at how Brexit and the pandemic made hard borders an unprecedented reality.
Scotland, Richard’s birthplace, sees him meet Laurie, a proud Shetlander and keen to share her Norse links and the island’s distinct identity. With so much of the population calling for independence from the rest of the UK, Richard dug deep to find out why the Scots and Welsh want to break ranks.
The book also looks at the fears that a hard border may reignite The Troubles in Northern Ireland, while in Southern England immigration issues have turned the Kent coast into a maritime frontier and a political background.
But importantly, Along the Borders is ultimately a travel book which tries to find what unites Britain and it’s a compelling read with lots of history and a sprinkle of humour, making it a real joy!
Published: 30th April 2026
ISBN: 978-1-5299-3588-2
UK Price: £20.00
Format: 224 x 146 x 30mm, Hardback
Pages: 336 pages
Along the Borders – In search of what divides and unites the British Isles
By Richard Collett
Published by Doubleday
Along the Borders is available to buy on the Penguin website, Blackwells, Waterstones and on Amazon.
Author Bio:
Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family on Twitter and Instagram @emojiadventurer and on Facebook via EmojiAdventurers2.
Book image courtesy of Doubleday and image of Lerwick by Peggychoucair from Pixabay
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