Voted a Best Travel Book of the Year by The Scotsman, 2016
With its vibrant cities and breathtaking landscapes, Scotland has captivated writers and visitors for centuries and inspired a diverse range of literature, from the religious poems carved on the rocks of its sacred monuments to the seedy urban novels of Irvine Welsh. For Robert Burns, Scotland's iconic poet, the culture of his native country was a fertile ground for his imagination. Sir Walter Scott drew on the nation's past, and on the stirring mountains and lochs of the Highlands, as he pioneered the historical novel....

Andalucia is the quintessence of Spain and yet, historically and culturally, it is surprisingly unlike the rest of the country. Its literary history began to develop with the Romans and reached an early flowering when Arabic poets drew on centuries of literary tradition, together with the landscapes and passions of Moorish Spain. Later, Prosper Merimee, Byron and Washington Irving forged legends of exotic southern Spain that persist to this day and Spanish writers themselves captured the rich tapestry of Andalucian culture, from Cervantes' Seville to the Cordoba of Baroque poet Luis de...

Madrid has now overtaken Barcelona to become Spain's most visited and popular city.

Into the heart of one of the world's most alluring cities through the imaginations of over 50 writers and artists

"Memory's images, once they are fixed in words, are erased," Marco Polo said. "Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once, if I speak of it, or perhaps, speaking of other cities, I have already lost it, little by little." -- Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities Venice, 'La Serenissima', is one of the most breathtaking cities in the world. A floating labyrinth; the world's greatest museum, frozen in time; a cultural jewel, slowly sinking into the lagoon from which it rose; tourist-trap, irresistible muse. From its earliest beginnings in the 7th century, Venice has been a magnetic centre of...