Richard Collett has explored the UK’s borderlands including Carlisle in his book Along The Borders.
The work examines the nation’s regional identities, merging historical, political, and cultural narratives.
The book features Collett’s exploration of various borders, from the River Tamar, which has divided Anglo-Saxon Devon from Celtic Cornwall for a millennium, to Offa’s Dyke, marking the divide between England and Wales since the 8th century.
The Anglo-Scottish borderlands also play a significant role in Collett’s narrative, as well as the northern isles of Orkney and Shetland.
The book then crosses the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland, where Collett investigates the potential risks of re-establishing a hard border.
Collett’s journey, however, is not just about geography.
He meets a wide range of characters, from Cornish nationalists and Welsh speakers teaching the language in England, to migrant charity workers aiding refugees.
Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, which made hard borders a reality for the first time in centuries, provide a backdrop to Collett’s exploration.
The book also addresses the ongoing calls for Scottish, Welsh, and even Cornish independence, and how these movements contribute to the rise of regional identities in an increasingly fragmented United Kingdom.
In Southern England, Collett explores how immigration issues have transformed the Kent coast into a political battleground.
Despite the many differences and divisions he encounters, Collett’s work ultimately seeks to uncover what unites the UK.
Collett, an award-winning travel journalist, has been a professional travel writer since 2018.
His work regularly features in major international publications, including National Geographic, BBC Travel, CNN Travel, Lonely Planet, and The Telegraph.
His travel blog, travel-tramp.com, attracts around 50,000 visitors each year.
He won the British Guild of Travel Writers’ Travel Blog of the Year in both 2021 and 2024.
Born in Scotland to English parents, Collett now lives in Exmouth, Devon.
His book, Along The Borders, is a record of his multi-year journey through Britain’s borderlands, including the River Tamar, the Welsh Marches, the Scottish border, the Irish Border, the Kent Coast, and the northernmost isles of Shetland.
It explores the history of these ancient borders and the stories of the people who live there, in a bid to understand what binds modern Britain together.
The book has been described as “An absorbing journey across the fractured frontiers of the United Kingdom” by Shafik Meghji, author of Crossed Off the Map and Small Earthquakes.
Alan Cleaver, author of The Postal Paths, praised Collett for being a “knowledgeable and compelling guide” and “He writes with great humour but also tackles the politics head on.”
