Britain's Last Frontier

The Highland Line is the most profound internal boundary in Britain. First recognised by Agricola in the first century AD (parts of its most northerly portion mark the furthest north the Romans got) it divides the country both geologically and culturally, signalling the border between Highland and Lowland, Celtic and English-speaking, crofting and farming.

In Britain's Last Frontier best-selling author Alistair Moffat makes a journey of the imagination, tracing the route of the Line from the River Clyde through Perthshire and the North-east. In addition to exploring the huge importance of the Line over almost two thousand years, he also shows how it continues to influence life and attitudes in 21st-century Scotland. The result is a fascinating book, full of history and anecdote.



Alistair Moffat was born and bred in the Scottish Borders. A former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Director of Programmes at Scottish Television and founder of the Borders Book Festival, he is also the author of a number of highly acclaimed books. From 2011 he was Rector of the University of St Andrews. His previous books include The Reivers, The Borders, Scotland: A History from Earliest Times and To the Island of Tides.



'4G history, for genetics, geography, geology and Gaeldom are all in the mix. But what opens out each of those topics is a fifth "G": Moffat's skill as a generalist, his ability to communicate intellectual fascination'