Another little collection of interesting, thought-provoking, and beautiful essays, articles and blog posts from around the internet I’ve found over the past few months that I want to share with you. This autumn, I’ve been inspired by thoughts of island escapes, the meaning of remoteness, and the real isolation of a disaster.
Islands
The Irresistible Lure of Island Life
Island explorer Gavin Francis examines the ideas of isolation and insulation, community and connection, and the contrast between city and island life, in an introduction to his latest book, Island Dreams.
Of Pirates, Volcanoes and Irishmen: The Westmann Islands
Tracing the old transatlantic links between Ireland and Iceland, Marcel Krueger winds through the events that have shaped the history of Vestmannaejar, also known as the Westmann Islands, off the south coast of Iceland.
Land of the Faroes
The Faroe Islands achieved notoriety in 2021 once again for a traditional whale hunt, this time at a scale exceeding any previous grindadráp. This article by Jamie Lafferty looks into island life beyond the whales and the wild weather.
From the Frayed Atlantic Edge
Historian and paddler David Gange connects coastal communities around the British and Irish Isles, using his kayak as a means to explore and form an understanding of maritime histories along the Atlantic littoral.
In Search of the Golden Eagle
An expedition to photograph the majestic golden eagle is David Dinsley‘s key to unlocking the incredible wildlife of the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides.
Shipwrecks, Sailing, and Icy Silence
Arctic Horror is Having a Comeback
In a year giving us the hottest July on record, a summer of extreme heat and wildfires across the Arctic, we were transfixed to our televisions by historical horror from an icy realm. This essay by Bathsheba Demuth explores the nostalgia for a north of our darkest imaginations.
New discoveries from the lost Franklin Expedition
This blog post by Claire Warrior of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich is a fine diving off point for deeper reading around the fate of the Franklin expedition, and the archaeological work on the wrecks of the Erebus and the Terror.
‘A dead whale or a stove boat’: whaling in the 19th century
Historian Kate Jamison reveals an insight into the challenges and faced by sailors in the Arctic whaling industry, which provides the backdrop for the psychological horror of the television drama series The North Water.
Sailing Antarctica: Vendée Globe veteran’s memorable return to the frozen south
Ocean racing veteran Nick Moloney shares an account of a sailing voyage south to the Antarctic Peninsula on sailing ketch Ocean Tramp, including a visit to Bransfield House at Port Lockroy, and meeting the UKAHT team.
These Vagabond Shoes. 