This is Scotland: A Country in Words and Pictures by Daniel Gray and Alan McCredie

Book Review by Tina Koenig | 03 Nov 2014
Book title: This is Scotland: A Country in Words and Pictures
Author: Daniel Gray and Alan McCredie

Photographer Alan McCredie and writer Daniel Gray have merged talents to bring you the travelogue This is Scotland. It’s a flirty glance at a dozen areas around the country – setting off in Leith and making tracks to both Highlands and Borderlands. Along the way they encounter the re-awakened Dundee with never-ending talk of the new V&A Museum, the 'chaos' on Skye, and Govan, where apparently you can get just about anything – including an STI.

This collection of photography accompanied by context and history doesn’t claim to be exhaustive or academic but is an honest account of real places and people, often captured in poetic prose. 

Despite a past of tough times, in Leith people plough on – some are drug-dependent, some aren’t. All hope to avoid the dog-mess on the pavements. People in Pitlochry munch chips in a café which claims to have sold one million fish suppers. McCredie and Gray capture the affection between an elderly gentleman and his new walking stick. In Galashiels, the pair manage to communicate a lingering sadness, showing a town now overshadowed by massive superstores, local businesses gone bust. 

Searching through Scotland what did they hear? Laughter. What did they smell? Mainly chips. This book has uncovered a country that is lived and living. It’s a refreshing journey which makes you wonder, what is Scotland to you? [Tina Koenig]

Out now, Published by Luath Press, RRP £9.99