Watling Street Travels Through Britain and Its Ever-present Past
by John Higgs
A journey along one of Britain's oldest roads, from Dover to Anglesey, in search of the hidden history that makes us who we are today.
Long ago a path was created by the passage of feet tramping through endless forests. Gradually that path became a track, and the track became a road. It connected the White Cliffs of Dover to the Druid groves of the Welsh island of Anglesey, across a land that was first called Albion then Britain, Mercia and eventually England and Wales. Armies from Rome arrived and straightened this 444 kilometres of meandering track, which in the Dark Ages gained the name Watling Street. Today, this ancient road goes by many different names: the A2, the A5 and the M6 Toll. It is a palimpsest that is always being rewritten.
Watling Street is a road of witches and ghosts, of queens and highwaymen, of history and myth, of Chaucer, Dickens and James Bond. Along this route Boudicca met her end, the Battle of Bosworth changed royal history, Bletchley Park code breakers cracked Nazi transmissions and Capability Brown remodelled the English landscape.
The myriad people who use this road every day might think it unremarkable, but, as John Higgs shows, it hides its secrets in plain sight. Watling Street is not just the story of a route across our island, but an acutely observed, unexpected exploration of Britain and who we are today, told with wit and flair, and an unerring eye for the curious and surprising.
HistoryAncientRomeEuropeGreat BritainSocial History
RELEASED2017
PUBLISHERWeidenfeld & Nicolson
LENGTH371
LANGUAGEEN
John Higgs is a British author who explores overlooked narratives in history and culture, often challenging conventional perspectives. His work frequently delves into countercultural figures and movements that exist outside mainstream viewpoints. Among his most recognized books is The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds, which examines the intersection of pop music and radical art, and Stranger Than We Can Imagine: Making Sense of the Twentieth Century, which offers an alternative perspective on the complexities of the 20th century. His latest book, William Blake vs The World, investigates Blake’s visionary ideas while linking them to contemporary discussions in neurobiology, quantum physics, and comparative religion. Beyond writing, Higgs is an active public speaker, having appeared at events hosted by institutions such as Tate Britain and the British Library. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked in television animation, created a BBC Radio 4 quiz show, and was involved in video game production.
Watling Street Travels Through Britain and Its Ever-present Past
by John Higgs
A journey along one of Britain's oldest roads, from Dover to Anglesey, in search of the hidden history that makes us who we are today.
Long ago a path was created by the passage of feet tramping through endless forests. Gradually that path became a track, and the track became a road. It connected the White Cliffs of Dover to the Druid groves of the Welsh island of Anglesey, across a land that was first called Albion then Britain, Mercia and eventually England and Wales. Armies from Rome arrived and straightened this 444 kilometres of meandering track, which in the Dark Ages gained the name Watling Street. Today, this ancient road goes by many different names: the A2, the A5 and the M6 Toll. It is a palimpsest that is always being rewritten.
Watling Street is a road of witches and ghosts, of queens and highwaymen, of history and myth, of Chaucer, Dickens and James Bond. Along this route Boudicca met her end, the Battle of Bosworth changed royal history, Bletchley Park code breakers cracked Nazi transmissions and Capability Brown remodelled the English landscape.
The myriad people who use this road every day might think it unremarkable, but, as John Higgs shows, it hides its secrets in plain sight. Watling Street is not just the story of a route across our island, but an acutely observed, unexpected exploration of Britain and who we are today, told with wit and flair, and an unerring eye for the curious and surprising.
HistoryAncientRomeEuropeGreat BritainSocial HistoryTravelEssays & Travelogues
RELEASED2017
PUBLISHERWeidenfeld & Nicolson
LENGTH371
LANGUAGEEN
John Higgs is a British author who explores overlooked narratives in history and culture, often challenging conventional perspectives. His work frequently delves into countercultural figures and movements that exist outside mainstream viewpoints. Among his most recognized books is The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds, which examines the intersection of pop music and radical art, and Stranger Than We Can Imagine: Making Sense of the Twentieth Century, which offers an alternative perspective on the complexities of the 20th century. His latest book, William Blake vs The World, investigates Blake’s visionary ideas while linking them to contemporary discussions in neurobiology, quantum physics, and comparative religion. Beyond writing, Higgs is an active public speaker, having appeared at events hosted by institutions such as Tate Britain and the British Library. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked in television animation, created a BBC Radio 4 quiz show, and was involved in video game production.
