Wigtown – a town saved by books
Martha Allison previews one of Scotland’s top literary events of the year
Published: 10/09/2009 in The Press & Journal
THERE was once time when book festivals were fusty affairs. Not any longer. Just as music festivals have upped their game of late, so literary bashes have changed, with a whole new set of “boutique” events coming to the fore. Leading the pack this autumn is the Wigtown Festival in Dumfries and Galloway.
The brilliance of this event is that it manages to offer the cream of Scottish writing – including Iain Banks, Quintin Jardine and Christopher Brookmyre this year, who will be joined by Lord Owen, Irma Kurtz and Roddy Doyle, among many others – without making the audience feel factory-farmed.
With its mixture of rolling pastureland and rocky coves, it’s no wonder that this neglected part of Scotland has been called a Caledonian Cornwall. By rights, this part of the country ought to be heaving with people, but Scots are notoriously bad at exploring their own country and, for most English visitors, the idea of turning left at Carlisle rather than carrying on to the Highlands has rarely crossed their minds.
It is their loss. The irony is that Galloway’s previous inability to attract tourists has become its great strength. Where the Borders and Ayrshire have increasingly become part of the commuter belt, this is an area that, landscape-wise, has barely changed for centuries. In other ways, however, Galloway has utterly reinvented itself.
Wigtown is a case in point. Ten years ago, it was rundown and a little bit sad, after the closure of the local creamery. But the influx of bookshops after it became Scotland’s National Book Town in 1998 has changed all that. Stroll down its main street (the widest in Scotland, apparently, but who’s measuring?) and you soon see the effect.
Martha Allison previews one of Scotland’s top literary events of the year
Published: 10/09/2009 in The Press & Journal
THERE was once time when book festivals were fusty affairs. Not any longer. Just as music festivals have upped their game of late, so literary bashes have changed, with a whole new set of “boutique” events coming to the fore. Leading the pack this autumn is the Wigtown Festival in Dumfries and Galloway.
The brilliance of this event is that it manages to offer the cream of Scottish writing – including Iain Banks, Quintin Jardine and Christopher Brookmyre this year, who will be joined by Lord Owen, Irma Kurtz and Roddy Doyle, among many others – without making the audience feel factory-farmed.
With its mixture of rolling pastureland and rocky coves, it’s no wonder that this neglected part of Scotland has been called a Caledonian Cornwall. By rights, this part of the country ought to be heaving with people, but Scots are notoriously bad at exploring their own country and, for most English visitors, the idea of turning left at Carlisle rather than carrying on to the Highlands has rarely crossed their minds.
It is their loss. The irony is that Galloway’s previous inability to attract tourists has become its great strength. Where the Borders and Ayrshire have increasingly become part of the commuter belt, this is an area that, landscape-wise, has barely changed for centuries. In other ways, however, Galloway has utterly reinvented itself.
Wigtown is a case in point. Ten years ago, it was rundown and a little bit sad, after the closure of the local creamery. But the influx of bookshops after it became Scotland’s National Book Town in 1998 has changed all that. Stroll down its main street (the widest in Scotland, apparently, but who’s measuring?) and you soon see the effect.
The full story here.
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