Peak Beyond Peak

The unpublished Scottish Journeys of Isobel Wylie Hutchison

The Scottish-based essays by the explorer, writer, poet, artist, botanist and film maker,  Isobel Wylie Hutchison  have been published by Taproot Press. There is an excellent introduction by Kenneth Maclean, a piece about a visit to Edinburgh by Isobel's Estonian friend, Gus Masik and a final chapter about my own connection with Isobel and journeys.

Peak Beyond Peak is available from all the usual book stores or you can contact me directly for a signed copy.

Isobel was born in 1889 and in her 30s took to travelling solo throughout Iceland, Greenland and the Arctic. She worked as a botanist, collecting samples for Kew and the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh.  She also wrote and published books about her travels as well as poetry and gave over 500 lectures. Isobel was one of the most remarkable Scottish figures of her time and I came across her when working as Writer in Residence at the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in 2014.  

Transcribing someone else's work probably sounds like a doddle - however, some pieces were hand written and photocopied (not that well) so I had to work with a magnifying glass in hand and  re-read sections to decipher certain words.

Other pieces had several versions and I read them all to combine the best from each, aiming to remain faithful to Isobel's writing style. It was definitely a work of love but it's easy to be passionate about IWH!  She will continue to inspire many people for years to come. 

Meanwhile, Dmytro has released a new album 'Hebridean Suite' inspired by our trip to the Outer Hebrides in September 2019 as part of my work with the Art UK sculpture project. This has been serendipitous as many of Isobel's stories are about walks in the Hebrides.  The album cover is based on a sculpture photographed on Lewis.