{"title":"Ian Bradley","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the captivating world of Ian Bradley's writings, where history, exploration, and local folklore intertwine in a delightful blend of travel and adventure. An erudite author with a penchant for uncovering the extraordinary in the ordinary, Bradley invites you to embark on journeys through time, landscapes, and culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHealth, Hedonism and Hypochondria\u003c\/em\u003e offers an enticing exploration of Victorian spa towns, where the pursuit of health and leisure gave rise to remarkable social and cultural phenomena. Through his insightful narrative, Bradley guides you through a fascinating era of indulgence and medical curiosities, painting vivid portraits of the people and places that defined it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Coffin Roads\u003c\/em\u003e, Bradley delves into the enigmatic pathways of Scotland's past, mapping the routes once used to carry the dead to their final resting places. This travelogue captures the eerie beauty and historical significance of these ancient paths, allowing you to experience Scotland's rich heritage with each turn of the page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith \u003cem\u003eThe Fife Pilgrim Way\u003c\/em\u003e, Bradley takes you on a spiritual and historical pilgrimage across the picturesque landscapes of Fife. Exploring this ancient trail, he brings to life the tales and traditions of those who once walked these paths, offering a profound reflection on faith, community, and the enduring allure of pilgrimage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJoin Ian Bradley on these remarkable journeys and discover the enthralling stories etched into the very pathways of history. His books beckon to both the armchair traveller and the avid adventurer, promising a reading experience that is as enlightening as it is entertaining.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"health-hedonism-and-hypochondria-by-ian-bradley-9780755626465","title":"Health, Hedonism and Hypochondria","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom Romans to royalty and hypochondriacs to holiday-makers, natural water spas have been a common feature in society since the first century. Even today, we periodically abandon the cities to ‘take the waters’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn their heyday, Europe’s spas were the main meeting places for aristocracy, politicians and cultural elites. They were the centres of political and diplomatic intrigue, and were fertile sources of artistic, literary and musical inspiration. The spas epitomised style and were renowned for their cosmopolitan atmosphere in a glittering whirl of balls, gambling and affairs, as much as for their healing waters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHealth, Hedonism \u0026amp; Hypochondria\u003c\/i\u003e reveals the hidden histories of traditional spas of Europe, including such well-known resorts as the original Spa in Belgium; Bath, Buxton \u0026amp; Harrogate in Britain; Baden-Baden \u0026amp; Bad Ems in Germany; Vichy \u0026amp; Aix-les-Bains in France; Bad Ragaz in Switzerland; Bad Ischl \u0026amp; Baden bei Wien in Austria and Karlovy Vary \u0026amp; Mariánské Lázne in the Czech Republic. At once luxurious sanctuaries of relaxation and resorts of the upper classes, they were also the haunts of melancholics, scoundrels and those seeking escape and excitement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PTY Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47072277954796,"sku":"9780755626465","price":42.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/702c2307f2798d8dbc588ae35e0118cb.jpg?v=1765103972"},{"product_id":"the-coffin-roads-by-ian-bradley-9781780277790","title":"The Coffin Roads","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Coffin Roads\u003c\/i\u003e journeys along eight coffin roads to discover and explore the distinctive traditions, beliefs, and practices around dying, death, and mourning in the communities which created and used them. These 'coffin roads', along which bodies were carried for burial, are a marked feature of the landscape of the Scottish Highlands and islands. Many are now popular walking and cycling routes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe result is a fascinating snapshot into place and culture. After more than a century when death was very much a taboo subject, this book argues that aspects of the distinctive West Highland and Hebridean way of death, and approach to dying and mourning, may have something helpful and important to offer us today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRoutes covered in this book are:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Kilmartin Valley - the archetypal coffin road in this ritual landscape of the dead.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Street of the Dead on Iona - perhaps the best-known coffin road in Scotland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKilearnadil Graveyard, Jura - a perfect example of a Hebridean graveyard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe coffin road through Morvern to Keil Church, Lochaline - among the best defined and most evocative coffin roads today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Green Isle, Loch Shiel, Ardnamurchan - the oldest continuously used burial place anywhere in Europe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe coffin road on Eigg - with its distinctive 'piper's cairn', where the coffin of Donald MacQuarrie, the 'Great Piper of Eigg', was rested.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe coffin road from Traigh Losgaintir to Loch Stocinis on Harris - popular with walkers and taken as the title for a best-selling thriller by Peter May.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe coffin road on Barra - A detailed study of burial practices on Barra in the early 1950s provides a fascinating record of Hebridean attitudes to dying, death, and mourning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47072372818156,"sku":"9781780277790","price":22.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/23564313482821.jpg?v=1765099019"},{"product_id":"the-fife-pilgrim-way-by-ian-bradley-9781780275925","title":"The Fife Pilgrim Way","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is the essential companion for anyone exploring the new \u003cem\u003eFife Pilgrim Way\u003c\/em\u003e, whether on foot, by car or bicycle, or simply as an armchair traveller.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePacked with history, vivid anecdote, and nearly 100 colour illustrations, it brings to life the fascinating communities and characters along the route in whose footsteps modern pilgrims are treading. Setting off with Celtic saints and St Margaret from Culross and North Queensferry, marching with miners through the West Fife coalfields, carrying on with Covenanters and Communists, and ending among the martyrs, relics, and ghosts of the haunted city of St Andrews, this gripping narrative presents a journey through Scottish history, ancient and modern, with spiritual reflections along the way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47072374817004,"sku":"9781780275925","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/23545663482821.jpg?v=1765099460"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/ian-bradley.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}