Joanne Parker
Autor de Britannia Obscura: Mapping Hidden Britain
Sobre El Autor
Joanne Parker, Ph.D. (2001, Leeds), is Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature at the University of Exeter. She is the author of England's Darling: The Victorian Cult of Alfred the Great (MUP, 2007) and Britannia Obscura: Mapping Hidden Britain (Cape, 2014).
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Starting with cavers, normally the only point visible on a regular map will be the entry point, but as these subterranean explorers have worked their way through the 1000 miles of caves below the country they have produced their own maps of the cavern, rivers and passageways unknown to most. Their biggest discovery so far is the three county cave system that is vast in size and depth, with 140m high caverns in some places. History also plays a part, with maps of the prehistoric landscape bringing alive the dolmens, henges and stone circles that dot our country. Apart from one like Stonehenge and Avebury, most people are totally unaware that these features are still visible, but to pagans and druids these place have a spiritual significance and resonance still. A lot of these sites have celestial links, either solar or lunar or tied in with the equinoxes; the exact reasons why we can only speculate at, but at the right time of the years the visual effect can be quite dramatic.
Staying on the spiritual side, there is a chapter on Ley Lines. This are considered by their advocates to link significant sacred places in straight lines right across the UK. The two main ones traverse diagonally from the west to the east and the south to the very north of Scotland, with many others in between. They supposedly carry energies and at significant points and intersections those energies peak. These were discovered by Alfred Watkins in 1921, or should that be created... Even though I am not sure that these are genuine, there are people who are convinced of their existence, and claim to be able to find them using divining rods, many of which which had the humble role as a coat hanger previously. Whilst Parker is not judgemental to their existence, she does put forward the point of view from the archaeology community, who are very sceptical of their existence let alone relevance.
From having your head in the clouds, to actually being in the clouds is the subject of another chapter where she looks at the commercial airspace of the UK. Extending far beyond the normal boundaries of the coastline this is a three dimensional map with layers of flight paths up to 24.500 feet, this is a fascinating map. She covers a little of the history of flight in the UK, from the brave souls who took to the air in balloons, to the early runways that became our major airport and military establishments. Also on the transport theme, and feet very much back on the ground, she looks at the canals. In the days when the roads were dangerous, rutted and frequently impassable, the advent of the canals meant that heavy and fragile goods could be moved from manufacturing centres to the ports with relative ease. The capital need to build these was immense, and whilst canal blossomed their day was shortlived as the railway age dawned. In the 1960’s canals were horrible places, full of decay and despair, but with an army of volunteers and enthusiasts in the last 40 years they have had a renaissance, but now as part of the leisure industry.
One nice touch is at the beginning of each chapter has a full page map of the UK, with each relevant subject overlaid to show that these things are not subject to county or other boundaries. It is a fascinating book, written well with authority and gravitas. One of the few flaws was that it wasn’t long enough, she talks about other subjects, such as the nuclear shelters needed for the cold war, but sadly doesn’t write about them. Good book about those unknown parts of the UK. 3.5 stars… (más)