"Experience had taught us that the worst hardly ever happens, and if it does, it can usually be turned into a best."Katharine Stewart captures what it was really like trying to make a living out of a hill croft near Loch Ness 50 years ago. A couple and their young daughter, fresh from city life, immerse themselves in the practicalities of looking after sheep, cattle and hens, mending fences, baking bread and surviving the worst that Scottish winters can throw at them. At times they find it a desperate struggle to get the work done and to make ends meet. Working as a tight family unit, they learn to cope, and in time grow to love their way of life and their little croft.

A Croft In The Hills

Stewart, Katharine

Biographies & Memoirs

Reminiscence Large Print

Crofting is a particularly Scottish way of managing the land that is now breathing new life into the Highland glens. In recent high-profile cases in Assynt, Knoydart and the islands of Eigg and Gigha, local crofters have taken ownership of the land on which they have lived as tenants for generations. Communities that were left deserted by the Clearances of the nineteenth century have once more got a future. In this new, greatly expanded edition of her bestselling "Crofts and Crofting", Katherine Stewart describes how crofting has evolved over the years. Life on the crofts is, and always has been, hard and seldom materially rewarding. And yet it has created a rich tradition, marked by community spirit, personal warmth, respect for the land and toughness in the face of adversity. This new edition updates the crofting story for the twenty-first century. A ground-breaking Crofting Act is now putting crofters, with their environmentally sustainable small farms, at the forefront of land management in the Highlands. In the new era, information technology is transforming the options available and removing the isolation which was so often the crofters' greatest burden. This book is a complete guide to the history, working methods and future outlook for a unique way of life.

Crofts and crofting (Scottish connection)

W. Blackwood

"Experience had taught us that the worst hardly ever happens, and if it does, it can usually be turned into a best." Katharine Stewart captures what it was really like trying to make a living out of a hill croft near Loch Ness 50 years ago. A couple and their young daughter, fresh from city life, immerse themselves in the practicalities of looking after sheep, cattle and hens, mending fences, baking bread and surviving the worst that Scottish winters can throw at them. At times they find it a desperate struggle to get the work done and to make ends meet. Working as a tight family unit, they learn to cope, and in time grow to love their way of life and their little croft.

Croft in the Hills

History

Europe

State Mutual Book & Periodical Service, Limited

A Garden in the Hills

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Gardening & Landscape Design

Birlinn

Katharine Stewart, who died in 2013, was one of Scotland’s best-loved writers on rural life in the Highlands. A Croft in the Hills, her first book,tells the story of how a couple and their young daughter, fresh from city life, took over a remote hill croft near Loch Ness and made a livingfrom it. Full of warm personal insights, good humour and a love of living things, it has become a classic and has rarely been out of print since itwas first published in 1960.This omnibus gathers A Croft in the Hills together with some of Katharine’s later books: A Garden in the Hills, describing a year in the life ofher Highland garden; A School in the Hills, a vivid history of the school at Abriachan which eventually became the Stewarts’ family home; andThe Post in the Hills, which tells the dramatic story of the postal service in the Highlands, from the point of view of Katharine’s later role aspostmistress of the smallest post office in Scotland, run from the porch of her Abriachan schoolhouse. Each of these books glows with whatNeil Gunn described as ‘its unusual quality, its brightness and its wisdom’. The omnibus will bring the grace, charm and wisdom of KatharineStewart’s writing to a new generation of readers.

A Life in the Hills: The Katharine Stewart Omnibus

Historical

A real classic among Highland books, "A Croft in the Hills" captures, in simple, moving descriptions, what it was really like trying to make a living out of a hill croft fifty years ago. A couple and their young daughter, fresh from city life, immerse themselves in the practicalities of looking after sheep, cattle and hens, mending fences, baking bread and surviving the worst that Scottish winters can throw at them.

A Croft in the Hills

A real classic among Highland books, A Croft in the Hills captures, in simple, moving descriptions, what it was really like trying to make a living out of a hill croft fifty years ago. A couple and their young daughter, fresh from city life, immerse themselves in the practicalities of looking after sheep, cattle, and hens, mending fences, baking bread, and surviving the worst that Scottish winters can throw at them. Katherine Stewart lived on a croft at Abriachan, near Loch Ness, for many years. This book is the first in a series, which includes A Garden in the Hills, A School in the Hills and The Post in the Hills. She has since helped to set up a crofting museum in Abriachan. Now living in Inverness, she recently celebrated her 90th birthday.

Memoirs

Mercat Pr

When Katharine Stewart's first books were originally published, they were completely ahead of their time, promoting an environmentally sustainable lifestyle in a era before most people realised that modern food production and man's disconnection from nature were serious issues. They tell of the strength to be found in communities with a common purpose and how the people of the Highlands survived the worst that Scottish winters could throw at them. A Garden in the Hills celebrates one of mankind's oldest pleasures. Month by month, the circle of the seasons is luminously evoked as we are told of the practicalities of gardening, cooking, bee-keeping and wine-making. It is peppered with warm, personal insights and good humour. A love of living things shines through A Garden in the Hills, making it a delightfully engaging and rewarding read.

Mercat Press

Where did the name Loch Ness come from, and how did Cherry Island come to be? When have the waters run red with blood? From history to fauna, this book is great for locals and visitors alike. Known throughout the world for its legendary inhabitant, Loch Ness has inspired folklore and fascination in the hearts of those who visit it for centuries. But what of the characters, the history and the myths which enchanted inhabitants and travellers alike long before the first sightings of the so-called Loch Ness Monster? Katharine Stewart takes us on a journey through the past and the politics, the heroes and villains, and the natural beauties that are the true source of the magic of Loch Ness.

The Story of Loch Ness

Luath Press Ltd.

A School in the Hills

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Stewart, Katharine. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Stewart, Katharine

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Stewart, Katharine. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

A Croft In The Hills

Crofts and crofting (Scottish connection)

Croft in the Hills

A Garden in the Hills

A Life in the Hills: The Katharine Stewart Omnibus

A Croft in the Hills

A Croft in the Hills

A Garden in the Hills

The Story of Loch Ness

A School in the Hills