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A writer's quest to understand the deep past and uncertain future of his homeland.
After inheriting the miner's safety lamp that belonged to his great-grandfather, Jake Morris-Campbell sets out on a pilgrimage across his homeland. Travelling from the Holy Island of Lindisfarne to Durham Cathedral, he asks what new ways might be made through the old north.
This region, a hub of early Christian Britain and later strongly defined by industry and class, now faces an uncertain future. But it remains a unique and starkly beautiful part of the country, with a deep history that is intimately entwined with the idea of Englishness. Jake’s journey along the ‘Camino of the North’ sees him explore the shifting nature of individual and regional identity across thirteen-hundred years of social change. At the same time, it challenges him to reconsider his own calling as a writer and how it relates to the lives of the people he meets along the way.
Between the salt and the ash asks what stories the North East can tell about itself in the wake of Christianity and coal. Rejecting the damaging trope of ‘left behind’ communities, Jake uncovers neglected seams of culture and history, while offering a heartfelt celebration of the place he calls hyem.
'Beautifully written, Between the salt and the ash melds history, industry and memories into a moving portrait of the land between Tyne and Wear.'
Brian Groom, author of Northerners: A History
'This is a beautiful and significant book. Its blend of history, poetry and travelogue gives a complex and compelling vision of the strange and lovely land of the north. It should be read by us all, wherever we live.'
David Almond, author of Skellig
'A tender Northumbrian camino through England's own land of saints and scholars.'
Dan Jackson, author of The Northumbrians
'Beautifully crafted'
Robert Colls, The New Statesman
'Our heritage isn’t just about mining and nor is this book. The author expertly shows how the region is made up of layers of history, identity, work etc., and the way that sculpture, art, poetry etc can represent the region and its identity.'
Peter Sagar, North East Bylines
Prologue: first foot
Introduction: lights of the north
Part I: The sea on sanded feet
1 The compass takes its weigh
2 Coastline of castles
3 Salt pans and sand dunes
4 The spine road
5 Harvest from the deep
Tirtha: Tyne
Part II: Stringing Bedes
6 Following the Don
7 The ash path
8 Ghosts of the East End
9 What kingdom without common feasting?
10 Light moved on
11 The big meeting
Tirtha: Wear
Davy
Coda
Index