Coastlines by Patrick’s Barkham is an exploration of Britain’s coastal areas which are owned and looked after by the National Trust – this means that the book doesn’t include Scotland which has its own National Trust or our seaside towns. The book is about the relationship (or sometimes lack of it) between people and the coast so its interest depends on how engaging you find those people. I thought it was quite patchy. There were bits I found fascinating, such as the story of Brownsea Island’s various owners and inhabitants. Others I thought were dull, for example the lives and loves of the aristocratic family who owned Plas Newydd on the Menai Strait where the book evolved into a mini-biography rather than a reflection on the coast.
The arrangement of the book felt very bitty – the writing flits back and forth between different parts of the country, and even a single chapter covers two or three areas. It’s divided into thematic sections exploring different ways in which humans connect with the coast – war, passion, work, faith, etc – and the author then explores different areas of coast that fit with these themes. I felt there was just too much covered and would probably have preferred a book looking at either a smaller geographical area or fewer themes.
Where the book did engage my interest I found it fascinating and full of facts and quirky anecdotes about historical characters as well as explorations of how people today are part of the story. I did think, however, that the author presented these facts and stories without any overall analysis or reflection about what our coastlines mean to the nation or what the future might hold.
This book was definitely worth a read but I would say that you need to be clear what you are getting. It’s not a book about nature or wildlife but a collection of snippets of stories about people today and in the past who have engaged with these particular areas of coast.
Anne Is Reading 