Two New Books About County's Magic Corner

... by local author.

'Carningli - Land and People', is a portrait of the mountain, concentrating on the features in the landscape that give clues to at least five thousand years of human habitation.

Image by: Brian John

 

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ORR

April 24, 2008

Pembrokeshire author Brian John has just published two new books about the county's 'magic corner' - the parishes of Newport and Nevern and the nearby common-land of Mynydd Carningli.

The first book, entitled 'Echoes and Shadows' deals with the tales and traditions of the two parishes, concentrating on the quirky and eccentric features that make them unique - including the ancient game of Cnapan, the Barony of Cemais, the bleeding yews of Nevern Churchyard, and the old sea quarries on the cliff coast. The latter part of the book is given over to a re-telling of some of the folk tales and legends of the district.

The companion volume, entitled 'Carningli - Land and People', is a portrait of the mountain, concentrating on the features in the landscape that give clues to at least five thousand years of human habitation.

There are few places in Britain where there is a richer legacy of prehistory and history, with an extraordinary profusion of standing stones, ancient trackways, burial places, and traces of round houses. Many of these features have never been properly mapped, let alone examined in detail by archaeologists.

Brian says of the two new books: "I've been thinking about them for years, since my previous book entitled 'Beneath the Mountain' went out of print.

"Now, after the completion of the Angel Mountain Saga, I have managed to find the time to write and illustrate them, mostly with my own colour photos.

'Echoes and Shadows' deals with the tales and traditions of the two parishes of Newport and Nevern.

Image by: Brian John

 

"I have always been attracted by the idea of the landscape "talking" to us through little details which might only show up as shadows when the sun is low!

"And I hope that these heavily-illustrated books will help readers to rediscover the pleasures of seeing things in the landscape that they might otherwise have missed, and to appreciate the extraordinary heritage passed down to us from previous generations."

"Carningli, Land and People", 2008, 48 pp, £6.00, A5 paperback, full colour throughout, ISBN 978-0-905559-88-9

"Echoes and Shadows", 2008, 48 pp, £6.00, A5 paperback, full colour throughout, ISBN 978-0905559-87-2

Both published 25th April 2008