From Cape Wrath in the lonely northwest to a muddy estuary overlooking England, The Kiss of Sweet Scottish Rain takes the reader on a walk across Scotland. For its Connecticut author, Rob McWilliams, Scots-born but exiled since childhood, his walk is an obstinate ambition, and the start of a new direction in life. Adventurers and travel enthusiasts alike can join McWilliams for a discussion of his first book, fully entitled The Kiss of the Sweet Scottish Rain: A Walk from Cape Wrath to the Solway Firth, on Wednesday, October 24th, 7:00pm to 7:30 pm at Bethel's Byrd's Books. To save a spot or buy the book, go to https://conta.cc/2yCKDVD Byrd's Books is located at 178 Greenwood Avenue, adjacent to The Toy Room and the nearby landmarked Opera House, across the street from the Bethel Public Library.
In his evocative and entertaining journey on foot, McWilliams crosses wild and beautiful landscapes, meets an ever-changing cast of companions, and passes through communities from remote hamlets to the smiling, but rough-edged, city of Glasgow. Around every corner, he explores Scotland’s turbulent history and unique cultural and natural heritage, from the Gaelic language, to the fearsome Highland midge, and how the Stone of Destiny, an ancient coronation symbol, could now reside in an unassuming Glasgow pub. With many a rugged joke around the next turn in the trail, McWilliams weaves into his narrative the threads of his life that led to a self-reflective journey of struggling with terrain, injury, atrocious weather, and above all his own fragile confidence. - a journey of discovery in which the rewards of adventure prove rarely those that were anticipated.
Now a U.S. citizen, Robert McWilliams was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but moved with his journalist father’s job to the south of England at the age of three. Rob graduated from Wadham College, Oxford, with a BA Hons. in Modern History. After university, he worked as a tour guide and English teacher in France and Spain, before joining Reuters news agency in London. Rob spent 16 years at Reuters as a business manager in Hong Kong, Japan, the US, Venezuela and Brazil. Tired of corporate life, he quit his job to fulfill a stubborn ambition to walk the length of Scotland. He has contributed the Taking a Hike column to local newspapers every month for five years, which placed second in the general column category of the 2017 Connecticut Press Club awards. Rob has also written for A.T. Journeys, the official magazine of the Appalachian Trail, and Ctvisit.com. To "walk" with Rob, visit robmcwilliams.wordpress.com/