With just a backpack as a home, a guidebook in one hand, a bizarre travelogue in the other and very little money in his bank account, Ian leaves his home and sets off to the little country of Ireland that has always been his neighbour, yet overlooked by him for many years as he pursued dreams to travel to far and exotic countries. This is the story of one man's journey to a not so distant land.
Ian was more than a little apprehensive when his turn came to kiss the Blarney Stone. Not only had they just met, but it seemed this stone wasn't at all fussy as to who it allowed to kiss it. Kissing the Blarney Stone is Ireland's third most popular tourist attraction, so as well as the moral implications there were the hygienic implications too. Yet kissing the Blarney Stone is reputed to bestow upon you the Irish gift of the gab, a talent Ian would need if he was to seduce the Sisters of Murphy's; assuming he ever finds them.
This was just the first obstacle Ian had to cross during his two-month journey around the Emerald Isle. With just a backpack as a home, a guidebook in one hand, a bizarre travelogue in the other and very little money in his bank account, he leaves his home and sets off to this little country that has always been his neighbour, yet overlooked by him for many years as he pursued dreams to travel to far and exotic countries.
But to Ian's surprise he was to find that he didn't need to travel thousands of miles across the world to discover something new and exciting. As he busses, hitches and walks his way from Cork to Donegal via the West Coast Ian discovers the wonderful spirit and friendliness of the Irish people. During this time he conceives a plan to be a real backpacker for a day by hiking from one town to another with the full weight of his backpack, but finds things aren't as straightforward as they might have seemed. Although travelling alone, he is rarely on his own as he meets up with various interesting and amusing characters along the way, until finally reaching the quiet and unspoilt shores of northern Donegal. Here he must cross a tumultuous ocean on a small boat in order to meet the King of Ireland, on the barren and windswept Tory Island.
Excerpt
Nervous Don and his wife were on holiday from Maine. I call him Nervous Don because Don was his name, obviously, and he was as nervous as hell when it came to driving on these tiny country roads. I didn’t blame him really because after being used to the wide highways of America, the narrow, twisting lanes of County Cork must have come as quite a culture shock to him. Being on the other side of the road probably didn’t help matters much either. Don was so tense behind that wheel that I suspected you would be unable to pull a needle out of his arse with a four-wheel drive.
One thing I was to discover in West Cork - and something Don and his wife were about to never forget for as long as they live - was the fact that all traffic, no matter what size, uses these country roads. As we approached a sharp turn a huge industrial dumper truck suddenly came hurtling around the corner and veered down upon us, taking up most of the road. Don impulsively swung the car into the hedge as his wife screamed, ‘Oh my god!’ The truck zoomed on past and Don crept cautiously forward again, possibly in need of fresh underwear.
Professional Reviews
Charity, Fun and Books--What a Way to "Go!" by Carolyn Howard Johnson
An Honest, Funny Look at Ireland
Not that anyone cares, but I'm putting all travel section editors on notice: I hate travel books. I prefer serendipity when I travel and I truly don't give a darn about the kind of soap a hotel puts in its bathrooms.
My point here is that Hot Footing Around the Emerald Isle by Ian Middleton is a book even travelers (and book lovers) like me can adore.
This book is funny. And perspicacious. And it will do the world some good-literally. More about that in a minute.
This is a book about, well, you know, the adventures the author had hotfooting it around Ireland. Now the author plans to do it again for charity. He will walk 300 miles across Ireland to aid asthma research come May. Part of the proceeds from this book go directly to charity and the rest of the profits will fund this second walk-sort of charity and profits in motion like a giant snowball (I hope) rolling down and hill and collecting more good, pristine stuff as it rolls!
And more "good stuff" could include another book. Mr. Middleton's writing reflects his breadth of travel and his experience in the UK; not that they are connected or anything but he also has a rather salty vocabulary. He has an uncanny knack for spotting the way the universe provides coincidences and for characterization. Emerald Isle introduces us to more interesting characters than the average novel.
This book is also inspirational. No, not that kind. It will be an inspiration to English speakers with a tad of Irish running in their veins to visit the green islands. They can go the way Ian did or they can get themselves one of those how-to books that list prices and locations if they prefer. It's really not what you read about Ireland that's important. It's how well what your reading works at getting you there!
From the Guardian Series, first published Monday 15th Sep 2003.
AN asthmatic since childhood, Ian Middleton has enjoyed extensive walking visits to, among other places, South America and Ireland and survived to tell the tale - by way of his books To the End of the World and Back and Hot Footing Around the Emerald Isle.
And it was while promoting the second that a journalist wrongly assumed that his odyssey in Ireland had been conducted entirely with a backpack - but it was that which has encouraged Ian to have a crack at it. Accordingly he will attempt to walk so laden from Wexford in the south east to Donegal in the north west in spring next year and while it continues he will be donating £1 from each sale of his two books to asthma research charities.
Ian already knows this is going to be quite a challenge for the part of his first Irish walk he undertook with his backpack - and two Swiss girls - over 197 kilometres of the Beara Peninsula took 11 hours instead of five thanks to unreliable signposts. But after their punishing experience the trio were game for a 40 miles cycle ride up and down hills the next day.
What makes Ian's walks so memorable and his books so riveting is that he always has time to smell the roses - to absorb and relate the atmosphere of the countryside or the township he is visiting. And he clearly has the knack of attracting the interest of women wherever he goes!
Ian hopes that his books will inspire his readers to "get out and walk" - and that includes asthmatics!
By Allan Domville
One year; two great books…
Hot Footing Around the Emerald Isle
“A unique and witty perspective on touring around Ireland
from a proven English Travel Writer”
BOOK REVIEW BY MARTY MC COOL
It’s often said that good writers don’t rest on their laurels. Travel writer and incurable wayfarer Ian Middleton can be accused of a lot of things, but resting on his laurels is definitely not one of them.
For this is the second travel book Ian has published in a year, following hot on the heels of his highly popular debut book ‘To the End of the World and Back’. Ian’s near-insatiable zest for travel was given free rein during his trip to Tierra del Fuego, the endpoint of the world. On his return from the warmer climes South America, however, a trip to the colder climes of neighbouring Ireland proved that he needed not to survey the globe in future to find something refreshing and new.
Another book materialised from his many experiences in mythical, mystical Ireland in the summer of 1999 and his return trip a year later. It’s evocatively titled ‘Hot Footing Around the Emerald Isle’. Available in all local bookshops, it’s a steal at just €10.99. The book gives a unique and witty perspective on travelling around Ireland from a proven English travel writer. It’s an involving, compelling read that never, ever forgets the reader and brings them along on what is frequently a roller coaster ride. Nor is it just for foreigners; Irish can be regaled by the book, too and made to laugh at themselves.
Travel with the audacious, impulsive, vivacious Ian on his bicoastal tour of Ireland, taking in the whole expanse of the west coast and winding up somewhere that has a special place in his affections – Wexford.
Here’s a taste of the experiences contained in Ian’s new book…
During his trip, Ian decided to truly enter into the spirit of backpacking by basically being a backpacker and humping his luggage from place to place for a day. Ian subscribes to the theory that when people are backpacking, mostly they don’t do it properly. Ian set himself the challenge of a ten-mile trek to a hostel along the Beara Way, saddled with the full weight of his backpack for the entire journey. Should anything go awry along the way, Ian would be up against it with for he had no raincoat, no water and only two Kit Kats for the trip. Two slightly saner beings, Swiss-German girls, agreed to go along (without big backpacks, of course) for the… whatever! Find out how a projected four-hour trek turned into a nine hour nightmare and how a sense of humour can be essential in upholding the human spirit in the hour of adversity.
In another chapter, Ian relates the story of Dingle’s principle attraction – a dolphin. After his arduous attempts to get a glimpse of ‘Fungie’ the dolphin. Ian concluded that the dolphin was not as real as it seemed to most people. When the boats came out, the dolphin appeared. Conversely, when the boats went away, so did he. Find out what Ian’s interesting theory about the dolphins appearances is.
Ian found his pub crawl of Letterfrack, Co. Galway to be character-revealing of our country. Being that Letterfrack is but a small village, a pub crawl was no big undertaking. After seeing only a few elderly in the first of the village’s three pubs and seeing that the second was as good as empty, Ian was tempted to pack it in. However, true to character, Ian persevered. Bingo. Inside the third pub were hundreds of people.
As he worked his way through the highlands of County Donegal, Ian found his journey inexorably leading to a meeting with the King of Ireland on Tory Island, after a hairy boat ride across the storm-tossed, wild waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Find out why a meeting with the incomparable character that is the King of Ireland on Tory is a must for anyone who visits that part of our country.
Half of the two-month trip on which Ian’s book is based was spent in Wexford town. His Wexford visit was meant to last only a week, but germinated into a month.
“Walking through the streets of Wexford Town I knew straight away that I had made the right decision,” says Ian of his first foray into our town.
Ian’s was instantly taken by Wexford’s unique character. He has high praise for Kirwan House, the place where he saw out the rest of his sojourn. ‘Butch’ Barlow gave him a right good Wexford welcome and continues to do so on Ian’s frequent return visits. Ian’s special affection for Kirwan House is summed when he says: “Kirwan House always attracted an eclectic crowd, and some extremely memorable and colourful characters. Many would come back. But one girl summed up Kirwan House and its staff perfectly. She called it ‘the Kirwan House Big Family’. And how right she was.”
On his next visit, a year on, Ian couldn’t get back to Wexford quick enough. Wexford’s multitude of attractions captivated Ian, especially the Irish National Heritage Park, Johnstown Castle and Rosslare Strand. Also part of his agenda was a boat trip to see the seals at Raven Point. Ian was mighty impressed with Wexford’s tally of ninety-three pubs and hoped that his chances of tracking down the Sister’s of Murphy’s might be better here than in other places. Find out in this book just what it is that makes Wexford a second home for Ian to which he keeps returning.
In his new book, Ian Middleton has compiled a Bord Failte-standard guide to some of Ireland’s best places and people. The story is illuminated by the crystal-clarity of Ian Middleton’s descriptive faculties, his razor-sharp sense of humour and zest for adventure.
‘Hot Footing Around the Emerald Isle’ is one of the most vivid, forthright and replenishing books you will read this year.
