The Creaky Traveler in the North West Highlands of Scotland: A Journey for the Mobile but Not Agile [Paperback]

Warren Rovetch (Author)

Book Description

Series: Creaky Traveler | Publication Date: August 11, 2003

On a journey of discovery, Warren and Gerda Rovetch both creaky themselves, explore the hidden places of Great Britain's last wilderness, the rugged and startling coast of Scotland's North West Highlands.

Editorial Reviews

Review

If the rest of this series is half as good as this first volume, we had best keep our bags packed. -- Donald Laing, American Book Review

This book made me long to be with the creaky travelers. I have never met a travel book with so much love in it--for nature, for the oddities encountered, for good food, and for the privilege of living on this planet. The book is deliciously readable and reveals a breadth of curiosity that is enticing. -- Anthony Smith, Explorers of the Amazon and the TV series Wilderness

Senior citizen Warren Rovetch and Gerda, his wife of 50 years have made 25 extended trips to Europe, slowly making the transition from travelers to "Creaky Travelers."

Rovetch has written and informative and interesting book for the "mobile but not agile" traveler that is filled with history, geography, culture, fascinating people and many helpful hints for senior travelers.

The Creaky Traveler documents the Rovetches' journey through the North West Highlands of Scotland, which he calls Britain's "last wilderness."

Travel books should appeal to those planning a trip and those not able, but who love to read about other people's travels.

The couple enjoy traveling independently, and tell how they plan their trips carefully, leaving room for the unexpected.

This particular adventure took them to an area of Scotland that is home to only 4 percent of the country's population, offering a casual lifestyle and unspoiled countryside that can be found in very few places these days.

The easy-reading book includes maps of the areas, plus beautiful color photos.

It is fun reading about the people and places that they got to know in the many small villages, staying in guest houses and visiting local pubs. They have also provided some interesting historical facts.

Whether or not you ever visit Scotland, you'll love the stories, and enjoy their approach to leisurely travel. This is not one of those "If it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium" travel books.

The chapters on Senior Travel trips are invaluable, as Rovetch provides simple but important suggestions for the Creaky Traveler, with a guide to assessing your individual limits, such as how far can you walk without needing a rest. --Don Fowler, Warwick Beacon, December, 2006

Join the author of The Creaky Traveler, Warren Rovetch, on an intimate driving holiday through the North West Highlands of Scotland where encounters with nature and the region's unique culture are an entertaining part of "A Journey for the Mobile but Not Agile".

What happens to the backpacking crowd when their backs grow too weak with age to shoulder the burden, when the lure of the open road is still strong, but the feet are better suited to loafers than hiking boots? Do nights of camaraderie in student-packed hostels turn to breakfasts in bed at bed-and-breakfasts? Does hitchhiking give way to most car rentals? Well traveled, 70-something adventurers Warren Rovetch, and his wife Gerda [known affectionately as G], answer these questions and many more in a charming yet practical new book, The Creaky Traveler in the North West Highlands of Scotland: A Journey for the Mobile but not Agile. --Travel with a Challenge, January 2003

Sub-titled A Journey for the Mobile but Not Agile, the author has found a good combination of travelogue, guidebook and charm to capture readers' attention. Aimed at more mature outdoor enthusiasts, this illustrated account takes us through the barren beauty of the north-west Highlands, detailing scenery, people and travel tips. --The Scots Magazine, May 2003

About the Author

Warren Rovetch has been a Fulbright Scholar at Oxford University, an economist, a textbook publisher, and a creator of an environmental education and conference center on the Columbia River. He and his wife, Gerda, live in Boulder, Colorado and have traveled extensively around the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 170 pages
• Publisher: Sentient Publications; 1 edition (August 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097107867X
• ISBN-13: 978-0971078673
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #582,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good little guide....., February 15, 2003

By 

Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Creaky Traveler in the North West Highlands of Scotland: A Journey for the Mobile but Not Agile (Paperback)

THE CREAKY TRAVELER provides an amazing amount of detail (including maps) about a small part of the northwest highlands of Scotland. Mr Rovetch has a friendly and somewhat avuncular writing style which verges on the pedantic at times. He obviously kept a diary of his travels from which this text has been extracted (the minutia could only be recorded not remembered). I found some of the detail annoying for "armchair travel" but useful for objectively planning road travel in remote Scotland. After using it to plan a trip,THE CREAKY TRAVELER is the sort of book one reads a chapter a night on the road to scope out the next day's adventures.

Rovetch and his wife Gerda who prefers the sobriquet "G" are in their late sixties-early seventies and still mobile, though as he says "not agile." Although Rovetch provides helpful hints for "older" folks, younger adventurers may find many of the suggestions useful. I bought the book because I have been seriously contemplating visiting the highlands when I travel to the UK this summer. Rovetch has convinced me road travel is the only way to go, and road travel in northwest Scotland cannot be knocked out in a few days. Also, if you truly hope to "see" anything, high summer is probably not the very best time to go.

Rovetch suggests limiting the miles covered to under 20 per day given the condition of the roads (the path is narrow and the way is hard) and the joy of slowly savoring one of the world's most beautiful rural areas. Rovetch and G made their several week journey in May when the countryside was filled with new lambs and few tourists. The places they stayed were picturesque and relatively pricey. This is a good guide for the practical traveler.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for the "creaky", December 11, 2010

By 

Jaylia3 (Silver Spring, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Creaky Traveler in the North West Highlands of Scotland: A Journey for the Mobile but Not Agile (Paperback)

If you love Celtic music and myths, if you are interested in a slower kind of vacation that allows you time to connect with local people and savor their life and culture, if you love the idea of exploring a wild, primitive, spiritual land, but you'd still like to be comfortable on your journey, then you will find a lot to enjoy in Warren Rovetch's Creaky Traveler series, even if you are not yet "creaky" or old.

Warren Rovetch's The Creaky Traveler in the North West Highlands of Scotland: a Journey for the Mobile but Not Agile was written after Rovetch and his wife Gerda, both old enough to consider themselves "creaky", visited the most northern sliver Scotland, what the book calls Great Britain's last wilderness . They took a month and meandered along Scotland's north Atlantic coast, staying in small hotels, bed and breakfasts and guest houses that were almost always in view of both mountains and sea.

The first and longer part of the book, titled "A Journey of Discovery", describes the trip Rovetch and his wife took. Their activities and lodgings, the roads they traveled, the scenery they saw and people met are all described in interesting detail. Like the Rovetch trip, the book takes its time. Each area they visited has its own chapter so there is room for discussions of geology, recent and ancient history, and local myths, customs, economies, governments and quirks, including a mention of the Toad Crossing warning sign they came across on one of their drives.

The second smaller section of the book, "On Being a Traveler", gives practical information about how Rovetch and his wife planned their journey to be both adventurous and comfortable. Tips for "creaky" travelers are included, along with a quiz to determine just how "creaky" you are.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You needn't be creaky to enjoy this book!, August 4, 2009

By 

yankeeclipper (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Creaky Traveler in the North West Highlands of Scotland: A Journey for the Mobile but Not Agile (Paperback)

Warren Rovetch targets "the mobile but not agile" traveler, but even the most agile reader can enjoy his vivid descriptions and perceptive insights into the people and the landscape of the Scottish Highlands. Apparently he only spent a few weeks passing through this magnificent region where I lived for three years, yet he pegs it perfectly! Reading "The Creaky Traveler in the North West Highlands of Scotland" is almost like living there again, with all its visual pleasures and human delights. For anyone planning to explore the Highlands, either by road or armchair, I recommend this book.

Jack Maloney, author, "The Wee Mad Road."