A Walk on the Wild Side

About the Book

A Walk on the Wild Side charts the author’s journey from Hampshire to the Scottish Highlands and eventually to one of the largest districts in Scotland and the least densely populated area of the British Isles.

The book tells the stories surrounding the wildlife encountered in and around his home and throughout the beautiful and remote area of Sutherland in the northern Highlands of Scotland.

Discover its unique landscape containing every conceivable habitat and the associated wildlife that abounds within.  From the estuaries and mixed woodland along the narrow eastern seaboard to the wild and rugged interior of mountain and moor.  From the secret coves and stunning sea cliffs of the north to Handa Island off the west coast with its sea stacks full of nesting birds and marauding skuas patrolling the skies above the hill lochans.  Each chapter captures these diverse habitats and the birds, mammals and wild flowers that live within their confines.  The magnificent golden eagle, the spectacular osprey, the haunting red and black throated divers, the secretive pine marten and otter - all of these are brought to life through the exploits of one man and his intimate knowledge of the area.

About the Author

Frederick Western was born in 1945 in central London where he spent his childhood and teenage years.

After a brief career in the printing industry he changed professions and after extensive training qualified as a fingerprint expert at New Scotland Yard.  In due course he transferred to Winchester in Hampshire and it was from here that his love affair with the Scottish Highlands began.  This started with annual holidays initiated by his wife’s desire to see where Gavin Maxwell wrote his classic book ‘Ring of Bright Water’.  After about eight years of making the long journey north, either in spring or autumn, the pull of the Highlands became too strong and in 1982 the inevitable happened.  Firstly they moved to the tiny hamlet of Glenelg, opposite the Isle of Skye in the north-west Highlands where unfortunately the magnificent scenery was overshadowed by the seriously inclement weather.  After two horrendous winters they again moved but this time to the more serene and tranquil area of east Sutherland where a renovated croft house overlooking the Inner Dornoch Firth became their home.

From here the author’s unique wildlife experiences in dramatic Sutherland began and eventually led to the writing of this book.

Since then the author and his wife have retired to the warmer climes of the Isle of Wight, his wife’s birthplace.  Sensibly ruled by their heads but their hearts remain in the Highlands.