From Cape Wrath to Finisterre

By Björn Larsson

From Cape Wrath to Finisterre is both a voyage and an homage to Celtic lands and waters from their northern to their south western landfalls. Finisterre, the furthest point in Galicia in northern Spain and its jutting point into the Atlantic was so named for being ‘The End of the Earth’, even though this fame more correctly belongs to the west coast of Ireland. 

Cape Wrath points towards the Arctic Circle at Scotland’s furthest northerly limit. Author Bjorn Larsson reflects. ‘Perhaps I was looking for a homeland, perhaps not, or at any rate a place where it would be worth trying to live for a while as well as one can for as long as it lasts.’ And so it is that this is more than a travel book. Contemplative musings on life as seen from the cockpit and deck of a yacht, on a journey from Denmark around Scotland, through the Irish Sea and onwards to Brittany and Spain.
 It is only when he is travelling that Larsson feels really content. ‘Yes, I admit to rootlessness and impermanence. But restlessness, on the other hand, is a scourge. It and its modern variant, stress, the futility of running round in circles, are to be avoided at all costs. It is far from certain, of course, that this way of life would suit everybody, but if it instils in someone the desire to experiment with alternatives. I shall be happy.’

Translated from the Swedish by Tom Geddes

‘He has written an unusual book which must stimulate any reader to consider how they experience the world.’
John de Falbe, The Spectator