Publisher's Synopsis
Obscured away in the archives of St. Andrews University, Special Collections Division is a 92 page travel journal written by a 25 year old, James Buist, a tenant farmer of Kirktonbarns. Written during the summer of 1820 this unique, descriptive, informative and anecdotal travel journal chronicles Buist's travels through a part of Scotland and England by stage coach. He entitled the work as "Desultory Observations made in a journey through a part of Scotland and England." Buist dedicated the work to Mr. J. Russell of Walton-upon-Thames, Surrey, England with apologies for the delay in sending it. The travel journal begins with a young James Buist and his traveling companion, Mr. Russell Fernie assembled at the Black Bull Inn in Edinburgh where they later watched the drill of the Royal Edinburgh Volunteers before taking the Union Stage Coach to Newcastle, York, then to Mr. J. Russell's home in Walton-upon-Thames in Surrey. Buist provides a description of the countryside, agricultural practices and the main towns they passed through, including Haddington, Dunbar, Berwick, Alnwick, Morpeth, Newcastle, Durham, York, Doncaster, London and finally Walton. During the harvest time for Poland Oats, Buist, with a great interest in agriculture, compares this to the harvest in Fifeshire, Scotland and also records descriptions of various crops and orchards. He visits Claremont, Windsor, Hampton Court Palace, Oatlands, and Holkham Hall and often has social engagements with other Scots in his travels. Also contained in the travel journal are many anecdotes about conditions he endured while traveling by coach. Buist took the stage coach to London, through the Fens, Grantham, Newcastle, then back to Edinburgh via Coldstream and Kelso by the end of August 1820. This then is the narrative of James Buist's journey through a part of Scotland and England during the summer of 1820.
