From the lonely heights of mountains to the womblike depths of caves, stone has always drawn us in. In The Spirit of Stone, Wyl Menmuir explores the many ways in which rock and earth form part of our identities, histories and futures. 

Across Britain and Ireland – from Mull to the Isles of Scilly – rock is everywhere beneath our feet, shaping not only our landscapes but also our imaginations and the ways we live together. 

Moving across these lands, Wyl Menmuir’s essays combine travelogue, social history and memoir, bringing together interviews, folklore and personal encounters with the landscapes themselves. 

From sacred monuments to modern sculpture, this book reveals how stone grounds us, challenges us and inspires us, such as: 

• Mountains and caves as places of pilgrimage, danger, refuge and wonder. 
• Ancient pathways and stone circles that leave traces of our ancestors written into the land. 
• Marks and monuments, from Neolithic carvings to contemporary sculpture, art that endures across centuries. 
• Everyday stone, for example the quarries, buildings and raw materials that underpin our daily lives.