Celebrating Women Who Wrote the Wild: The Wilderness Group Honors Female Writers Who Captured the UK & Ireland’s Iconic Landscapes and Inspired Adventure

In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8^th, the Wilderness group of companies – comprised of award-winning brands Wilderness Scotland, Wilderness England, and Wilderness Ireland – are honoring women in literature who have put pen to paper to breathe life into the landscapes that they call home, inspiring adventurers from around the globe to follow in their footsteps.

From Jane Austen and the Brontë Sisters to Nan Shepherd and Maeve Binchy, and so many more, they used the written word to bring the people and places of England, Scotland, and Ireland to life in the hearts and minds of readers worldwide.

Through Wilderness’ many amazing adventures, travelers can witness those words come to life first-hand, be it on any of the many regular group trips or as part of a fully guided women-only departure available as part of the group’s ‘Women in Adventure’ line-up through Wilderness Scotland and Wilderness Ireland.

Scotland

Scottish Modernist writer and poet, Anna “Nan” Shepherd, is best known for her seminal mountain memoir, The Living Mountain, based on her experiences of hill walking in the Cairngorms (watch Wilderness Scotland’s Women in the Wild film series featuring Elise Wortley, who is raising awareness of history’s female explorers, including Nan Shepherd). With her writing described in one review as “making magic before your eyes with the English language,” the book is viewed by many as “the finest book ever written on nature and landscape in Britain.”

And indeed, the Cairngorms are very much the type of place to inspire prose. A mountain range in the Scottish Highlands, they are also part of a National Park of the same name, which stretches 1,748 miles and is home to historic fortresses, abundant wildlife, and myriad distilleries, along with amazing hiking opportunities. It is also recognized as one of the best places in the world to stargaze, thanks to its northerly latitude and low levels of light pollution.

England

This year, England is celebrating the 250^th birthday of its famed and beloved author, Jane Austen, with special events planned across the country. With roots in the south of England, spending a large part of her life in the village of Chawton – in the cottage now known simply as “Jane Austen’s House” – this is where Austen wrote and published all six of her globally beloved novels.

The cottage is located on the northern edge of South Downs National Park, known for its chalk ridges and wooded heaths, it has inspired writers and artists alike over the years.

Ireland

Beloved Irish novelist, playwright, and short story writer, Maeve Binchy, penned 16 novels, most of which were characterized by a sympathetic and often humorous portrayal of small-town life in Ireland, with one reviewer stating, “you fell in love not just with the characters, but with the whole story, the atmosphere, and most of all Ireland.”

The Lilac Bus, for instance, is based in a fictional village in West Ireland, while Circle of Friends, which was also made into a film, was shot in County Kilkenny.