Upon A White Horse, Peter Ross
Upon A White Horse, Peter Ross
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

Upon A White Horse
A Financial Times Best Book of 2025 and Radio 4 Book of the Week

Author: Peter Ross

Narrator: Peter Ross

Unabridged: 11 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Headline

Published: 09/11/2025


Synopsis

*A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK, FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOKS OF 2025, SCOTSMAN BOOKS OF 2025, COUNTRY LIFE BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2025*

'Packed with anecdote and colour, it's a surprisingly touching portrait of the countries' - Financial Times, Best Books of 2025

'An insightful and engaging reflection on the appeal of the ancient' - The Times

'I'm a card-carrying admirer of Peter Ross' - Robert Macfarlane

The prehistoric sites of Britain and Ireland are places of wonder and wondering. Who made these structures? What did they mean to them? And what do they mean to us now?

Author of the bestseller Steeple Chasing and prize-winning A Tomb With A View, Peter Ross journeys from midwinter at Stonehenge to midsummer at Sycamore Gap. Along the way he encounters bog bodies in Dublin, a wooden goddess in Edinburgh and a chalk giant in Dorset. He asks what it is like to live within the great stone circle at Avebury, what rituals occurred in an Anglesey tomb and what draws volunteers to care for the Uffington White Horse.

These objects and structures speak of the long human story. They offer the comfort of recognition and the pleasure of mystery. There is something about ancient places that fills a hollow in our souls.

Upon A White Horse is a celebration of landscape and people - and all that is beautiful, strange and old.

'Ross scores highly on his intuitive interpretations of places and his non-judgemental observations of human nature; he is empathetic, but can stand back' - Country Life

'Ross is a wonderfully evocative writer, deftly capturing a sense of place and history, while bringing a deep humanity to his subject' - Guardian

About Peter Ross

Peter Ross is an Orwell journalism fellow. His writing has appeared in national newspapers and magazines in the UK and US. He won the non-fiction prize at Scotland's National Book Awards with A Tomb With A View: The Stories & Glories of Graveyards, and his next book, Steeple Chasing, was a Sunday Times bestseller and was selected as Waterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month. He is also author of the collections Daunderlust and The Passion Of Harry Bingo. He lives in Glasgow.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tom on October 27, 2025

A wonderfully vivid journey through ancient Britain and Ireland! Peter Ross's poetic and flowing prose has once again entertained me and made me think. The collection of monuments and stories that he has gathered are second to none - as a Green Lung fan I was so happy to see he had spoken to Tom Tem......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on November 11, 2025

Such a moving and absorbing book. Perfect for autumn nights. I’ve found a new favourite writer along with Robert Macfarlane. This is a funny, emotional, and wonderful exploration of Neolithic, Roman, Pictish, and Bronze Age historical sites in Britain. Some I’ve visited - Avebury, Stonehenge (severa......more

Goodreads review by Suzanne on November 23, 2025

I had this as a birthday gift. So interesting.......more

Goodreads review by Matthew on November 23, 2025

I enjoyed this more than I did Ross' previous work about churches, probably because I am far more personally familiar with many of the sites he covers.......more

Goodreads review by Paul on October 13, 2025

The third in Peter Ross's unofficial trilogy of books investigating first graveyards, then churches, and now prehistoric landmarks of Britain and Ireland. His writing is always very human, and engaged with the people affected by and engaging with these places. This is a case of viewing the present t......more


Quotes

This fascinating paean to the ancient monuments of the UK is an evocatively lyrical work . . . Ross writes with reverence as well as humour, and there's a pilgrim quality to his travels. The pace of these tributes is gentle, befitting the enduring presence of these mysterious sites in the modern world The Field

Ross scores highly on his intuitive interpretations of places and his non-judgemental observations of human nature; he is empathetic, but can stand back Country Life

Ross is always lucid, almost reverent, about the whole process of archaeological discovery Books from Scotland

In unravelling the histories of these sites and the motivations of those who care for them, [Ross] finds that they still have a role to play - even in our modern world Wanderlust, Stanfords' top winter travel reads

A beautifully written book of traces and absences . . . One of the characteristics that makes Peter Ross a fine journalist is his capacity to be unobtrusive. He does not showboat nor monopolise the story, letting others speak instead . . . The most autobiographical glances and snatches are the most moving and revealing of the book Scotland on Sunday

Ross's last two books, Steeple Chasing and A Tomb With A View, were outstanding, and Upon A White Horse lives up to that excellence, with his pilgrimage to prehistoric sites and places of ancient enchantment a meandering journey on which it is a privilege to be able to accompany him Scottish Field

Fascinating . . . [Ross] has a poetic, meditative style, with a sharp eye for detail and a keen sense of humour . . . As well as bringing the sites and monuments vividly to life, he delves into issues of archaeology, folklore, faith and identity, while weaving in elements of personal memoir Geographical

Fascinating The Herald

Packed with anecdote and colour, it's a surprisingly touching portrait of the countries Financial Times, Best Books of 2025

The solidity of stone, the fragility of chalk, the enigma of Silbury Hill, and the brutal practicality of the Antonine Wall all lift into vivid life through conversations elicited from those he meets along the way . . . observant, engaging, and informative Church Times