"The road north is a word-map of Scotland, composed by Alec Finlay & Ken Cockburn as they travel through their homeland, guided by the Japanese poet Basho, whose Oku-no-Hosomichi (Narrow Road to the Deep North) is one of the masterpieces of travel literature. Ken and Alec left Edo (Edinburgh) on May 16, 2010 – the very same date that Basho and his companion Sora departed in 1689 – and when they return, on May 16, 2011, they will publish 53 collaborative audio & visual poems describing the landscapes they have seen and people they have met. “ ...] Our mountain temple, Ryushakuji is the mountain hut, Outlandia." 

Outlandia was their destination on 22nd August, 2010.

the road north blog︎︎︎

Photo by Kristian Buus


Photo by Bruce Gilchrist