Up in Ardmuirland

A warm, nostalgic voice tells the story of twin brothers whose lives diverge between the quiet hills of Scotland and the bustling worlds beyond. One brother dreams of the priesthood, the other a civil service career that takes him from Bonn to India, each journey marked by familial expectations and the weight of their Catholic, Jacobite heritage. Their bond, though stretched by distance and vocation, remains a steady thread that pulls them back together whenever fate allows.

Now, back in the rugged beauty of Ardmuirland, the narrator, humbled by ill health, reflects on the joys and hardships of a life lived in exile and return. Through vivid recollections of schooldays, secret pilgrimages to Paris, and the quiet devotion of a small parish, the memoir paints a portrait of perseverance, faith, and the unspoken rivalry that fuels both brothers’ ambitions. Listeners are invited into an intimate portrait of family, loss, and the stubborn hope that the Scottish landscape can heal even the most restless spirit.