Sarn Helen: A Journey Through Wales, Past, Present and Future by Tom Bullough has been announced as Waterstones Welsh Book of the Year 2023.

Featuring beautiful illustrations by Jackie Morris, Sarn Helen is a captivating non-fictional account of Tom’s journey along Sarn Helen – the old Roman Road that runs from the south of Wales to the north. This is a revelatory portrait of a nation and a meditation on the way in which we are shaped by place and in turn shape places – potentially irrevocably.

Steven Gane, Bookshop Manager, Waterstones Swansea, says: “We knew, early on, that Sarn Helen was something really rather special. It’s just so beautifully written, and equally beautiful to look at; Tom Bullough’s evocative lyricism is perfectly matched by Jackie Morris’ stunning illustrations. This is an eco-travel memoir of the highest order, and an immersive exploration of Wales, from its mythology and history to the likely effects of the climate crisis on its coastline today.”

Kate Willets, Bookseller, Waterstones Cardiff, comments : “Sarn Helen is a rare jewel: a fascinating, genre-spanning book taking in travel, history, nature-writing and deeply felt conversations on climate science. Due to its immense scope and huge heart, Sarn Helen is a book that will appeal to many. I found it an incredibly thoughtful, deeply moving and hugely important read. If this marks Tom Bullough’s first foray into non-fiction, I cannot wait to see what he does next.”

Chloe Tilson, Bookshop Manager, Waterstones Aberystwyth, calls the book “ passionate, beautiful, illuminating and heartbreaking” and adds that “Sarn Helen rejoices in the beauty of history, nature and myths along the backbone of Wales and is a clarion call to preserve its wonder.”

Tom Bullough, who writes a regular column on life on local rivers for the Chronicle, is the author of four novels. Sarn Helen is his first work of non-fiction and was longlisted for the James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation 2023.

Tom Bullough comments: “It is just a wonderful thing to be receiving this award. Sarn Helen is a book of the ancient Welsh past, and of Wales as it is today, but above all it is a book about how we shape our future, given the climate and nature emergency.

“For it to be the Waterstones Welsh Book of the Year is a joy and honour in itself. But that this will help to bring more people into the conversation around climate and ecology – well, I couldn’t ask for better. My thanks to everyone at Waterstones.”