Arcadia Scotland

November 13th is Robert Louis Stevenson Day, commemorating the world-renowned author's birthday in 1850. Amongst his famous works such as Treasure Island and The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - a fantastic tale of moral duality and split personality - this day also celebrates his lesser known works including Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879).

Fair warning - the donkey has it tough at the beginning. It is a personal story of learning by travelling, exploring and reflecting on the nature of changing beliefs and our attitudes to those who disagree or change their minds.  In this book he offers a reflection on why he travels: 

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more clearly; to come down off this feather-bed of civilization, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints. Alas, as we get up in life, and are more preoccupied with our affairs, even a holiday is a thing that must be worked for. To hold a pack upon a pack-saddle against a gale out of the freezing north is no high industry, but it is one that serves to occupy and compose the mind. And when the present is so exacting who can annoy himself about the future?

You can learn more about Robert Louis Stevenson on his dedicated website or track #RLSDay on social media