A thoroughly enjoyable read. Well researched,I would recommend it to anyone who likes ancient history.

A look at place names for all the Celtic lands. Each chapter covers a country or area. Each chapter begins with a brief history of that area and includes a map of it at the current time.

The bulk of each chapter is an alphabetical list of place names. These can cover towns, villages, or geographical features. Often the entries include information about the location and the history of the name. Other information, such as variations of the name or other facts can be included.

A very thorough reference book, this looks at all the places around Britain, Ireland and Brittany with names derived from the Gaelic tongues, and describes and defines them all. So, starting with Advent (barely three hamlets strung around a church) on Bodmin Moor, and ending with Vannes in Morbihan we can check up on all the historical derivations. In between, separate chapters break down into looking at mountain names, lists of hill forts, and a select few cairns, barrows and henges that always fascinate the lucky visitor.

And this is pretty deep stuff. Just turning briefly to the Manx section you find talk of the “sheading of Rushen”, which itself is a very archaic term, to us on the Mainland at least. Places like Castletown are here, too – just because the name seems as plainly English as you can get, that doesn’t mean it’s the only name it’s ever had. Many places in Scotland have swapped about – some becoming English at times, and others with names heavily taken over by Viking influence and replacements; we get mini-essays about all these movements of peoples that influence what we have on our signposts and maps today.

If anything is lacking here it is a pronunciation guide, but this is more for the geography than the linguistics. That said, it does go its own small step to protecting and recording what to some extent were languages in much peril at one time or another, from official English laws banning Welsh, say, or Tartans for the Scots up to the deaths of the last few native, fluent Manx speakers. Any shortfall in how comprehensive it is is rectified at the first step, where we see the key sections of words that identify Gaelic language, and Celtic users of it, in much the same way “-by” in a place name is a strong indication of it being Norse. All told, I don’t really see where this fell down short of its intentions, which means five stars to me.

This book look's at important Celtic Places. While this one isn't one that I would read again. I did learn a lot. It was an informative read.

An interesting book about places and the origin of their names. I learned something new and it's a compelling read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

“A people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” –Marcus Garvey

john moss skillfully introduces us to the colorful history of heritage sites through this short, though thoroughly researched nonfiction book, but reading celtic places is a lot more like coming home. its brevity means the journey through time is never tedious, and it has all the familiarity of it as it takes us through the history of celts as if we have also lived there our whole lives. it has a distinct, eye-catching cover and provides maps and illustrations for the convenience of the reader (though i wish they were in full color for better access). every reader should have a place for celtic places on the travel section of their bookshelf.

thank you, netgalley, for the ARC!

This was interesting to read about the meanings of various towns,rivers and other places that have Celtic names. It was great reading that several of the older languages are making a comeback and it’s being taught in schools.

This book knows exactly what it is. This isn't a book that's meant to be read all the way through, but a print version of this book would be a great reference book to have especially for someone who is going to visit or lives in one of the areas mentioned. There are a lot of really interesting tidbits of information! I will definitely be referencing this book the next time I visit Ireland or Scotland.

When I opened the book for the first time, I understood that this work should be in each household in the United Kingdom because Celtic places are everywhere. Literally. The structure of this book is helpful in organising the trips or it can also serve as a handy assistant. You open the relevant chapter and see the Celtic places around you.

In the beginning, the author introduced the common Celtic place name elements. Some of them are generally known thanks to the fascination of Outlander such as GLENN – valley. Another seems to be a tongue twister (CWM – narrow valley). We can also see the similarities with the other languages (PONT – bridge – le pont). These place name elements can be read many times and it never bores.

The following chapters have always the same structure. A short historical introduction to the topic (Cornwall, Ireland, The Isle of Man, Scotland and the English Borders, Wales and the Marches, rivers, mountains, bronze and iron age hillforts, stone circles, Celtic crosses and Britanny) and the exhaustive list of all Celtic names related to it.

The book contains only black-and-white illustrations and maps of the described locations. It can be a disadvantage for some people, but in my opinion, it provides a fantastic opportunity to visit all these places personally.
To summarize – this book provides what it promises. The overview of Celtic places. The biggest advantage is that it can be read many times.

I thought this was going to be a book giving new insights to the origins of Celtic sites. It isn’t. What is is however, is a good quick reference book. It places Celtic sites in the landscape and the peoples who would have built and used these sites. Not a travel guid but if your are visiting an area you could quickly see what Celtic sites are in that area. It’s not comprehensive to useful.

While well-written and intriguing, this is a very academic title which is not what I had initially thought. If you are looking for a travel guide, this is not that. It is a great guide to teach you more about the origins of places and their Celtic names. People who languages and their origins would enjoy this.