Since time immemorial, water has been a major theme in myth, religion and folklore throughout the world.

With its 12,000-mile coastline, as well as a plethora of rivers and lochs, Scotland is a particularly rewarding place in which to explore the spiritual dimensions of what is both the most commonplace and yet the most mysterious of all chemical compounds.

This is a journey from healing wells, springs, river sources and bogs to the seashore, islands and whirlpools, to discover the legends, superstitions and rituals that have grown up around them. Drawing on spirituality, philosophy and faith as well as history and tradition, Ian Bradley highlights the crucial importance of water over thousands of years, and emphasises its preciousness and vulnerability today and in the future.

'Bradley has a gift for wresting the most joyous morsels from his sources' - The Sunday Telegraph