Dear Bernard,

I recently retired from being a Minister in the Church of Scotland and now living with out family in Australia. I have been toying with the idea of writing a historical novel based in the times of the Covenanters. What I would like to ask you is how would I go about getting historical details correct? For example how would I know how long it took someone to ride horseback from say Edinburgh to the Borders? That is just one example of which there are many. Any advice would be appreciated.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Sharpe series.

Many thanks

Billy Kelly