Nature and the natural world: general interest Books

Book SynopsisTakes you along the Sussex coast. Covering from the sands at Camber and sticking as close to the water's edge as possible, this title shows how environmental changes, human interference, events, disasters and the power of the sea have affected the county's coastline, leaving harbours stranded high and dry and villages drowned off shore.

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Book SynopsisFor most people wandering through the beautiful landscape of the Brecon Beacons is pleasure enough, but sooner or later you may ask yourself, what is that little bird or flower that you see on most of your walks? The problem with most guides is that many of the animals, insects, rocks or plants in them are rarities, and therefore probably not the one you have just seen. This guide will help you to identify the ones that you are likely to see on your walks in the uplands of the Brecon Beacons. Don't throw your comprehensive guides away though! Once you can easily identify the things you are familiar with, the rarities will stand out and be much easier to pin down. Also in this series: Nature of Snowdonia by Mike Raine.

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Book SynopsisSmallholders often learn the hard way but author Phyllida Barstow had been immersed in animal husbandry as a child, so her experiences here are well-informed and witty. First-hand account of her smallholding in Gloucestershire with a chapter each on chickens, goats, horses, sheep, peacocks, alpacas and more!

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Book SynopsisAs our relationship with the world unravels and needs to take a new form, The Wanton Green presents a collection of inspiring, provoking and engaging essays by modern pagans about their own deep, passionate and wanton relationships with the earth. "Where do we locate the sacred? In a place, a meeting, memory, a momentary glimpse? The Wanton Green provides no easy answers and instead, offers a multitude of perspectives on how our relationships with the earth, the sacred, the world through which we move are forged and remade." Phil Hine. Contents: Foreword (Graham Harvey) ,"She said: ''You have to lose your way''"(Maria van Daalen), Fumbling in the landscape (Runic John), Finding the space, finding the words (Rufus Harrington),Stone in my bones (Sarah Males), A Heathen in place: working with Mugwort (Robert Wallis),Wild, wild water (Lou Hart), Facing the waves (Gordon MacLellan),The dragon waters of place: a journey to the source (Susan Greenwood), Catching the Rainbow Lizard (Maria van Daalen), The rite to roam (Julian Vayne), Places of Power (Jan Fries), Natural magic is art (Greg Humphries), Pagan Ecology: on our perception of nature, ancestry and home (Emma Restall Orr), Because we have no imagination, (Susan Cross), The crossroads of perception, (Shani Oates), Devon, Faeries and me, (Woody Fox), Lud''s Church, (Gordon MacLellan), Places of spirit and spirits of place: of Fairy and other folk, and my Cumbrian bones (Melissa Montgomery), A life in the woods: protest site paganism, (Adrian Harris) We first met in the north, (Barry Patterson), Museum or Mausoleum (Mogg Morgan), Hills of the ancestors, townscapes of artisans (Jenny Blain), Smoke and mirrors (Stephen Grasso), America (Maria van Daalen), Standing at the crossroads, Meet the authors.

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Book SynopsisWhen English naturalist Joseph Banks (1743–1820) accompanied Captain James Cook (1728–1779) on his historic mission into the Pacific, the Endeavour voyage of 1768–71, he took with him a team of collectors and illustrators. Banks and his team returned from the voyage with unprecedented collections of artefacts and specimens of stunning birds, fish and other animals as well as thousands of plants, most seen for the first time in Europe. They produced, too, remarkable landscape and figure drawings of the peoples encountered on the voyage along with detailed journals and descriptions of the places visited, which, with the first detailed maps of these lands (Tahiti, New Zealand and the East Coast of Australia), were afterwards used to create lavishly illustrated accounts of the mission. These caused a storm of interest in Europe where plays, poems and satirical caricatures were also produced to celebrate and examine the voyage, its personnel and many ‘new’ discoveries. Along with contemporary portraits of key personalities aboard the ship, scale models and plans of the ship itself, scientific instruments taken on the voyage, commemorative medals and sketches, the objects (over 140) featured in this new book will tell the story of the Endeavour voyage and its impact ahead of the 250th anniversary in 2018 of the launch of this seminal mission. Artwork made both during and after the voyage will be seen alongside actual specimens. And by comparing the voyage originals with the often stylized engravings later produced in London for the official account, the book will investigate how knowledge gained on the mission was gathered, revised and later received in Europe. Items separated in some cases for more than two centuries will be brought together to reveal their fascinating history not only during but since that mission. Original voyage specimens will feature together with illustrations and descriptions of them, showing a rich diversity of newly discovered species and how Banks organized this material, planning but ultimately failing to publish it. In fact, many of the objects in the book have never been published before. The book will focus on the contribution of Banks’s often neglected artists Sydney Parkinson, Herman Diedrich Spöring, Alexander Buchan as well as the priest and Pacific voyager Tupaia, who joined Endeavour in the Society Islands, none of whom survived the mission. These men illustrated island scenes of bays, dwellings, canoes as well as the dress, faces and possessions of Pacific peoples. Burial ceremonies, important religious sites and historic encounters were all depicted. Of particular interest, and only recently recognised as by him, are the original artworks of Tupaia, who produced as part of this mission the first charts and illustrations on paper by any Polynesian. The surviving Endeavour voyage illustrations are the most important body of images produced since Europeans entered this region, matching the truly historic value of the plant specimens and artefacts that will be seen alongside them.Trade Review“Handsome volume … a work of fine scholarship.” * International Journal of Maritime History *Beautifully presented and detailed … an authoritative and high-quality book which will be enjoyed by many readers. * Journal of Historical Geography *Endeavouring Banks is beautifully illustrated: 143 objects heavy with the weight of provenance. More powerful perhaps are the underlying resonances … it was a different world that the Endeavour had sailed into, in more than the physical sense." * World of Interiors *A lavishly illustrated account of the expedition." * Australian Geographic *In this fascinating publication, specimens collected by naturalist Joseph Banks on his HMS Endeavour voyage, along with scientific drawings, maps of the ship, and profiles of his travelling companions, including James Cook, give insight into what it might have been like to explore the uncharted South Pacific. * Gardening Australia *

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Book SynopsisWild Life in a Southern County traces the course of a spring which rises on an Iron Age hillfort and gradually broadens into a brook, flows through a nearby village and hamlet, skirts a solitary farmhouse and its orchard, before draining into water meadows and a lake where the wildfowl nest. Immersed in the detail of this ancient landscape, its people and the habitats of its wildlife, what emerges from Jefferies' dazzling prose is his sense of perpetual wonder and the deep affection he felt for his homeland, from the clatter of a milkmaid's boots to a pike lying in ambush.

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Book SynopsisUnhappily land-locked in his early adult life, Frank Fraser Darling's fortunes changed when he began visiting Scotland's west coast in the 1930s. Surviving treacherous boat journeys, a broken leg, and hell-bent storms, he made temporary homes with his family on some of the remotest Hebridean islands so he could study the habits of grey seals and seabirds. The family finally settled on an abandoned croft in the Summer Isles, on Tanera Mor, and started farming the barren land. They repaired a ruined herring fishery and its stone quay. They fertilised the ground with seaweed, cut peat for the fires, planted a garden behind sheltered walls. Slowly, they brought life back to the island. Little Toller republishes classic books about nature and rural life.

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Book SynopsisH E Bates carried a woodland in his imagination. He fell under its spell as a boy growing up in the Midlands, becoming increasingly enchanted each time he stepped below the wooded canopy. Memory magnified its mystery over the years, enriching his stories as he grew successful as a writer. But why did this place become a part of him? What are the qualities of all woodlands that make them so special? Set in Kent, Bates returns to those trees of his youth to breath life into the changing character of a single woodland year, revealing how precious they are to the English countryside. Our new edition is illustrated throughout with Agnes Miller Parker's wonderful engravings. Little Toller republishes classic books about nature and rural life.

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Book SynopsisRivers are great workings of nature, time and geology. They have long been at the very centre of human culture, sustaining us with water, food, power and stories. Our thoughts flow like a river. A river's journey, from source to sea, is a metaphor for life. H.E. Bates's own journey began on the banks and in the waters of two contrasting Midland rivers. The River Nene's jumbled course and character, with its towpaths and locks and bridges, speaks of human industry on its journey to The Wash. The River Ouse, in contrast, with its wide meanders brimmed with reeds and smoky willows, rich in wildlife and wild flowers, is an uplifting, ephemeral water, a river of summer memories and flag irises, the blue pulse of kingfishers and pike lurking in weed-shadows. Peopled by his relatives and neighbours, both the Nene and the Ouse, however different, filled H.E. Bates's imagination with the wonderful stories and characters that make his writing so enjoyable.

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Book SynopsisA century before Charles Darwin, decades before the French Revolution, Gilbert White began his lifelong habit of measuring and observing the world around his Hampshire home. Daily rainfall levels and temperature shifts were recorded with home-made instruments. Bird song and seasonal migrations were noted. The feeding habits of frogs, bats and mice were jotted into his diaries and nature journals, as were the simple delights he felt hearing a cricket in the meadow or a blackbird in the hedgerows. The extraordinary detail of the natural history he described has given us, two hundred years later, a glimpse into ecosystems untouched by industry and an account of how changes in global climate can affect local weather patterns. Gilbert White is now considered England's first ecologist. The Natural History of Selborne is one the most published books in the English language. Yet the most enduring quality of his writing is the spirit of curiosity that bounds across every page, inspiring us to explore the abundance of life at our doorsteps and around our parishes.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2020 Wainwright Prize, Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of Dara McAnulty's world, from spring to summer, autumn to winter, on his home patch, at school, in the wild and in his head. Evocative, raw and beautifully written, this very special book vividly explores the natural world from the perspective of an autistic teenager juggling homework, exams and friendships alongside his life as a conservationist and environmental activist. With a sense of awe and wonder, Dara describes in meticulous detail encounters in his garden and the wild, with blackbirds, whooper swans, red kites, hen harriers, frogs, dandelions, skylarks, bats, cuckoo flowers, Irish hares and many more species. The power and warmth of his words also draw an affectionate and moving portrait of a close-knit family making their way in the world.Trade Review"His portrait of loving parents raising three neurodivergent children on poetry, punk and puffins is profoundly moving." Alex Preston, The Observer; "Rich poeticism courses through the writing that belies his years." Hilary A White, Irish Independent; "Like reading William Blake or Ted Hughes, it really is a strange and magical experience...surely one of the most talked about nature books, or any books, this year." The Daily Mail; "I adored it." Lauren St John.; '...the fanfare is wholly justified: this is an astonishingly assured book for one so young.' Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller (Non-fiction Book of the Month, June 2020); "This lovely and remarkable book." Charlotte Moore, The Spectator; 'an extraordinary voice and vision: brave, poetic, ethical, lyrical'. Robert Macfarlane; "Breathtaking." Philip Marsden; 'McAnulty's writing glows with his deep sympathy for the natural world' Tim Flannery

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Book SynopsisDuring the early 1970s Richard Mabey explored crumbling city docks and overgrown bomb-sites, navigated inner city canals and car parks, and discovered there was scarcely a nook in our urban landscape incapable of supporting life. The Unofficial Countryside is a timely reminder of how nature flourishes against the odds, surviving in the most obscure and surprising places. Originally published in 1973 this landmark book was described by Iain Sinclair as 'a proper reckoning, the Domesday Book of a topography too fascinating to be left alone.' This beautiful new edition forms part of the Richard Mabey library, published to celebrate the author's 80th birthday and has a cover by the artist Michael Kirkman.

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Book SynopsisTo celebrate Richard Mabey's 80th birthday, a reissue of the seminal Nature Cure, originally published in 2005 to great acclaim. At the height of his career, having recently published Flora Britannica, the author and naturalist fell in to a deep and all consuming depression. Unable to rise from his bed, his face turned to the wall, Richard Mabey found that the touchstones of his life - his love for nature and the land - could no longer offer him solace. But over time, with help from friends and a move to East Anglia, he slowly recovered, finding a new partner, and a new relationship with landscape. Nature Cure, full of nuance and energy, was a pioneering book in the genre that has since become known as New Nature Writing, and received many plaudits on publication. For this new hardback edition Richard has written a new foreword and Little Toller has commissioned a new jacket by the celebrated artist Michael Kirkman.Trade Review'Mabey's memoir on his recovery from crippling depression through a rediscovery of his love for nature is quite remarkable both for its honesty and its total lack of ego. He has much to say on Man's relationship with nature and the prose is both warm and fiercely intelligent.' The Judges, Whitbread Book Awards, 2005.

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Book SynopsisIn 2005 Peter Wright walked the 1,200 km length of the Watershed in 64 days. Walking along the very spine of Scotland he was struck by the magnificence and diversity of the landscapes which his original and little publicised route exposed him to. Nature’s Peace celebrates these landscapes as never before through stunning photographs, taking the reader on an imaginary journey from the English border in the south to the Shetland Isles and Unst at the very northern tip of Britain. Wright brings his journey to life with vivid descriptions of the land’s history and discussions about its future.

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Book SynopsisThere's more to Reading than traffic, concrete and busy people. Wildlife flourishes amidst the urban hustle and with a couple of hundred open spaces, some ancient woodlands and two great rivers, Reading rewards the appreciative naturalist. Wander from town centre to suburbs exploring the parks and meadows, following the rivers and the wooded ridges, watching the seasons change. You'll be surprised at what you find. Over 25 years Adrian Lawson chronicled the wildlife he encountered in his days working in the parks, walking his dogs in the woods and riding his bike around the town. This book takes us through the calendar year with a selection of articles from his long-running newspaper column, Rural Reading, plus some new and previously unpublished pieces. Accompanied by perceptive and very personal illustrations from Geoff Sawers, equally devoted to the natural history of Reading, this exquisite collection will open your eyes to the wild side of town.

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Book SynopsisAlmost all the books that have been published on plant hunting focus on the so-called ‘golden age’ that ended with the death of Frank Kingdon Ward in 1958. One might be forgiven for thinking that plant hunting itself came to an end in 1958. On the contrary, there have been more new plant introductions in the past thirty years than ever before. This book tells the stories of the modern-day plant hunters – such pioneering adventurers as Mikinori Ogisu, Dan Hinkley, Roy Lancaster, Ed de Vogel, Lin Yu-Lin, Michael Wickenden and Claire Scobie. The author also examines the search for medicinal plants and the work of scientific institutions, both of which have been largely ignored, and considers such developments as the effect of habitat destruction on plant loss and plant diversity.Trade Review"An incredibly thorough and bang-up-to-date account of contemporary field botany and horticulture. It is a great read...written in a fresh, conversational style. Hunt down this botanical gem of a book for yourself before it sells out." * The Garden *"A fine collection of tales of adventure, underpinned with a conservation ethic, one for plucky travellers (armchair or otherwise) and botanists alike." * The English Garden *“The term 'plant hunter' may seem straight out of a sepia-tinted Victorian photograph, but biologist Dr Sandy Primrose is determined to prove that contemporary adventures to find new species are just as riveting and important.” * Guardian *"Accompanied by stunning photography, the book conjures up a spirit of adventure, combined with the fascinating finer points of botany." * House and Garden *"There is no shortage of books on the ‘golden age’ of plant hunting, generally considered to have ended with the death of Frank Kingdon Ward in 1958. However, exploration for new plants goes on, whether it is for medicinal plants and the work of scientific institutions, or for plant conservation and the identification of new breeding material to increase diversity. Modern Plant Hunters brings the story of modern-day exploration right up to date and is a rip-roaring and thrilling read from start to finish…A thoroughly researched and well-written book..it is entertaining, informative, educational and a joy to read with captivating photographs giving the reader that sense of adventure and ‘being there’. It’s ideal for anyone who wants to explore further how modern plant hunting takes place but it is also a book worth reading for anyone interested in horticulture and plants and where they come from as well as for sheer enjoyment." * Reckless Gardener *"Enormously engaging" * Hortus *

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Book SynopsisAs the summer draws to a close, a few snowbeds - some as big as icebergs - survive in the Scottish Highlands. Christopher Nicholson's Among the Summer Snows is both a celebration of these great, icy relics and an intensely personal meditation on their significance. A book to delight all those interested in mountains and snow, full of vivid description and anecdote, it explores the meanings of nature, beauty and mortality in the twenty-first century.Trade Review'This is the kind of beautiful writing that transcends form - in this case nature writing - to arrive somewhere improbable and compelling.' Paul Evans, Guardian | 'A beautiful book about love and loss, fragility and chance, the wide world and the near world...full of intense light and colour, extraordinary glimpses, moving insights and subtle humour.' Richard Kerridge, author of Cold Blood | 'A ravishingly lovely book.' Keggie Carew author of Dadland | 'What shines through is a love of wild places without the need to conquer summits or tick lists. It is a love affair that is addictive ... and [Nicholson] expresses it in such a beautiful way in this unusual and evocative narrative.' Active Outdoors | 'A glorious little book, beautifully produced by an independent publisher.' The Telegraph | 'Haunting, moving, silent, and profoundly beautiful.' The Great Outdoors | 'Lyrical and elegiac, this debut is a tender account of an unusual fascination with the remaining snows of the Scottish Highlands. Nicholson offers us a wry, self-aware take on the relationship between humans and the changed (and changing) natural world.' Helen Mort, chair of Boardman Tasker Award judges | 'Made me laugh and cry within just a few pages... left me humbled as he revealed a range of other interconnected wonders I never knew about.' Books in Scotland | 'Destined to become a classic of mountain literature. Superb.' Chris Townsend, The Great Outdoors | 'His moving journey makes compelling reading. Occasionally amusing, seldom maudlin or self-pitying, and ultimately uplifting, this quest for meaning offers solace for anyone with a penchant for pondering the mysteries of life, love and loss during solitary wanderings through the wilderness.' Mark Sutcliffe, Countryfile

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Book Synopsis“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness.” —Søren Kierkegaard Duncan Minshull has always walked and in the last twenty years has made use of it by writing and publishing books on the subject. He has described the whys, hows, and wheres of traveling on foot for various magazines and newspapers, including The Times (London), the Financial Times, Condé Nast Traveler, and Vogue. He has edited two other collections on walking: While Wandering: A Walking Companion (originally The Vintage Book of Walking) and The Burning Leg: Walking Scenes from Classic Fiction. Walking and writing have always gone together. Think of the poets who walk out a rhythm for their lines and the novelists who put their characters on a path. But the best insights, the deepest and most joyous examinations of this simple activity are to be found in nonfiction—in essays, travelogues, and memoirs. Beneath My Feet: Writers on Walking rounds up the most memorable walker-writers from the 1700s to the modern day, from country hikers to urban strollers, from the rationalists to the truly outlandish. Follow in the footsteps of William Hazlitt, George Sand, Rebecca Solnit, Will Self, and dozens of others. Keep up with them—and be astonished.Trade Review'Here is a book as certain to lift the spirits as the activity to which it is dedicated: going for a walk. Duncan Minshull is fast emerging as the laureate of walking.' - Andrew Martin, Country Life; ‘This anthology gathers 36 testimonies to walking’s invigorating literary power in particular. Writers from Petrarch to Franz Kafka to Will Self have recorded their enthusiasm for “ambling, rambling, tramping, trekking, stomping and striding.” Higher-quality endorsements of the creative value of walking than these would be hard to find.’ – The Atlantic

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Book SynopsisThis is nature writer Jan Wiltshire's second book, following the highly successful About Scout Scar. Cumbrian Contrasts celebrates the wonder of one of the most beautiful, diverse and precious parts of the British Isles. From the source of rivers high in the fells, through moorland solitudes to the urban fringe, and down to estuaries and the coast, the author paints a vivid portrait of a landscape and its wildlife. Words and images come together as a story which reveals the magic of the natural world. There are fossils, butterfl ies and flora at Smardale. Eider duck breed on Walney Island with its shingle flora, and natterjack toads mate on the Duddon Estuary. Skylark soar in song flight over Whitbarrow and there are dark green fritillary butterflies and frog orchid on Scout Scar. There's always something new to discover. This is writing that really makes you feel as if you are there, experiencing the beautiful, strange and rare in varied habitats. If you love the countryside and enjoy books that inspire, inform and entertain, then Cumbrian Contrasts will delight.

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Book SynopsisWorld of Plants: Stories of Survival tells the story of 100 plants from the Living Collection at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, that are endangered or threatened in the wild. Featuring images and descriptions of each plant, details of their origins, the threats they face, and the work being done to save them.

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Book SynopsisThe Yew Hedge by Martin Gardner from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh tells the fascinating story of some remarkable native forests and heritage trees of the European yew (Taxus baccata) located in the UK and overseas. The progeny of the trees have been planted to form a unique conservation hedge which now surrounds the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. It comprises of almost 2000 trees collected from 16 countries where they are threatened.

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Book SynopsisOne of the world's first tree-top scientists, Meg Lowman is both a pioneer in her field - she invented one of the first treetop walkways - and a tireless advocate for the planet. In a voice as infectious in its enthusiasm as in its practical optimism, The Arbornaut chronicles her irresistible story. From climbing solo hundreds of feet into Australia's rainforests to measuring tree growth in the northeastern United States, from searching the redwoods of the Pacific coast for new life to studying leaf-eaters in Scotland's Highlands, from a bioblitz in Malaysia to conservation planning in India to collaborating with priests in Ethiopia's last forests, Lowman launches us into the life and work of a scientist and ecologist. She also offers hope, specific plans and recommendations for action; despite devastation across the world, we can still make an immediate and lasting impact against climate change.Trade ReviewThe Arbornaut captures the magic of that little-known world with its pioneering stories and clear, informative text. Readers everywhere will be fascinated and inspired to learn more about nature, and especially about how we need to conserve the world's forests. -- Jane GoodallThe Arbornaut is about a shy girl who loved to play outdoors and became a scientist who educated the world about the abundant life in the treetops. I loved it. -- Temple GrandinThe Arbornaut is, true to its name, an account of intrepid exploration at the upper reaches of terrestrial life, where branches and foliage touch the sky and all creatures awake to the first morning rays of the sun. -- Wade Davis, author of INTO THE SILENCEThis is the most exciting and innovative way of introducing science that I have seen in many years. Everyone will want to read this book. Meg Lowman is starting a whole new movement exploring the treetops! -- E. O. Wilson, author of HALF-EARTH: OUR PLANET'S FIGHT FOR LIFEA passionate look at the 'unexplored wonderland' of trees... Lowman shines in her ability to combine accessible science with exciting personal anecdotes that effectively convey the "thrill of aerial exploration" and bolster her case that trees - and sustainable ecosystems - are worth studying, protecting, and preserving. Nature lovers will find much to consider. * Publishers Weekly *Table of Contents1: from wildflower to wallflower: a girl naturalist in rural america 2: becoming a forest detective: first encounters with temperate trees from new england to scotland 3: one hundred feet in the air: finding a way to study leaves in the australian rain forests 4: who ate my leaves?: tracking-and discovering!-australian insects 5: dieback in the outback: juggling marriage and investigations of gum tree death in australia's sheep country 6: hitting the glass canopy: how strangler figs and tall poppies taught me to survive as a woman in science 7: arbornauts for a week: citizen scientists explore the amazon jungles 8: tiger tracks, tree leopards, and vedippala fruits: exporting my toolkit to train arbornauts in india 9: a treetop bioblitz: counting 1,659 species in malaysia's tropical forests in ten days 10: building trust between priests and arbornauts: saving the forests of ethiopia, one church at a time 11: classrooms in the sky-for everyone!: wheelchairs and water bears in the treetops 12: can we save our last, best forests?: promoting conservation through mission green

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Book SynopsisA fascinating, inspiring gift book that helps you make the most of nature, with something to spot for every day of the year. A fascinating, inspiring gift book that helps you make the most of nature, with something to spot for every day of the year. This book proves that nature isn't something you visit from time to time; it's everywhere – even in the densest concrete jungle. You can find nearly all of the natural wonders in this book within a mile of your front door. There are 365 to look for – one for every day of year, organised by month. From mushrooms to meteors, from moths to mosses, it’s incredible what you can find when you look. With witty and lyrical text and beautiful illustrations, this is a gift book that will transform how you see the world and build a greater connection to the natural world for the rest of your life.Trade Review'Both a powerful manifesto and gentle guide to bringing the natural world into your life.' * This England *

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Book SynopsisIt’s free, it’s fun and it’s very tasty! Harvesting your own produce from the hedgerows, meadows and woods rather than just ordering food online from the supermarket is all the rage with both towndwellers and countryfolk. Why not treat yourself to fruit leather, cheese, rose petal syrup or a wickedly alcoholic drink? It’s free, it’s fun and it’s very tasty! Harvesting your own produce from the hedgerows, meadows and woods rather than just ordering food online from the supermarket is all the rage with both towndwellers and countryfolk. The joy of turning nature’s bounty into delicious produce to enjoy with the family or to use to make a lovely gift is being rediscovered in kitchens across the country. Explore the deliciously different flavours of wild food, from bilberries and nettles to hazelnuts and damsons – all of which are free for the picking. Learn how to use a range of wild foods creatively in over 100 easy recipes, ranging from jams, jellies and chutneys to starters, main courses, cakes, puds, cocktails and cordials. With chapters on Flowers & Hips, Leaves, Berries, Fruit with Stones, Fruit with Pips and Nuts, why not treat yourself to fruit leather, cheese, rose petal syrup or a wickedly alcoholic drink?

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Book SynopsisDavid Howe tells the story of the Lake District, England's most dramatic landscape. Home to vistas of stunning beauty and a rich heritage, it is an area of England that fascinates, inspires - and has bewitched David for a lifetime. With passion and an endless curiosity, he reveals how half a billion years of shifting ice, violent volcanoes and (of course) falling rain have shaped the lakes and fells that have fired the imaginations of the great sons and daughters of the area, the poets and the scientists. He shows that Lakeland is a seamless web where lives and landscape weave together, where the ancient countryside has created a unique local history: of farming and mining, of tightknit communities, of a resilient and proud people. The Lake District is a place of rocks and rain, reason and romance, wonder and curiosity. And this book celebrates it all: the very character of Cumbria.Trade Review"Written in a tremendously readable narrative style (think `Mountains of the Mind' by Robert Macfarlane) ... skilful ... compelling." The Great Outdoors; "Chapters on mountains, ice and lakes, on farming and national parks and Wainwright ... set against Cumbria's wider cultural importance ... very accessible ... [yet] holds a considerable weight of authority." Country Life; "Interesting ... links the landscape with the scientists, the Romantic poets and other notable residents [of the Lake District] ... forensic details of the geology and geomorphology of the Lakes ... detailed biographies on the lives and loves of the Romantic poets." BBC Countryfile Magazine; "An ambitious and enjoyable biography of a landscape." Cumbria Life, Book of the Month; "Affectionately written ... a ramble through the Lake District ... elegiac ... a reflection on the transience of life and beauty." Workington Times and Star; Praise for Wandering in Norfolk: East Anglian Book Awards 2017, SHORTLISTED; "A real treat, and a perfect read for that comfortable armchair in front of the woodburner on a cold winter's day." Eastern Daily Press; "The pot pourri style is very effective ... thoughtful views on a variety of subjects and some beautifully written science lessons ... an excellent and well written book." Amazon reviewer; "Beautifully written, a joy to read." Amazon reviewerTable of ContentsUps and Downs; Atoms; Rain; Nature and the Romantics; Three Persons and One Soul; Love and More Romance; Friends, Family and Fame; Lakes; An Ocean, Ancient and Deep; Volcanoes; Mountain Building; Ice; Stone Age to Iron Age; Roman Roads to Victorian Railways; Where to Go and What to See; Love Letters to the Lake District; A Force of Nature; Back to Nature; Hedgehogs and Herdwicks; A National Property; Tales and Sails; Intimations of Mortality

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Book SynopsisA BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. Spring is nature's season of rebirth and rejuvenation. Earth's northern hemisphere tilts towards the sun, winter yields to intensifying light and warmth, and a wild, elemental beauty transforms the Highland landscape and a repertoire of islands from Colonsay to Lindisfarne. Jim Crumley chronicles the wonder, tumult and spectacle of that transformation, but he shows too that it is no Wordsworthian idyll that unfolds. Climate chaos brings unwanted drama to the lives of badger and fox, seal and seabird and raptor, pine marten and sand martin. Jim lays bare the impact of global warming and urges us all towards a more daring conservation vision that embraces everything from the mountain treeline to a second spring for the wolf.Trade Review"There are books that transport us and Jim Crumley's ode to spring takes us there on the wings of a sea eagle ... Exquisitely observed ... uplifting and disquieting ... Crumley's masterful words take you into the canvas of nature as into the work of a grand master ... The joy, the passion, the complete understanding Jim has for his world is a portal. The world on our doorstep." Scottish Book of the Week, The Courier; "Nature writer and poet Jim Crumley returns with a third volume of close observations [and] charts the arrival of spring, from the February song of a mistle thrush to May's drowsy warmth. Crumley quotes Margiad Evans - `Write in the very now where you find yourself' - and takes her advice to heart." New Statesman; "This thought-inducing paean to nature brings the issues of the natural world to the forefront ... Crumley writes movingly about the season of rebirth and transformation which sees the hibernators awaken and the daffodils rise. A wonderful read." Kirstin Tait, Scottish Field; "A fantastic writer ... exquisite observations of details in the landscape as well as sweeping vistas ... remarkable." Ben Hoare, BBC Countryfile magazine; "Compelling ... Radical ... Crumley writes of the creatures and landscape before him like a James Guthrie or Landseer of print ... He could be Ali Smith's naturalist twin." Rosemary Goring, Scottish Review of Books; "Beautifully written ... thoughtful and thought-provoking ... Jim Crumley does not shy away from the important issues facing the natural world [in] a book you'd like to think could have real influence on the world we live in." Undiscovered Scotland; Praise for Jim Crumley's writing: Wainwright Golden Beer Prize 2017, LONGLISTED; The Richard Jeffries Society & White Horse Bookshop Literary Prize for nature writing, SHORTLISTED; "A delightful meditation." Stephen Moss, Books of the Year, Guardian; "Nature writing is like trying to catch birds with cobwebs. Crumley's just has a higher tensile strength than most." Herald; "Breathtaking...This nature book is a delight...words that freshen and sparkle the everyday world and sprinkle warmth and colour into the heart of it." Miriam Darlington, BBC Wildlife; "Enchanting." Sara Maitland; "A passionate, compelling, very personal work... the honesty of his voice is striking." Scottish Review of Books; "Enthralling and often strident." ObserverTable of ContentsPart One: Harbingers; Chapter One: First Syllables; Chapter Two: Falcons of the Yellow Hill; Chapter Three: The Backward Spring; Chapter Four: The; Mountaineering Badger; Part Two: Island Spring; Chapter Five: The Nature of Second Spring; Chapter Six: Forty-eight Hours on Colonsay; Chapter Seven: Yell – No Need of Dreams; Chapter Eight: An Island Pilgrimage (1) – Mull and Iona; Chapter Nine: An Island Pilgrimage (2) – Lismore to Islandshire; Chapter Ten: An Island Pilgrimage (3) – Lindisfarne, Nature’s Island; Chapter Eleven: May in June; Part Three: Highland Spring Chapter Twelve: Glen Clova and the Definite Article; Chapter Thirteen: The Poetry of Mountain Flowers; Chapter Fourteen: The Sanctuary (1) – A Second Spring for the Wolf; Chapter Fifteen: The Sanctuary (2) – Loch Tulla; Chapter Sixteen: The Properties of Mercury; Chapter Seventeen: Renaissance

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Book SynopsisIn the abiding light of summer, the nature in Jim Crumley's heartlands of Scotland is burgeoning freely. Seals sing, brown hares bound, dragonflies dance. His silent vigils reveal not only an enchanting account of summer's exuberant profusion, but the unfolding climate chaos. From declining puffin populations to the demise of entire glaciers, this is a world in crisis ... and of everyday miracles on land, mountains, lochs, coasts and skies. Jim Crumley's intimate portraits branch out beyond the heart of the Highlands to memories of summers past: from kittiwake cliffs in far-flung St Kilda to the pure wilderness of Arctic Norway, where sea eagles rule. The Nature of Summer explores what is at stake as our seasons are pushed beyond nature's limits.Trade ReviewTHE HIGHLAND BOOK PRIZE 2020, SHORTLISTED; "[A] beautiful book ... [an] exceptional and intense quality of observation glows from every page ... He finds astonishing beauty in the landscape, and sheer wonder in his encounters ... Nothing can diminish the sharpness of his eye, the ardour of his writing, and the pure wonder at the natural world that shapes every paragraph ... A wisdom that we need now, more than ever before." Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman; "A mesmerising blend of observation and in-depth knowledge about our wild landscapes ... every bit as compelling and thought-provoking as its predecessors ... no better book to lose yourself in." Herald; Praise for Previous work: Richard Jefferies Society & White Horse Bookshop Literary Prize for nature writing: SHORTLISTED; Saltire Society award: SHORTLISTED; "A delightful meditation." Stephen Moss, Books of the Year, Guardian; "Nature writing is like trying to catch birds with cobwebs. Crumley's just has a higher tensile strength than most." HeraldTable of ContentsPrologue: The Goddess of Small Things; Part One: Everything Else in the Universe; Chapter One: St Kilda Summer, 1988; Chapter Two: Forty Years at Eagle Crag; Chapter Three: You Have Not Seen Her with My Eyes; Chapter Four: She Is of the Woods and I Am Not; Chapter Five: Inside the Arc; Part Two: Song for an Unsung Shore; Chapter Six: Solstice; Chapter Seven: Between a Rock and a Soft Place; Chapter Eight: City of Ghost Birds; Chapter Nine: Bass Notes; Part Three: Smoke Signals; Chapter Ten: Touchstones; Chapter Eleven: The Land of Havørn (1): Under the Blue Mountain; Chapter Twelve: The Land of Havørn (2): Islands of Dreams; Chapter Thirteen: The Climate Imperative; Chapter Fourteen: The Accidental Kingfisher and Other Stories: A Diary; Epilogue: A Daydream of Wolves

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Book SynopsisNestled between the Pennines and the Lake District Fells, the beautiful Eden Valley combines lush green countryside, abundant wildlife in hedgerows and woodlands, fertile farmland, ancient landmarks, and historic market towns and villages. Much like the valley itself, this book is a meeting of the natural world, the people who inhabit it, and their stories, history and skills - traditional and modern. Dick Capel takes us on a series of introspective ramblings from the source of the river in Mallerstang to the Solway Firth at Carlisle. He follows the Poetry Path, the Eden Benchmarks and the Goldsworthy Sheepfolds, and ventures into history with enchanting stories of old churches, hidden artefacts, and signs of ancient cultivation. As a long-time countryside manager for the Eden Valley, few people know this area quite as intimately as Dick Capel - and even fewer have worked as hard to protect the natural and built heritage of this unspoiled part of Cumbria. Covering natural history, myth and legend, this is an unrivalled companion to an unspoiled gem of the English countryside.Trade Review"A rich and interesting perspective on the landscape...In looking at the particular and the local, Dick's writing illuminates the universal" Will Smith, Cumbria Life; "A wonderful book" Helen Millican, BBC CumbriaTable of ContentsMallerstang; Eden Benchmarks; The Road to Pendragon Castle; Springtime; Stenkrith Park; The Poetry Path; Nine Standards; Kirkby Stephen; The Stream Invites Us to Follow; Andy Goldsworthy and Sheepfolds; Long Live the Weeds; Appleby-in-Westmorland; Temple Sowerby; Natural and Human History Intertwined; Edenhall; Beneath Fiends Fell; Long Meg and Her Daughters; Swathes of Vermilion Red; ‘The Way Things Are Done Around Here’; At One with Nature; A Whisper of Fire on its Breath; Gelt, the Magic River; Carlisle; Global Warming

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Book SynopsisJuliet Blaxland is an architect, author, cartoonist and illustrator. She grew up in a remote part of Suffolk and now lives on the cliff edge of the easternmost part of England. She is the author and illustrator of ten children’s books. Her cartoon series, Life in a Listed Building, was published monthly in the Prince of Wales’s architecture magazine Perspectives and won a prize at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. The Crowood Press published Nimrod, a Cavalry Black, in 2015, and The House Pony: an ABC of Horsemanship, was published in 2018. She is also a prize-winning photographer.Trade ReviewA beautiful book, eloquent and evocative. Lyrical, poignant and witty, this book is a moving testament to a still enormously vibrant but vanishing time, place and way of life.I feel like a stalker, but reading Juliet Blaxland’s The Easternmost House, I got straight into my car and drove over to stare at her home. Her wonderful book describes living on the most extreme outpost of Suffolk’s coast of erosion. * The Times *Blaxland’s writing is evocative, whether she is writing about the roar of a storm, jugs of homemade Pimm’s or the attempt to create a crop circle. She has a deep love of the coastal landscape she inhabits. * Halfman, Halfbook *Brilliant memoir about nature, landscape, food and the disconnect between town and country. * The Sunday Times *The author writes beautifully about her life in this small extremity... a hymn to a simpler life, one lived more in tune with the rhythms of the natural world, with its wonders and its perils. * Country Life *Prose that flows effortlessly with a wry turn of phrase at every corner. Plus, she’s bloody funny. In The Easternmost House you read the sound of her voice, and so the book rattles along like a good’un. * Caught by the River *Destined to be a 21st Century classic. Just brilliant. * John Lewis-Stempel, author of The Running Hare *A marvellous evocation of the Suffolk coast. It made me want to jump on the next train out of London. * Andrew Gimson, author of Gimson's Kings & Queens *

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Book SynopsisThere has been a change in the beekeeping environment since the first edition in 2012. Today there is a heightened concern about global warming, the natural environment, biodiversity and the need to be guided by science. Among beekeepers there is a greater awareness of these issues with a shift towards sustainable beekeeping; locally-adapted colonies, reduced use of chemicals and concern for pollinators and forage. These concerns are reflected in this second edition. The increased engagement of beekeepers and the questioning of otherwise accepted practices has prompted the title of this edition, Having Healthy Honeybees - the beekeeping & science. This edition both updates the first and extends its scope.Aim is to help beekeepers establish healthy colonies.Emphasis on proper set-up and keeping it simple.Diseases are dealt with in a concise format.New chapters, The Bees & Sustainable Colonies and Forage & Honey.There are over 220 references many on open access. About the AuthorJohn McMullan keeps honeybee colonies in North County Dublin and has an out-apiary in County Galway. He was Honorary Secretary of his local beekeeping Association for twenty five years and has been in contact with many members'' colonies over the years. He is an engineer by profession and in 2007 received a doctorate in Zoology (parasitology) from Trinity College Dublin. His particular interest is in the parasites of the honeybee, mainly parasitic mites, and has authored several scientific papers.

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Book SynopsisAn extraordinary account of searching for the wildness left in our world - spanning continents and geological eras, skies and oceans, animals and birds, and even the planets and stars. With dizzying acuity and insight Roberts paints a portrait of a life and its landscapes, creating precious connections with wild creatures and places, from swans in the Cambrian Mountains to wolves in the Pacific Northwest. By walking at dawn and dusk, in the two lights of awakening and deepening, through the stripped, windswept hills of Wales, and the jungles and savannahs of Africa, he tries to navigate from a soul-stripping sense of loss towards hope in the future. In the presence of wild creatures he finds a way back to life.Trade Review'Evocatively illustrated and elegantly written.' Country Life - 'A beautiful, vivid work ... [His] writing is lyrical, empathetic and keenly observed - there is joy as well as sorrow in his words and a reminder to savour the beauty that remains in this world.' Western Daily Mail - 'A book about what it means to be fully alive in a time of endings: personal, planetary. Deeply moving and rich in surprising perspectives on wild places and our relationship to them.' Tanya Shadrick, author of The Cure for Sleep - 'Two Lights operates at an epic scale, switching back and forth between the realms of the microscope and the telescope. An opening sequence which describes the stupendous enormity of a new day dawning across Eurasia verges on science fiction, and yet these massive themes are anchored by continual references to the tiny; the golden plover at the heart of a turning galaxy. So instead of spinning recklessly off into the distant cosmos, Two Lights is rooted in tangibles - simultaneously radical and earthy; superlative and sensible.' Patrick Laurie, author of Native: Life in a Vanishing Landscape - 'A beautifully written, ultimately hopeful, journey through all that we stand to lose on this ever-more-challenged Earth.' Sharon Blackie, author of If Women Rose Rooted - 'Deeply personal yet always outward looking, James Roberts delights in the world he discovers about him. Yet he also trembles, because he understands like winter light, that world is diminished ... and diminishing ... Two Lights reveals why all of us should be writers.' - Robert Minhinnick, poet and author of Diary of the Last Man

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Book SynopsisVictorian visitors had shooting lodges – Scots had trips doon the watter. Norwegian citizens had hytte – Scots had Butlins. Why have the inhabitants of one of Europe’s prime tourist destinations been elbowed off the land and exiled from nature for so long? Lesley Riddoch relives her own bothy experience, rediscovers lost hutting communities, travels through hytte-covered Norway and suggests that thousands of humble woodland huts would give Scots a vital post-covid connection with nature and affordable, low-impact holidays in their own beautiful land – at last.Trade Review'My favourite new concept from this book is friluftsliv, coined by Henrik Ibsen and describing a state in which recreation, rejuvenation and the restoration of balance are achieved through immersion in nature. For Norwegians, this means escaping to your hytte at weekends. In this brilliant book, well-known journalist, Lesley Riddoch, explores how the Nordic countries, each with about the same population as Scotland, have around 400,000 summer houses or huts, whilst we in Scotland have 630 at the last count. Probably fewer now but the Reforesting Scotland Thousand Huts campaign aims to change all that. This book is part travel documentary, part personal journal and part research for a PhD. It is immensely readable, containing within its covers the whole sad story of how Scots became disconnected from the land whilst Norwegians went the other way and now enjoy the pleasures of a friluftsliv. The connections with bothies, hostels, boats, caravans and allotments are discussed. In all cases the Nordic countries are ahead of us. Generations of a hierarchical feudal system (abolished only in 2004!) have eroded the expectations of Scots to the point that many do not even know what they are missing. Huts are really a metaphor for centuries of political injustices. Scotland has castles, Norway has hytte which are available to almost everybody. The story of Carbeth is documented here in great detail with a focus on the role of William Ferris, an unsung hero, early last century. At the same time, a very similar working class hutting site was developing on an island close to Oslo. From then on the stories of hutting in Scotland and Norway diverged. The Thousand Huts campaign is determined to make the friluftsliv available to all Scots and this book is a beacon.' - Donald McPhillimy, Reforesting Scotland Spring/Summer 2021

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Book SynopsisLearn the names and habits of each wild woodland flower as they appear, from early Spring to the year's end, how to identify different woodland habitats and to spot the clues about the woodland's history.

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Book SynopsisA beautifully-crafted and moving personal account of the rolling seasons, as seen from a man who loves his Fenland village, its ever-changing scenery, its adaptable wildlife, its stoical local people, and its evolving farming practices over the centuries.

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Book SynopsisFrom Great Yarmouth to Aberystwyth, Westering is a coast-to-coast journey crossing the Fens, Leicester, the Black Country and central Wales. It connects landscape, place and memory to evoke a narrative unravelling the deep topography, and following a westerly route that runs against the grain of the land, its geology, culture and historical bedrock. With the industrial Midlands sandwiched between bucolic landscapes in East Anglia and Wales, here we explore places too often overlooked. Along the way we encounter deserted medieval villages, battlefield sites, the ghosts of Roman soldiers, valleys drowned for reservoirs, ancient forests, John Clare's beloved fields, and the urban edgelands. Notions of home and belonging, landscapes of loss and absence, birds and the resilience of nature, the psychology of walking, and the psychogeography of liminal places all frame the story.Trade Review"Westering is a beautifully compelling reminder that we never walk alone. Alongside us, always, are the complex cultural and natural histories, topographies, geologies and folk memories that have helped shape the path and those places we pass. Laurence Mitchell is a superb and illuminating guide to the rich seam of stories found underfoot." Julian Hoffman, author of Irreplaceable; Praise for Previous Work; "A rich level of local detail" Wanderlust MagazineTable of ContentsPART ONE; Red Herrings; Along the Eager River; Crow Country; A Fine City; Concrete Ghosts, Winding Wensum; God’s Holy River; Postcode Country;; Islands in the Fens; PART TWO; Crowland to Clare Country; Lost from the Map; The Unhorsing of Kings; Ghosts and Stone Memory; PART THREE Pulped Fiction/The Ghosts of a Forest; Slouching Towards Birmingham (Another Venice); City of Metal; Black over Bill’s Mother’s; All Round the Wrekin; Quiet under the Sun; PART FOUR; Over the Ofer; The Green, Green Grass of Home Land of the West

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Book SynopsisSpring is nature's season of rebirth and rejuvenation. Earth's northern hemisphere tilts towards the sun, winter yields to intensifying light and warmth, and a wild, elemental beauty transforms the Highland landscape and a repertoire of islands from Colonsay to Lindisfarne. Jim Crumley chronicles the wonder, tumult and spectacle of that transformation, but he shows too that it is no Wordsworthian idyll that unfolds. Climate chaos brings unwanted drama to the lives of badger and fox, seal and seabird and raptor, pine marten and sand martin. Jim lays bare the impact of global warming and urges us all towards a more daring conservation vision that embraces everything from the mountain treeline to a second spring for the wolf.Trade ReviewA BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK; "There are books that transport us and Jim Crumley's ode to spring takes us there on the wings of a sea eagle ... Exquisitely observed ... uplifting and disquieting ... Crumley's masterful words take you into the canvas of nature as into the work of a grand master ... The joy, the passion, the complete understanding Jim has for his world is a portal. The world on our doorstep." Scottish Book of the Week, The Courier; "Nature writer and poet Jim Crumley returns with a third volume of close observations [and] charts the arrival of spring, from the February song of a mistle thrush to May's drowsy warmth. Crumley quotes Margiad Evans - 'Write in the very now where you find yourself' - and takes her advice to heart." New Statesman; "This thought-inducing paean to nature brings the issues of the natural world to the forefront ... Crumley writes movingly about the season of rebirth and transformation which sees the hibernators awaken and the daffodils rise. A wonderful read." Kirstin Tait, Scottish Field; "A fantastic writer ... exquisite observations of details in the landscape as well as sweeping vistas ... remarkable." Ben Hoare, BBC Countryfile magazine; "Compelling ... Radical ... Crumley writes of the creatures and landscape before him like a James Guthrie or Landseer of print ... He could be Ali Smith's naturalist twin." Rosemary Goring, Scottish Review of Books; "Beautifully written ... thoughtful and thought-provoking ... Jim Crumley does not shy away from the important issues facing the natural world [in] a book you'd like to think could have real influence on the world we live in." Undiscovered Scotland; Praise for Jim Crumley's writing: Wainwright Golden Beer Prize 2017, LONGLISTED (The Nature of Autumn); The Richard Jeffries Society & White Horse Bookshop Literary Prize for nature writing, SHORTLISTED; "A delightful meditation." Stephen Moss, Books of the Year, Guardian; "Nature writing is like trying to catch birds with cobwebs. Crumley's just has a higher tensile strength than most." Herald; "Breathtaking...This nature book is a delight...words that freshen and sparkle the everyday world and sprinkle warmth and colour into the heart of it." Miriam Darlington, BBC Wildlife; "Enchanting." Sara Maitland; "A passionate, compelling, very personal work... the honesty of his voice is striking." Scottish Review of Books; "Enthralling and often strident." ObserverTable of ContentsPart One: Harbingers; Chapter One: First Syllables; Chapter Two: Falcons of the Yellow Hill; Chapter Three: The Backward Spring; Chapter Four: The; Mountaineering Badger; Part Two: Island Spring; Chapter Five: The Nature of Second Spring; Chapter Six: Forty-eight Hours on Colonsay; Chapter Seven: Yell – No Need of Dreams; Chapter Eight: An Island Pilgrimage (1) – Mull and Iona; Chapter Nine: An Island Pilgrimage (2) – Lismore to Islandshire; Chapter Ten: An Island Pilgrimage (3) – Lindisfarne, Nature’s Island; Chapter Eleven: May in June; Part Three: Highland Spring Chapter Twelve: Glen Clova and the Definite Article; Chapter Thirteen: The Poetry of Mountain Flowers; Chapter Fourteen: The Sanctuary (1) – A Second Spring for the Wolf; Chapter Fifteen: The Sanctuary (2) – Loch Tulla; Chapter Sixteen: The Properties of Mercury; Chapter Seventeen: Renaissance

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Book SynopsisIn the endless light of summer days, and the magical gloaming of the wee small hours, nature in Jim's beloved Highlands, Perthshire and Trossachs heartlands is burgeoning freely, as though there is one long midsummer's eve, nothing reserved. For our flora and fauna, for the very land itself, this is the time of extravagant growth, flowering and the promise of fruit and the harvest to come. But despite the abundance, as Jim Crumley attests, summer in the Northlands is no Wordsworthian idyll. Climate chaos and its attendant unpredictable weather brings high drama to the lives of the animals and birds he observes. There is also a wild, elemental beauty to the land, mountains, lochs, coasts and skies, a sense of nature at its very apex during this, the most beautiful and lush of seasons. Jim chronicles it all: the wonder, the tumult, the spectacle of summer - and what is at stake as our seasons are pushed beyond nature's limits.Trade ReviewTHE HIGHLAND BOOK PRIZE 2020, SHORTLISTED; "[A] beautiful book ... [an] exceptional and intense quality of observation glows from every page ... He finds astonishing beauty in the landscape, and sheer wonder in his encounters ... Nothing can diminish the sharpness of his eye, the ardour of his writing, and the pure wonder at the natural world that shapes every paragraph ... A wisdom that we need now, more than ever before." Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman; "This is a work of pure escapism as the throb of spring gives way to the reflective calm of our warmest months. Crumley's writing effortlessly captures the majesty of a golden eagle eyrie, the magic of beavers returning to their old habitats, and the joy that arrives with a flock of whooper swans overhead ... The perfect finale to this evocative seasonal collection" Tiffany Francis-Baker, BBC Wildlife Magazine; "A mesmerising blend of observation and in-depth knowledge about our wild landscapes ... every bit as compelling and thought-provoking as its predecessors ... no better book to lose yourself in." Herald; Praise for Previous work: Richard Jefferies Society & White Horse Bookshop Literary Prize for nature writing, SHORTLISTED Saltire Society award: SHORTLISTED "A delightful meditation." Stephen Moss, Books of the Year, Guardian; "Nature writing is like trying to catch birds with cobwebs. Crumley's just has a higher tensile strength than most." Herald.Table of ContentsPrologue: The Goddess of Small Things; Part One: Everything Else in the Universe; Chapter One: St Kilda Summer, 1988; Chapter Two: Forty Years at Eagle Crag; Chapter Three: You Have Not Seen Her with My Eyes; Chapter Four: She Is of the Woods and I Am Not; Chapter Five: Inside the Arc; Part Two: Song for an Unsung Shore; Chapter Six: Solstice; Chapter Seven: Between a Rock and a Soft Place; Chapter Eight: City of Ghost Birds; Chapter Nine: Bass Notes; Part Three: Smoke Signals; Chapter Ten: Touchstones; Chapter Eleven: The Land of Havørn (1): Under the Blue Mountain; Chapter Twelve: The Land of Havørn (2): Islands of Dreams; Chapter Thirteen: The Climate Imperative; Chapter Fourteen: The Accidental Kingfisher and Other Stories: A Diary; Epilogue: A Daydream of Wolves

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