The countryside, country life: general interest Books
Candlestick Press The Winter Hedge: Walks in a Deep Lane
Book Synopsis
£8.22
Parthian Books Riverwise: Meditations on Afon Teifi
Book SynopsisRiverwise, a volume of slow river prose centred around Afon Teifi, is a book of wanderings and wonderings, witnessings and enchantments, rememberings and endings. Weaving memoir, poetry and keen observation into its meandering course, it shifts across time and space to reflect the beauty of hidden, fluvial places, and to meditate on the strangeness of being human. Above all, though, this book stands as a hymn to those fragments of riparian wilderness which on our maps appear as ever- shrinking horns of green amid a white, gridded landscape of human dominance. Riverwise is a clarion call to learn to love and protect the natural world and its waterways.
£8.55
Great Northern Books Ltd Big Tales From My Little Farm
Book SynopsisCelebs On The Farm judge (C5 & MTV) and The Yorkshire Vet regular (C5) Farmer Chris follows up his acclaimed autobiography Farming, Celebs & Plum Pudding Pigs - The Making of Farmer Chris with tales of hilarity, heartbreak, happiness, hopelessness and his own refreshing honesty, best summed up with his personal assessment 'Had I thought this through?' Big Tales From My Little Farm sees Farmer Chris at home in North Yorkshire with his wife Farmer Kate on their 40-acre farm and tells of how Chris finally realised his dream of becoming a farmer and then realised just how much he had to learn. Laugh out loud humour, cry out loud despair and varying degrees of astonishment, frustration, achievement and disbelief follow as Chris looks on as a massive cattle feeding ring falls of the back of his trailer as he is going uphill, his tractor steering fails on a country lane, his sheep escape again along with his goats, his cattle win major prizes, his sow only has a litter of one piglet and his Jack Russell terrier eats a whole Terry's Chocolate Orange! Chris' good friend Julian Norton (The Yorkshire Vet) provides the foreword plus an additional chapter. Farmer Kate provides the words 'Oh Christopher!'
£13.49
Crumps Barn Studio My Village in the Valley: In the country, nothing
Book Synopsis"I have long since ceased to be surprised at how often incidents in my village end up with someone in the river..." My Village in the Valley is a quiet unassuming place where, on the whole, very little happens. Until, that is, we all get together to tackle aggressive drivers, disputed footpaths, yapping hearthrugs and the ubiquitous village fete. In my Village in the Valley, nothing is ever simple ... Original comedy from TV and radio scriptwriter Michael Bartlett (The Archers, BBC Radio Drama)Trade Review"Absolutely one of the best laugh out loud books you can treat yourself to ... IN SUMMARY- I would love this book to become a new sitcom. The writing is very visual, the characters are credible and the situations so utterly bonkers they are probably true!" ~ Goodreads reviewer
£8.54
Crumps Barn Studio Sheep For All Seasons: A tale of lambs, sheepdogs
Book Synopsis"That good old farming saying 'make hay while the sun shines' is true in so many ways ... " Life on a family farm is always full of its ups and downs, but the past year for sheep farmer Sue Andrews has been busier than most. There's the arrival of husband Aubrey's lively new sheepdog puppy. Then livestock sales become online auctions just as Sue's beloved pedigree Blue Texel sheep are set to find new homes. And now, to top it all - as lambing starts, a new generation of young farming grandchildren decides it's time to learn the ropes ... This is the latest 'enchanting' portrait of a year in the life of a Cotswold sheep farmer from Amazon bestselling author Sue Andrews (If Clouds Were Sheep, Jumping Over Clouds) - perfect for anyone who enjoys a lively tale of the countryside
£8.54
Little Toller Books The Lost Orchards: Rediscovering the forgotten
Book SynopsisAbout two-thirds of Britain's small, traditional orchards have been lost since 1960. This is a loss in ecological diversity, in community knowledge and the intricacy of local distinctiveness. In 2007 the pomologist Liz Copas and cidermaker Nick Poole began a quest to find and identify old varieties of cider apple trees around Dorset. The search lasted more than a decade, taking them across the county, searching in forgotten orchards, hedgerows and the corners of gardens. The Lost Orchards follows the journey they took to find, propagate and make cider with Dorset's forgotten apple varieties: Golden Ball, Kings Favourite, Yaffle, Dewbit, Golly Knapp, Tom Legg, Best Bearer and Symes Seedlings. The book is also an illustrated guide to the apple varieties they discovered and an important history of West Country Orchards. This hopeful story will resonate far beyond Dorset and will encourage readers to look closely at their surroundings and conserve their local orchards.
£15.30
Chelsea Green Publishing UK On Gallows Down: Place, Protest and Belonging
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the James Cropper Wainwright Prize 2022 for Nature Writing - Highly Commended Winner for the Richard Jefferies Award 2021 for Best Nature Writing 'A rural, working-class writer in an all too rarefied field, Chester’s work is unusual for depicting the countryside as it is lived on the economic margins.' The Guardian 'An important portrait of connection to the land beyond ownership or possession.' Raynor Winn ‘It’s ever so good. Political, passionate and personal.’ Robert Macfarlane ‘Evocative and inspiring…environmental protest, family, motherhood and…nature.’ Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground, Costa Novel Award Winner 2021 Nature is everything. It is the place I come from and the place I got to. It is family. Wherever I am, it is home and away, an escape, a bolt hole, a reason, a place to fight for, a consolation, and a way home. As a child growing up in rural England, Guardian Country Diarist Nicola Chester was inexorably drawn to the natural landscape surrounding her. Walking, listening and breathing in the nature around her, she followed the call of the cuckoo, the song of the nightingale and watched as red kites, fieldfares and skylarks soared through the endless skies over the chalk hills of the North Wessex Downs: the ancient land of Greenham Common which she called home. Nicola bears witness to, and fights against, the stark political and environmental changes imposed on the land she loves, whilst raising her family to appreciate nature and to feel like they belong – core parts of who Nicola is. From protesting the loss of ancient trees to the rewilding of Greenham Common, to the gibbet on Gallows Down and living in the shadow of Highclere Castle (made famous in Downton Abbey), On Gallows Down shows how one woman made sense of her world – and found her place in it.Trade Review‘I couldn’t put it down! A must read!’—Dara McAnulty, author of Diary of a Young Naturalist 'From treetop protests at the Newbury Bypass to the grand Highclere Estate, On Gallows Down is that rare thing: nature writing as political as it is personal.'—Melissa Harrison, author of The Stubborn Light of Things: A Nature Diary'A powerful personal and political journey through place that charts the profound influence we have on nature, and that nature has on us.'—Rob Cowen, author of Common Ground and The Heeding'An evocative and inspiring memoir which touches on environmental protest, family, motherhood and most importantly, nature. Her passion for the natural world and especially birds, shines through in this wonderful book.'—Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground'Nicola Chester deserves many readers. On Gallows Down is an impassioned study of a contested landscape, which interrogates our attitudes towards land stewardship, ownership and living in the right relationship with both human and other-than-human neighbours. Charged with love and fire, On Gallows Down is a beautiful exploration of a much-mapped, multi-faceted landscape.'—Katharine Norbury, author of The Fish Ladder'Chester’s writing has a lovely elasticity, dancing between wonder, introspection and anger as she moves from the particular to the universal…She belongs to the disappearing English, rural working class, and is intent on handing this baton to her three children, who play a part in the book. Chester also explores the familiar tension between wanting to write and being needed at home. The heady ecstasy of time carved out alone, in nature. The scrabble to earn a precarious living, and the insecurities of occupying a tied cottage. The idea of ‘home’ lies at the heart of this fierce, beautifully written, immersive book about one’s place within the landscape.'—Tessa Boase, author of Etta Lemon: The Woman Who Saved the Birds'Nicola’s passionate and enduring love of nature shines through every single word, paragraph and page of this book, as she seamlessly weaves memoir with stories of the landscape in which she is so deeply rooted that it seems to speak through her. Powerful, enlightening, dazzling, hopeful, On Gallows Down is a rare and precious gem – to be savoured, not rushed, and returned to again and again. My words cannot do this book justice – it simply needs to be read.'—Brigit Strawbridge Howard, author of the Wainwright-shortlisted Dancing with Bees
£9.89
Lopinga Books The Pick of Wild Essex
Book Synopsis
£11.87
i2i Publishing Unearthing Communal Happiness
Book Synopsis
£17.99
Fremantle Press Salt Story: Of Seadogs and Fisherwomen
Book SynopsisIn this warm, lively, salty account of living on and by the sea, Drummond writes of fishing and feuds, of life as an apprentice fisherwoman, and of all the fish that got away. SALT STORY pays homage to sea-dogs, fisherwomen, oystermen and storytellers everywhere.
£15.29
University of Nevada Press Cowboy is a Verb: Notes from a Modern-day Rancher
Book SynopsisFrom the big picture to the smallest detail, Richard Collins fashions a rousing memoir about the modern-day lives of cowboys and ranchers. However, Cowboy is a Verb is much more than wild horse rides and cattle chases. While Collins recounts stories of quirky ranch horses, cranky cow critters, cow dogs, and the people who use and care for them, he also paints a rural West struggling to survive the onslaught of relentless suburbanization. A born story-teller with a flair for words, Collins breathes life into the geology, history, and interdependency of land, water, and native and introduced plants and animals. He conjures indelible portraits of the hardworking, dedicated people he comes to know. With both humor and humility, he recounts the day-to-day challenges of ranch life from how to build a productive herd, distribute your cattle evenly across a rough and rocky landscape, and how to establish a grazing system that allows pastures enough time to recover. He also intimately recounts a battle over the endangered Gila Topminnow and how he and his neighbors worked with university range scientists, forest service conservationists, and funding agencies to improve their ranches as well as the ecological health of the Redrock Canyon watershed. A rancher who wants to stay in the game doesn't dominate the landscape; instead, they have to continually study the land and the animals it supports. Collins is a keen observer of both. He demonstrates that patience, resilience, and a common sense approach to conservation and range management are what counts, combined with an enduring affection for nature, its animals, and the land. Cowboy is a Verb is not a romanticized story of cowboy life on the range, rather it is a complex story of the complicated work involved with being a rancher in the twenty-first-century West.Trade ReviewCollins seamlessly weaves a memoir about how he learned to ranch in southeastern Arizona with astute commentaries about the challenges of doing so in a land where most of his neighbors were exurbanites and a small endangered minnow caused more problems than the drug runners trekking through his mountain pastures.— Tom Sheridan, Professor of Anthropology, University of Arizona and author of Stitching the West Back TogetherI do think this book may become a classic and sit alongside other memorable books on ranching culture.— Richard L. Knight, retired professor of wildlife conservation, Colorado State UniversityThere is something special about being able to live and work in a landscape over many years. Each year offers a greater understanding of place and your place in it. Richard Collins shines when he is describing his beloved high desert grasslands and the people and creatures who occupy it.— Ross Humphreys, San Rafael RanchCollins is not only a fine storyteller, but there is generosity and exuberance in his writing and thinking that I hope will spread like wildfire to renew the many landscapes and cultures of the American West.— Gary Paul Nabhan, author of Food from the Radical Center: Healing Our Lands and CommunitiesCollins' descriptions of abundant wildlife, expansive scenic views and especially the watershed that divides his ranch from north to south, all attest to his deep connection to the property that he has explored, inch by inch, on horseback… The efforts of a hands-on working rancher to sustain the viability of the land he so loves makes it likely that cowboy truly is a verb.— Betty Barr, historian and author of Hidden Treasures of Santa Cruz CountyThe best description of ranching in southeast Arizona that I have yet run across. — Bill McDonald, Co-founder of the Radical Center and Past President of the Malpai Borderlands Group and fifth generation rancherCowboy is a Verb should be read by every rancher, agency member, or any folks that just love open spaces. Using local examples to illustrate his points, Richard shows the need to add a powerful; fourth "C" to the three Cs of successful ranching. Cowboys, Cattle, and Cow Dogs—make room for Cooperation. Anyone with feelings about the west will find things they like and things they wish Richard hadn't brought up in this book. That is the surest way to know he has written the truth about a subject that he knows and cares deeply about."— Jim Koweek, Author, Grassland Plant ID for Everyone: Except Folks that That Take Boring Technical Stuff Too SeriouslyOne of the few books available that gives a well-rounded description of modern-day ranching in the southwest… A very balanced picture of the challenges facing ranchers today. Thanks for writing such an enlightening book and giving me the opportunity to read it.— Walter Lane, Co-Owner Headquarters West, Ltd. and fourth generation rancherRichard Collins was a leader in the vitally important task of building a radical center among ranchers, conservationists, and federal agencies in southern Arizona. Today, as the West and the nation continues to harden into opposing factions we need the work of radical centrists more than ever. In this thoughtful, humorous, and heartfelt memoir, Collins captures the spirit of those heady years, sharing lessons learned for all of us along the way.— Courtney White, author of Grass, Soil, Hope and co-founder of the Quivira CoalitionAs a lifelong rancher and cowboy, I was mesmerized by Richard Collins' beautifully crafted stories. What I particularly relished was Collins' deep love of the land. His passion for conserving and improving grasslands, water, wildlife—the very environment that sustains us—shines through his articulate and moving prose. He is a down-to-earth rancher and cowboy who finds great joy in his daily tasks while never losing sight of his role as steward of the land.— H. Alan Day, author of The Horse Lover and Cowboy Up!Table of Contents Foreword by George B. Buyle, PhD Introduction Chapter 1. Alamo Spring Chapter 2. Fine Feathers Chapter 3. Tar Paper and Tin Shacks Chapter 4. What Goes Around Chapter 5. Living Close to Predicament Chapter 6. Rainfall, Cow Counts, and Climate Change Chapter 7. The Seibold Ranch Chapter 8. Fences, Fires, and Drug Mules Chapter 9. More Horses and a Dog Chapter 10. Canelo Hills Coalition Chapter 11. Toward a Practice of Limits Chapter 12. Taking Good Care Chapter 13. Habitat or Species Chapter 14. Why in Hell? Chapter 15. Cowboy is a Verb Acknowledgments Selected Sources About the Author
£20.21
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co KG Urwald der Bayern: Geschichte, Politik und Natur
Book SynopsisOther countries - from Yellowstone to serengeti - had long since had their large national parks when Germany's first national park was founded in 1970 in the Bavarian Forest. How did it come about? Why did the local "Waidlers" fight against the national park? How has the park's management dealt with conflicts over bark beetles, red deer and lynx? Does the national park region benefit from tourism? These and other critical questions are answered in this volume on the Bavarian Forest by experts from different disciplines. Prominent contemporary witnesses from the national park and its planning also have their say.
£24.69
Prestel Emerson's Nature and the Artists: Idea as
Book SynopsisWidely considered to be the foundational text of the American landscape tradition, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Nature urges Americans to value and immerse themselves in their country’s landscape, to build American culture from America's nature. Nearly two centuries after the original publication of the essay Nature by Emerson, this captivating book by critic and historian Tyler Green brings together a selection of artistic works in dialog with Emerson’s text for the first time. Green also offers his own fascinating take on Nature through new research into how the essay was informed by Emerson’s experiences of art and, in turn, how it informed American art well into the twentieth century. The result is a unique melding of essay, art, and ideas that will draw new readers to Emerson’s writings, while also introducing a fresh perspective on a critical contribution to the American canon and showing what impact Emerson's text still has for the US to this day.
£17.09
Un año en Sand County
Book Synopsis
£20.62
Lannoo Publishers Escape to the Country: Living on the Farm
Book SynopsisA slower pace of life, outdoor space and tight-knit communities come hand-in-hand with village living – something many have come to appreciate in recent months. Many city-dwellers are looking for an alternative way of life and are preparing to move, making the dream reality. In this beautifully photographed book, Ben Ashby, the editor-in-chief of Folk Magazine, reflects on the authenticity and charm of life on the farm. Having made the move several years ago from New York to Kentucky, he shares his thoughts on fitting into a small town, living on the farm, learning to celebrate the slow life, and being self-sufficient. For each season, he pilots us to the most inspiring farmhouses and pays tribute to the architecture and interiors of these unique spaces, as well as to the lifestyle and sense of community that goes along with country life. Now might be a perfect time for you to give farming life a try!
£40.50
