November
Lazy days
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A LOVE LETTER TO PERSON AND PLACE
The next chapter in an inspiring and beautifully written story of hope and healing
LANDLINES
BY RAYNOR WINN, MICHAEL JOSEPH, £20 (HB)
Our first encounter with the author Raynor Winn was – forgive the pun – a cliffhanger. After losing her home and income, and following her husband Moth’s diagnosis of a terminal illness, the couple decide to walk the rugged 630-mile South West Coast Path. The outcome was her bestselling memoir, The Salt Path. We next caught up with Raynor and Moth in The Wild Silence as they settle in Cornwall, then hike Iceland’s Laugaveger Trail. Winn’s latest book, Landlines, finds them back in home territory, taking on the formidable Cape Wrath Trail in the Highlands.
Life has changed for the pair since The Salt Path. They are no longer homeless, nor penniless. But they face familiar challenges. Moth’s health is deteriorating, and taking on another arduous walk feels like a last-ditch attempt to stem its progress.
Most people they meet on the trail are yomping south to north, heads down, ticking off the miles. Raynor and Moth amble in the opposite direction, and despite rain, wind and ill-fitting boots, they revel in the splendour of their surroundings and find healing in the total immersion in nature.
Fuelled by hope, and endless cups of tea, they wend their way south. When the Cape Wrath Trail ends, they have an important decision to make. Writing in her usual candid and engaging style, Winn guides us along the next – unexpectedly uplifting – stage of their journey. We, her readers, are privileged to walk alongside her.
BOOK
WILD: TALES FROM EARLY MEDIEVAL BRITAIN
BY AMY JEFFS, QUERCUS, £20 (HB)
Inspired by the words and images that survive from early medieval Britain, artist and medievalist Amy Jeffs sets out into the unknown corners of the world. Her aim is to rediscover and reimagine the wild landscapes preserved in Old English, medieval Welsh, Old Irish and Insular Latin literature, written in a turbulent age where Celtic Britons tussled with Germanic tribes, Irish kingdoms vied with Pictish kingdoms, and Scandinavian aggressors threatened the coastlines.
Jeffs has produced an extraordinarily multidimensional work, which reflects the nature of the historical period itself, the evidence that remains, and her own talents. She moves seamlessly from creative retellings of the stories to explanations of the texts and where they came from, underpinned all the time by sound academic understanding. Those reading the print version can marvel at the extraordinary black-and-white wood cuttings that break up the chapters, while those enjoying the audiobook can listen to music inspired by the same tales.
Jeffs takes her own journeys through the British Isles, which show us that some of these ancient landscapes are still there, just below the surface. At the same time, Jeffs is happy to preserve the ambiguity of the past, inviting us to join her at the threshold of the early medieval imagination while allowing it to remain long ago, far away, and just out of reach. Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough, environmental history lecturer
BOOK
WILD ENTHUSIASM: A VERY BRITISH SAFARI
BY STEVE WRIGHT, MERLIN UNWIN, £20 (HB)
Now the seasons are turning, Wild Enthusiasm is the perfect read for those long winter nights. As if working through an ‘I-spy’ wildlife book, the author travels much of the British Isles in search of wildlife. He finds otters off the coast of Mull, gannets and puffin colonies on rocky Shetland shores, dolphins off the Isle of Mann and lizards in Dorset. It’s well-titled, as Steve Wright’s enthusiasm pours from the page at every turn. You are with him on each encounter, sharing his misfortunes and inward yelps of excitement.
In terms of nature writing, this isn’t the clipped prose of Macfarlane or the campaigning of Monbiot. The humorous asides and tales most closely resemble writers such as Tom Cox or even Bill Bryson. That is not to say he doesn’t cover anything heavyweight, as a strong conservation theme runs throughout.
Another plus of the book is that the trips and experiences are very easily replicated. There were no large book advances to fund trips to South American rainforests – everything was self-funded, so very easy to achieve on a long weekend or a week away.
The book is written in chronological order (as it happened to the author) rather than geographical, which may make the book slightly more difficult to navigate to some. However, it is an accessible romp, well worth putting on your Christmas list.
RADIO
FLIGHT OF THE OSPREYS
BBC RADIO 4, EVERY TUESDAY AT 9.30-9.45 25 OCTOBER – 27 DECEMBER
Sacha Dench is an Australian biologist who made her name in conservation circles with a spectacular journey flying her paramotor alongside migrating Bewick’s swans from Arctic Russia to the UK. For her next odyssey she is following ospreys from their summer homes in the Scottish Highlands to their winter territories in West Africa. The idea of the project is to engage with communities along the migration route to raise awareness, both of this spectacular fish-eating bird of prey and of the precious but shrinking wetlands it depends on.
Emily Knight will follow Sacha’s journey in a 10-part series that reveals some of the most pressing threats to the environment we depend on just as much as the osprey.
TV
AUTUMNWATCH
BBC TWO, 8PM
Don’t miss the return of BBC Two’s Autumnwatch, 25–28 October. Join Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan at Wild Ken Hill in Norfolk where a farming landscape is being rewilded and deer can be sighted. On the Welsh coast, Iolo Williams and Gillian Burke meet wonderful wildlife at Teifi Marshes Nature Reserve and Cardigan Bay.
Q&A
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
We talk to nature writer and naturalist Charlotte Varela, whose new guidebook takes us on walks of discovery in over 470 of the UK’s wild places
Your book covers all corners of the UK. How many Wildlife Trust sites did you visit during your research? Not as many as I’d have liked, thanks to the pandemic! I started writing Wildlife
Walks just as the first lockdown hit, so it was months before I could start visiting nature reserves. Thankfully, I had the help of the wonderful network of Wildlife Trusts, who were always happy to offer guidance despite dealing with the fallout of Covid-19. I’m now slowly visiting the reserves I didn’t get the chance to see.
Why do you think it’s important that we all engage with our local natural landscapes? There’s still a big disconnect between us and the natural world. I’ve lost count of how often I’ve heard, “I know it’s bad for the environment, but…”, and that’s the problem. We’re part of the environment and depend on nature – if it’s bad for the environment then it’s bad for us. The only way people will realise this is by getting outside and forming a relationship with their local landscapes.
You hail from Lancashire; which is your favourite local nature reserve to visit in autumn? Lancashire is such an underrated county when it comes to walking and wildlife. One of my favourite places for an autumn walk is Mere Sands Wood Nature Reserve in Rufford. It’s a beautiful mixed woodland where you can bask in autumn colour while watching bullfinches and treecreepers in the wood, and teal, gadwalls and wigeons on the lakes. It’s also a kingfisher hotspot!
How can visitors to Wildlife Trust sites ensure they have minimum impact on these habitats? It’s so important to take your litter home, bag and bin all dog poo and leave no trace. Stick to footpaths to protect delicate plant life and sensitive wildlife, especially during breeding season, when many animals nest or shelter on the ground. One of the most important things is to keep your dog on their lead. No matter how well-meaning or playful, dogs are scary predators to wild animals and conservation-grazing livestock.
What has been your most exciting wildlife encounter on a walk? One encounter I’ll never forget happened during an evening walk with my partner on the Isle of Skye. We were watching a herd of red deer making their way over the hills above a loch, turned to leave and were stopped in our tracks by a speckly red deer fawn nestled down amongst the heather. We could barely speak, and couldn’t stop smiling as we quietly tiptoed past it.
Wildlife Walks: Get back to nature at more than 475 of the UK’s best wild places by Charlotte Varela (Bloomsbury Wildlife, £16.99) is out now.