Nature

Inhabiting a landscape, walking a landscape, writing a place and time.

Linda Cracknell is a writer of place and nature who believes in being alert, observing, and writing from the particulars of each experience. Engaging bodily with her writing, she is someone for whom getting mud on her boots, sleeping high up in the hills, or being slapped by salt water can all be part of her process. She follows Susan Sontag's advice to “Love words, agonize over sentences and pay attention to the world.”

In this varied collection of essays, Linda backpacks on a small island that is connected to the mainland at low tide, musing on the nineteenth-century Scottish writer whose character was shipwrecked there. She hikes the wooded mountain trail close to her home in winter snow—a place she is intimately familiar with in all weathers and seasons—and she retraces the steps of a multiday hike made almost seven decades after her parents trod the route together. She explores her inspirations, in nature and from other artists and their work.

Reading this collection will open your eyes to the world around you and how you can observe, take note, and later commit those notes and memories to written pieces that will evoke the place and time.

The best of contemporary nature writing from the winners of the inaugural international Nature Chronicles Prize.

The Nature Chronicles Prize is a new biennial, international, English-language literary award founded to celebrate engaging, unique, essay-length nonfiction that responds to the time we are in and the world as it is. Conceived in 2020 to mark the global pandemic, the prize is also a memorial to Prudence Scott, a lifelong British nature diarist who died in 2019.

Contained within this volume are the outstanding nominated entries for the inaugural prize. These winning works express diverse responses to our planet and its life, and together embody the best of contemporary nature writing.

An evocative journey through geology and landscape, seen through the eyes of one of Scotland’s most beloved poets and storytellers.

Blending lyrical prose with personal reflection, Kenneth Steven explores mountains and glens, rivers and rugged coasts in search of gemstones, rocks and crystals. He discovers gold glinting in Highland burns, agates nestling in riverbeds, and aquamarines, amethysts, garnets, amber and pearls in wild places where others rarely roam.

Beguiled by their forms, colors, textures and sometimes glittering brilliance, he finds the thrill of unearthing natural riches more precious and delightful even than the gems themselves. Stone by stone, he considers the origins and allure of these treasures, revealing not only their geological stories but their place in history and imagination.

Steven’s deep connection to the land shines through as he interprets the meaning and magic, inviting readers to see both the landscape and its hidden gems with fresh wonder. This book is a celebration of Scotland’s rugged beauty and the quiet, enduring fascination of its rocks and gemstones.

When the cold months make you hunker down and hide, how do you teach your soul to open up instead—to new rhythms and unlikely beauty—and begin participating in the unique joy of winter?

Helen Moat used to dread winter. When it approached, she would hunker down inside, yearn for the sun, and wait it out. Then, determined to overcome this anxiety, she vowed to set out into the darkness in search of ways to embrace it.

Beginning her discoveries at home in Scotland, she moves on across the world through the Arctic Circle to Asia. Along the way, she finds beauty in the small things that only winter can offer. Helen’s quest to dispel her seasonal blues has its ups and downs; slowly, though, she learns not only to accept the darkness of winter, but to welcome it. When she travels to Lapland and Japan, their cultural and philosophical attitude to the season is a revelation.

While the Earth Holds Its Breath nurtures resilience and determination, finding a joyous positivity that does not ignore the darkness, but finds something to love there.

New from the popular In the Moment series—in search of the darkest night skies, Anna Levin uncovers a sense of wonder about the universe that will help you to understand more about our own pale blue dot.

The darkness of the night represents something unknowable and mysterious. But when we look up, we can find celestial light shows, whole galaxies, and even a new perspective on our Earthly concerns. The night sky offers us an essential connection to something bigger than ourselves, a vast, timeless expanse that extinguishes our individual concerns.

Humans have tried to make sense of the night sky since ancient times. From physicists and meteorologists to astrologists, artists, philosophers and poets, it has been a source of inspiration, wonder, and exploration. Now, our access to darkness is under threat, and many of us are flocking to see the stars while we can—in a new wave of ‘astrotourism’.

In this concise volume, Anna Levin looks at how we can learn from and nurture our relationship with the night sky, even—especially—in the context of our changing world.

From Jim Crumley, the “pre-eminent Scottish nature-writer” (Guardian), this landmark volume documents the extraordinary natural life of the Scottish Highlands and bears witness to the toll climate chaos is taking on its wildlife, habitats, and biodiversity—laying bare what is at stake for future generations.

In this landmark volume, Jim Crumley brings together a sweeping five-year quest to document the seasons and how he has seen them change. It explores the damage to the Earth’s natural rhythms, but also relishes the enduring beauty and wonder of nature itself.

Drawing on his studies of each season over more than thirty years and reworking the volumes in his best-selling Seasons quartet, Crumley has created this unique account of our natural world today.

After a lifetime of immersing himself in the landscapes of Scotland and a handful of other northern countries, Crumley has amassed a body of knowledge and insight and a bank of memorable imagery.

Combining lyrical prose and passionate eloquence, he lays bare the impact of an increasingly chaotic climate and urges us all towards a more daring conservation vision that embraces everything from the mountain treeline to a second spring for the wolf.

“Delightful … The lyrical prose elevates Crumley’s detailed descriptions of the natural world he encounters … Readers will be transported by this immersive outing.” Publishers Weekly

A BBC-serialized vision of spring, ravaged by climate change yet still astonishing, by Scotland’s leading nature writer.

Spring is nature’s season of rebirth and rejuvenation. Earth’s Northern hemisphere tilts toward 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. Crumley 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.

Nominated for two major literary awards, this is an urban nature book telling the story of an historic part of London through its trees, past and present.

Even in the brick and concrete heart of our cities, nature finds a way. Birds and mammals, insects, plants and trees—they all manage to thrive in the urban jungle, and Bob Gilbert is their champion and their chronicler. He explores the hidden wildlife of the inner city and its edgelands, finding unexpected beauty in the cracks and crannies, and uncovering the deep and essential relationship that exists between people and nature when they are bound together in such close proximity.

Beginning from Poplar, the East End area in which he lives, Bob explores, in particular, our relationship with the trees that have helped shape London; from the original wildwood through to the street trees of today. He draws from history and natural history, poetry and painting, myth and magic, and a great deal of walking, observing and listening. 

Beautifully written, passionate and defiant, Ghost Trees tells the secrets and stories of the urban wildscape, of glorious nature resilient and resurgent on our very doorsteps.

Nominated for two major literary awards, this is an urban nature book telling the story of an historic part of London through its trees, past and present.

Even in the brick and concrete heart of our cities, nature finds a way. Birds and mammals, insects, plants and trees—they all manage to thrive in the urban jungle, and Bob Gilbert is their champion and their chronicler. He explores the hidden wildlife of the inner city and its edgelands, finding unexpected beauty in the cracks and crannies, and uncovering the deep and essential relationship that exists between people and nature when they are bound together in such close proximity.

Beginning from Poplar, the East End area in which he lives, Bob explores, in particular, our relationship with the trees that have helped shape London; from the original wildwood through to the street trees of today. He draws from history and natural history, poetry and painting, myth and magic, and a great deal of walking, observing and listening.

Beautifully written, passionate and defiant, Ghost Trees tells the secrets and stories of the urban wildscape, of glorious nature resilient and resurgent on our very doorsteps.

 A bestselling British birder, naturalist, writer and broadcaster leads us on a springtime journey of discovery through daily walks in the area surrounding his home, highlighting the joys of connecting with wildlife and our environment.

As spring arrives, Stephen Moss’s Somerset garden is awash with birdsong: chiffchaffs, wrens, robins and more. Overhead, buzzards soar, ravens tumble and the season gathers pace. But this equinox is unlike any other. As the nation goes into lockdown, Stephen records the wildlife around his home, with his fox-red Labrador, Rosie, by his side. When old routines fall away, and blue skies are no longer crisscrossed by contrails, they discover the bumblebees, butterflies and birdsong on their local patch.

This evocative account underlines how a global crisis changed the way we relate to the natural world, giving us hope for the future. And it puts down a marker for a new normal: when, during that brief but unforgettable spring, nature gave us comfort, hope and joy.

A collection of vibrant essays on climate change, and conservation to inform, stimulate and call every nature lover to action.

“I can’t think of a more important book that’s been written about British wildlife in the past 20 years ... Roy Dennis [is] the UK’s pre-eminent conservationist of the past half century .." BBC Countryfile Magazine

Through unparalleled expertise as a field naturalist, Roy Dennis is able to write about the natural world in a way that considers both the problems and the progress in ecology and conservation. Beginning with cottongrass, whose snow-white blooms blow gently in the wind across the wetter moors and bogs, this is a year-round trove of insight and knowledge for anyone who cares about the natural world, from birdsong and biodiversity to sphagnum and species reintroduction.

Written by one of the UK's most prominent advocates for rewilding, the essays have a clear message: Never give up on trying to conserve and restore wildlife and the wild places you cherish. It's essential to try and to succeed. And remember, it's never "if," but "when," and with climate chaos closing in, the time is now.

A stimulating collection of essays about our environment, nature, and wildlife by world-renowned naturalist and conservationist Roy Dennis.

A new collection of vibrant essays to inform, stimulate and inspire every nature lover.

Times of darkness offer opportunities to reflect. In Mistletoe Winter, Roy Dennis offers his reflections on the natural world from the past year—from the welcome signs of change to the ongoing problems we are posing for nature, and what humankind can and must do about them.

As in his companion volume, Cottongrass Summer, Roy Dennis balances his alarm at the crisis confronting the natural world with his own sense of optimism that new generations can make crucial changes for the future. One of our most prominent advocates for our planet and its species, he writes with insight and originality. This volume will provide inspiration and ideas for everyone who cares about our planet and its species.

“If you have been still enough for long enough, your eyes will have attuned and begun to read the seasurge fluently, so you recognize the blunt curve and flourished tail of a diving otter. Home your eyes in on that portion of the sea, permit nothing else to move, and you will see the otter eel-catching, resurfacing.”

It is a special privilege and a richly rewarding experience to observe a wild animal hunting, interacting with its young or its mate, exploring its habitat, or escaping a predator.

To watch wildlife, it’s essential not only to learn an animal’s ways, the times and places you may find it, but also to station yourself, focus, and wait. The experience depends on your stillness, silence, and full attention, watching and listening with minimal movement so that your presence is not sensed.

With decades of close observation of wild animals and birds, Jim Crumley has found himself up close and personal with many of our most elusive creatures, studying their movements, noting details, and offering intimate insights into their extraordinary lives. Here, he draws us into his magical world, showing how we can learn to watch wildlife well.

With a naturalist’s eye and a poet’s instinct, acclaimed nature writer Jim Crumley traces the place of our first and most famous National Park in the evolution of global conservation and pleads the case for a far-reaching reappraisal of its wildness.

Books of the Year, Mark Avery

The Lake District is one of England’s busiest national parks. Many people believe that wildness is long gone from the fells, lakes, tarns and becks, yet, within its boundaries, Jim Crumley sets out to prove them wrong—to find “a new way of seeing and writing about this most seen and written about of landscapes."

With a naturalist’s eye and a poet’s instinct, he is drawn to Lakeland’s turned-aside places where nature still thrives, from low-lying shores to a high mountain oakwood that is not even on the map. Through backwaters and backwoods, Crumley traces this captivating land’s place in the evolution of global conservation and pleads the case for a far-reaching reappraisal of all of Lakeland’s wildness.

Understanding, loving and protecting butterflies—in all their enchantments.

Butterflies have enchanted and intrigued us for centuries. From the eighteenth-century 'aurelians', through the Victorian 'golden age' of collecting to the twentieth-century focus on conservation, humans have chased glimpses of these beautiful but elusive creatures. Winding through literature, art, music, and dreams, The Butterfly: Flights of Enchantment uncovers why butterflies continue to inhabit such a profound place in our imagination. Today, the art of butterfly-watching can be a mindfulness practice for many; a Romantic escape from our industrialized existences.

A first of its kind in combining the history of human interest in butterflies with a guide to practical observation, this pocket guide encourages us to nurture our curiosity and head out into our local environment, focusing on edgeland habitats that are home to many species.

It is perhaps because butterflies are so fragile and fleeting that we are so beguiled by them. But now, as numbers dwindle, they have never been more difficult to spot.

The Butterfly paves the way toward uncovering the history of our fascination with butterflies and learning how to spot and identify them.