Book of the Month: Local

Our first Book of the Month for 2024 is Local: A Search for Nearby Nature and Wildness by the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award winning author Alastair Humphreys.

Escape into the overlooked adventures and insights from one man’s year of deeply exploring a 20km map of suburban England.

What surprises might you uncover in your own neighbourhood if you set aside assumptions and paid closer attention? After two decades of grand expeditions spanning the globe, Adventurer Alastair Humphreys embarked on a project to get to know his uninspiring corner of England through undertaking weekly microadventures within one local map. 

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Book of the Month: Where the Wildflowers Grow

Our Book of the Month for June 2022 is Where the Wildflowers Grow: My Journey Through Botanical Britain by Leif Bersweden.

‘When was the last time you stopped and noticed a wild plant?’

An intriguing and timely exploration of the importance of Britain and Ireland’s plant life.

Leif Bersweden has always been fascinated by plants. From a young age, his afternoons were spent hunting for and cataloguing the plants in his local area. But it is a landscape that is fast disappearing.


Since the end of the Second World War, 97% of Britain’s wildflower meadows have disappeared. Climate change, habitat destruction and a declining pollinator population mean that the future for plant life looks bleaker than ever before. Many of us are also unable to identify, or even notice, the plants that grow around us.

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Book of the Month: I Belong Here by Anita Sethi

In our Book of the Month for May, I Belong Here: A Journey Along the Backbone of Britain, Anita Sethi invites us on journey of reclamation through the natural landscapes of the North, brilliantly exploring identity, nature, place and belonging. Beautifully written and truly inspiring, I Belong Here heralds a powerful and refreshing new voice in nature writing.

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16-year-old Dara McAnulty wins the 2020 Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing

The winner of the Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing has been announced at a virtual awards ceremony on September 8th. Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty chronicles the turning of the then 15-year-old’s world and breaks the mould of modern nature writing. Dara’s book is an extraordinary portrayal of his intense connection to the natural world alongside his perspective as an autistic teenager juggling exams, friendships and a life of campaigning. 

This year’s prize has been extended to include a second category for books about global conservation and climate change, and Rebirding by Benedict Macdonald is its inaugural winner. Praised as ‘visionary’ by conservationists and landowners alike, Rebirding sets out a compelling manifesto for restoring Britain’s wildlife, rewilding its species and restoring rural jobs – to the benefit of all. Irreplaceable by Justin Hoffman was awarded highly commended in the category. 

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Reading the Landscape: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2019

Achieve a level of outdoor awareness that will enable you to understand the landscape around you. Tristan Gooley shows how it is possible to sense direction from stars and plants, forecast weather from woodland sounds and predict the next action of an animal from its body language – instantly. Mary-Ann Ochota shares her archaeological expertise to reveal the historic features you can spot in the countryside around you – from Bronze Age burial mounds to turnpiked toll roads. Continue reading Reading the Landscape: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2019

The Seabird’s Cry by Adam Nicolson wins Wainwright Prize

Adam Nicolson has won the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize with his book The Seabird’s Cry.

The announcement and presentation of the award of £5000 was made yesterday afternoon by Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove MP and BBC Countryfile presenter Ellie Harrison at the National Trust Theatre at BBC Countryfile Live in Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, at the end of a public event celebrating nature writing and the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize shortlist.  Continue reading The Seabird’s Cry by Adam Nicolson wins Wainwright Prize

Stanfords sponsors free ‘Earth Photo’ exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

Image: Rosamund Macfarlane. Eagle Huntress Receiving– Altai Mountains, Mongolia

A shortlist of 50 exceptional photographs and films that document the earth in all its diversity, will be presented at the Royal Geographical Society in London from 23 July to 21 September 2018 for the inaugural Earth Photo exhibition. Continue reading Stanfords sponsors free ‘Earth Photo’ exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

The 2018 Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize Shortlist Announced

In its fifth year, the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize celebrates the best books about nature, the outdoors and UK travel.

If you are looking to get away from it all, switch off your phone and get back to nature, this shortlist is a welcome list of recommended reads for you to consider this summer.

Here are the seven shortlisted books:
Continue reading The 2018 Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize Shortlist Announced

Five reasons to climb trees by Jack Cooke

What better way to explore the city than through its canopy of trees? Jack Cook, author of The Tree Climber’s Guide tells us why we should leave terra firma every now and then and take to the trees: Continue reading Five reasons to climb trees by Jack Cooke

Three minutes through the History of Britain by Mary-Ann Ochota

Mary-Ann Ochota, the author of Hidden Histories: A Spotter’s Guide to the British Landscape tells us the history behind some things we might see while out exploring:

Most people have had the experience – peering out of a train or car window, walking across a field, or gazing at a hillside – of seeing something manmade and possibly ancient, but not knowing what it is they’re looking at. Continue reading Three minutes through the History of Britain by Mary-Ann Ochota