4 out of 5 stars
A copy of this was provided free of charge from the publisher in return for an honest review.
Back in 2020, the world reached one of its pivotal moments in history. As the novel coronavirus swept around the world from China, countries dealt with the pandemic as it breached borders. In March of that year, the UK was put into lockdown and a plethora of rules and restrictions were put into place.
People coped with it in different ways, but one of the most noticeable benefits was that people began to notice the natural world once again. Matthew Yeomans was one of those who was discovering the natural world again. It was on one of his permitted walks that he had walked from a housing estate into a woodland. The beauty of it overwhelmed him and it was at that point that he decided that he wanted to write about the trees and woodlands of Wales.
But what was he going to write about? An idea formed; he would walk through the ancient and modern forests of his home country and write about them. He began to plan a route that in the end would take him on a series of routes from the border in England in the south, along the spine of the country to the west coast before heading inland and north. The route he chooses takes him past and through the history of the country from the ancient druid that the Romans feared, to the decays remanets of the industrial past.
He is joined by friends on some of the walks, old friends who provide good company and drinking partners. On others, he undertakes them alone which gives him time to think about his and our relationship with the natural world. A relationship that is under threat more than ever before.
The only way to save the world is to fall in love with it again – Brian Eno
Yeomans has a subtle and dry humour in his prose and has written an entertaining book that I really liked. His lockdown project to walk through the ancient and modern forests of Wales was something that gave him a sense of purpose, but he is also aware of the benefits that he gets from walking through these woods. This book calls for you to do the same and wallow in the peace that comes from being in a woodland or forest.
Really enjoyed this book. Some of this landscape was already familiar to me, other sections are unknown – but reading this book brought me closer to all of them.
I have only been to Wales a few time so most of these areas I am unfamiliar with. He has made me want to visit some of the areas
Ooh, this sounds good. I am vicariously familiar with Wales, having worked on a couple of books set there, and reading about forests is always good. I’m so much more likely to pick up pandemic books about nature than ones about politics and policy!
Politics and pandemics is a really bad mix… I passed the proof of this onto my brother in law. When he has read it I can end it on
I sense a Bookish-Beck style book box heading my way! Which is fine and very kind. Do shout up if there are any of my recent reads you fancy (Fungi? or have you read that one?)
If that was Alyia then I have read that one. Always happy to pass on books, I have been doing a giveaway each week for the past few weeks which has got me a number of new followers
That’s the one! It always feels like you’re ahead of me with books!
Possibly. But also possibly not!