Not being much of a non-fiction reader, I hadn’t realised I was into such top-shelf reading material, but I’m just finishing the History of the Countryside and looking for something similar (not necessarily by the same author). Any recommendations loosely of the same theme? Pure filth; trees, ancient countryside, maps, wildlife, archaeology, geology, whatever. Not too dry, and has to be available for e-reader.

Three deer (my passion) based books for you

Only a short book, but I really enjoyed: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00390BDZO/

you won’t get it on E-reader, but this was lovely: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Muntjac-Eileen-Soper/dp/B000P4PN44

and this is good too: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006ZNED04/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Ancient Trackways of Wessex, a superb book that inspires one to explore and appreciate this wonderful network of paths.

Edit: must also include the classic Rural Rides by William Cobbett. What a guy.

Graham Harvey, The Forgiveness of Nature, the story of grass. Err, what’s an e-reader? You’ll perhaps miss out on old-but-good.

And ‘The cut worm forgives the plough’, I forget the author, about farming in the thirties.

Roger Deakin – Wildwood

Richard Fortey, The Wood for the Trees, the long view of nature from a small wood. He took his earnings from TV and bought four acres of Chiltern beechwood. In the book he writes of the wood, its history, underlying geology and its flora and fauna, aided by fellow professionals from the Nat Hist Museum.

A wonderful book by a very able and practiced writer.

Have a look at anything by Colin Tudge.

Rural Rides by William Cobbett. What a guy.

Good call!

of a similar ilk: Highways and Byways in Surrey by Eric Parker:

http://www.ajhw.co.uk/books/book44/book44.html

Haven’t read this, but heard a version on the radio that was excellent:

The Making of the English landscape. W G Hosking
Make up for it’s lack of lyricism by reading A Shropshire Lad by A E Housman.

Sarah Stafford, ‘The long Long Life of Trees’. She writes with love and care about the common UK trees (plus the olive).

Pure filth…. archaeology,

‘Double Team Time’ – Tony Robinson, Mick Aston and Phil Harding do 9 1/2 Weeks worth of holes in 48 Hours

Flora Britannica, by Richard Mabey: I have the ‘concise edition’ which is plenty big enough for me.

No idea whether it’s any good but that chap with the umbrella in his rucksack has a history of the English landscape book out this Christmas.

The Old Ways by Robert McFarlane is good. More on the lyrical front. I have another by him too and that was good but I can’t find it off hand.