Читать книгу On Nature: Unexpected Ramblings on the British Countryside - Литагент HarperCollins USD, F. M. L. Thompson - Страница 4

Introduction

How can you get the most out of Britain? Although a strange question, it was one we at Caught by the River found ourselves asking. We wondered – after having immersed ourselves in the great modern chroniclers of the countryside such as Deakin, Yates, Macfarlane and Mabey – how you could apply the subtle magic of their books to your life. You might love great angling writing but how do you actually read water? You know the blue tit from the blackbird in your back garden but what’s the best way to start birding? What’s edible and growing freely in your local area? And how on earth do you do the Wainwright Walk?

With those questions in mind, we were inspired to answer them in a book. On Nature – the follow-up to our previous collection, Words on Water – would be a ‘How To’ guide to the British Isles, written by the people who understood the landscape the best. We asked a list of Caught by the River contributors (and a fair few people whose work we admired but had never met before) if they were interested in writing about their particular field of interest. The book would be a beautifully written user’s guide to our country. From foraging to fly fishing, birding to brewing, On Nature would offer pointers, primers and pertinent lessons from those in the know, passing knowledge to those willing to learn.

Well, that’s how we thought it would end up.

When Bill Drummond wrote to us and pledged to write a piece on the importance of damsons, we knew that our original brief was being abandoned. In the hands of people like Bill, our ‘How To’ guide soon became something very, very different. Before long we were looking at a kaleidoscopic vision of Britain, one where writers talked about their connection to the land in a series of stories that would hopefully inspire action. Here, life on remote islands was not only possible, it was desirable. Watching the seasons change through a Welsh kitchen window took on the elemental lyrical ebb and flow of an R.S. Thomas poem. Angling stories became boy’s own adventures; falconry an obvious pastime for day-dreaming urban naturalists.

Looking at the finished article, On Nature is a collection of stories highlighting the kind of uncontrollable driving forces that get people up at 4 a.m. to cast off in the half-light, or to go mushroom hunting in dewy meadows. It’s about watching and listening, digging in, taking part. It’s about people’s passions for the countryside – the kind that start out as hobbies before turning into unshakable obsessions.

Charles Rangeley-Wilson summed it up perfectly in his contribution on trout fishing. To quote him, ‘I wonder then if the best way of describing the how is to start at the beginning with the why: if at the beginning of the how there is a passion – encompassing all the associated meanings of that

word: desire, compulsion, infatuation – once found it will guide the rest of the discovery. With passion in your tackle bag the how will ultimately take care of itself.’

So, whether using tackle bag or train ticket, a pair of binoculars or just a pair of ears, On Nature maps Britain in sights, sounds and subtle memories, offering jumping-in points and inspirations for eager urban naturalists everywhere.

Just remember to pack an open mind.

Jeff, Andrew and Robin

Caught by the River, Spring 2011