{"title":"Scotland - Wildlife \u0026 Nature","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781849950633_hadrians-wildlife","title":"Hadrian's Wildlife","description":"Built in the years AD122-30 by order of the Emperor Hadrian 'to separate Romans from Barbarians', Hadrian's Wall was 73 miles long, running from Wallsend-on-Tyne to Bowness on the Solway Firth. It was originally almost 5 metres high with 16 large forts along its length and is the largest Ancient Monument in northern Europe.  Following the author's previous successful book, Hadrian's Wildlife has been enriched and expanded with additional information on wildlife and Roman history. When standing on the WHO site of Hadrian's Wall, many visitors may wonder what the area would have looked like during Roman times. Bringing the bird remains from Roman digs into view reveals which species were living then as well as what the landscape looked like. Although some species such as White-tailed Eagle and Common Crane are no longer found here, others including Nuthatch, Hobby and Little Egret have colonized the area.  Living close to Hadrian's Wall, the author has explored its many habitats from the Solway Firth across to the east coast. Many of these wildlife sites have a Roman influence from old forts to the gathering of pearls from the oysters that are found on the North Tyne.\u003cbr\u003e\n\nHadrian's Wildlife will encourage visitors to the area to enjoy and appreciate the wide selection of these habitats on a year-round basis. This invaluable guide to the many and varied attractions of the area will take the reader on a voyage of discovery and will be an essential companion for visitors.","brand":"John Miles","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733657170294,"sku":"9781849950633","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849950633.jpg?v=1764233826"},{"product_id":"9781849951661_polar-mariner","title":"Polar Mariner","description":"\u003cp\u003eCaptain Woodfield made 20 seasonal voyages to the Antarctic on three research ships between 1955 and 1974. Starting as a Junior Deck Officer he worked for The Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey which in 1964 became the British Antarctic Survey. He played a paramount role in the gradual change from using under-powered and poorly-equipped ships to the professionally-managed and sophisticated vessels of his last command.The arts of exploration and survival during his early years in this majestic but unforgiving continent are described as attempts were made to establish research stations, support science, and survey in totally uncharted, ice-filled waters amidst often ferocious weather. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDramatic stories are featured such as the near loss of a ship in pack ice, the stranding of another in hurricane force winds and the collapse of an ice-cliff onto the vessel The pioneers of Antarctic exploration, the area's history, the hardships and incredible achievements of those original seafarers are described.Yet polar navigation during the author's years was not without peril and the near loss in ice of his first ship, the RRS Shackleton, the demise of her Master, and his ill-judged replacement and consequent dramas are fully told.\u003cbr\u003e\n After a voyage of enormous responsibility, aged just 25, he transferred to the RRS John Biscoe as Chief Officer under a fine seaman but difficult disciplinarian. The highs and lows of their relationship are told as are vivid descriptions of predicaments they overcame such as being blown ashore in hurricane force winds and beset and crushed in pack ice. The first ventures of the John Biscoe into the Weddell Sea are recounted with information on the nature and movement of ice, its interrelationship with weather, and the methods of navigation in ice before the age of satellites. Appointed to command the RRS Bransfield, he recounts her extraordinary maiden voyage when it was feared she would split in two. The battle with a horrendous storm at the end of his last voyage is fully described together with his final sentimental return to the Falklands.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tom Woodfield","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733658579318,"sku":"9781849951661","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849951661.jpg?v=1764233828"},{"product_id":"9781849953139_a-last-wild-place","title":"A Last Wild Place","description":"\u003cp\u003eMike Tomkies gives a remarkable picture of the whole cycle of nature around him, in a harsh and testing environment of unrivalled beauty. Vivid colours and sounds fill these pages – exotic wild orchids, the roar of rutting stags, a pair of dragonflies mating, the flight of the redwing, the territorial movements of foxes, otters and badgers, an oak tree being torn apart by hurricane-force gales. Nothing seems to escape his penetrating eye, to which the selection of his photographs in this book – some revealing little-known aspects of animal behaviour – immediately testifies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eYet Mike’s extraordinary insights into the wildlife that shared his otherwise empty territory of 300 square miles are not gained without perseverance in the face of perilous hazards. Every pound of supplies (including heavy gas canisters) has to be manhandled in and out of his boat, which once sank beneath him in a storm. Thousands of miles of rock faces and hillside must be trekked each year in summer and winter, the tussock grass concealing sodden peat holes that will break an ankle. Hours on end, day and night, are spent in cramped hides on windy, precipitous ledges.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Last Wild Place\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e is much more than the chronicle of a man who left city life in order to study the wilderness.  It is a celebration of nature at its most rugged and spectacular in all Britain. Like the enormous ageing salmon he threw back because he felt he had no right to claim its life, Mike Tomkies reveals through his quest our urgent need to become retuned to natural rhythms if mankind is to regain a measure of health and sanity in a world bent on self-destruction.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mike Tomkies","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733659070838,"sku":"9781849953139","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849953139.jpg?v=1764233830"},{"product_id":"9781849955881_a-natural-history-of-sea-serpents","title":"A Natural History of Sea Serpents","description":"\u003cp\u003eA Natural History of Sea Serpents, re-examines the cold-case enigma of sea serpents and monsters described by impeccable witnesses over three centuries. These reports have sometimes intrigued and puzzled the most eminent scientists of their times, yet often became the butt of popular derision.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eNaturalist Adrian Shine, best known for his fifty years examining Loch Ness as a 'sympathetic sceptic', reveals how the loch actually held the key to the greater mystery. He exonerates the integrity of most witnesses, often remarks upon the accuracy of their observations yet offers bold and radical interpretations of what they have seen. The book digs deep into the roots of the legend and shows how expectations 'evolved' from those 'serpents' to prehistoric 'monsters' during the nineteenth century. The book cites over a hundred reports and contains as many illustrations as evidence for its conclusions. His findings, stemming from knowledge of ships, the sea and the true monsters living there, cover the entire spectrum of reports, giving new insight, for example, into the famous HMS Daedalus episode of 1848, the description of a very unusual creature seen by two zoologists in 1904 and the serpent seen by hundreds off the coast of New England in 1817. Nothing daunted, he investigates reports of huge serpents seen battling whales and creatures which defy our understanding of vertebrate anatomy by bending both sideways and up and down, whilst under fire by the French Navy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis book will certainly generate debate within the cryptozoology movement, yet also challenges the theories of the preeminent sceptical writer on the subject, Dr. Robert France, who has proposed whales and other creatures entangled in pre-plastic era fishing gear as the cause of most sea serpent encounters. Nevertheless, the author shares this ethnobiological perspective and ends with a strong conservation message.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Adrian Shine","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733660807542,"sku":"9781849955881","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849955881.jpg?v=1764233834"},{"product_id":"9781849955089_a-greenhorn-naturalist-in-borneo","title":"A Greenhorn Naturalist in Borneo","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Greenhorn Naturalist in Borneo\u003c\/em\u003e is about natural history, travel in the tropics, life sciences, and adventure, with the environment always in mind. It chronicles the nine years the author spent with his family on that equatorial island. The book’s humorous style never detracts from the focus on the science, the island of Borneo and its natural wonders.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe story begins in 2007 on top of a garage in Taiwan, where the author kept a greenhouse filled with hundreds of carnivorous tropical pitcher plants. In August of the same year, he attended a conference on these plants in Borneo and met them in the wild for the first time. This triggered an obsession with the island’s legendary rainforest fauna and flora, and he decided to move to Borneo with his family for easier access to the jungle. In a tone reminiscent of Bill Bryson, Douglas Adams, and Gerald Durrell – funny, self-deprecating, but always satisfying for the science-minded reader – \u003cem\u003eA Greenhorn Naturalist in Borneo\u003c\/em\u003e documents the Breuer family's adventures with Borneo’s enormous biodiversity: flying snakes, venomous primates, parachuting frogs, pangolins, king cobras, orangutans, masters of mimicry and camouflage, the world's rarest lizard and the world’s longest snake.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eAnd these are just a fraction of the life forms the reader will meet. Adventure lurks behind every trail bend: toddler-sized monkeys terrorize night hikers, bearded jungle pigs hunt stray dogs, a giant python almost gets stepped on, and other encounters of the ‘not so funny when it happened’ kind. The reader will also meet the people inhabiting the island, such as Asia’s last rainforest nomads, quaint government officials, and former headhunting tribes that still proudly display their trophies above their fireplaces. Inevitably, the author’s life in Borneo also led to first-hand insight into the island’s environmental tragedy caused by decades of severe over-exploitation, a recurring topic throughout the book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Greenhorn Naturalist in Borneo\u003c\/em\u003e puts the reader in a front-row seat to marvel at nature’s wonders in all their magnificence visiting places unknown and creatures unheard of; and it is also an invitation to consider the state of the planet, to take it seriously, and to act before it’s too late.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hans Breuer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733660021110,"sku":"9781849955089","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849955089.jpg?v=1764233830"},{"product_id":"9781849956086_highland-cow-and-the-horse-of-the-woods","title":"Highland Cow \u0026 the Horse of the Woods","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Highland Cow \u0026amp; the Horse of the Woods by Roy Dennis is a powerful conservation and environmental science book addressing the urgent decline of Scotland’s capercaillie, an iconic woodland bird now reduced to around 400 individuals in native Scottish pine forests. Once widespread across the Highlands, capercaillie populations have collapsed due to degraded forest habitats and ecological imbalance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on decades of wildlife conservation expertise, Dennis explores how restoring Scotland’s woodland ecosystems is essential to preventing extinction. The book argues that the solution lies in reintroducing traditional land management practices, particularly the use of Highland cattle, to recreate the ecological role once played by ancient woodland grazers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eHistorically known in Gaelic as capallcoille — the 'horse of the woods' — the capercaillie has declined from around 20,000 birds in the 1960s to just a few hundred today. Dennis highlights how dysfunctional forest structure, limited biodiversity, and loss of natural grazing have contributed to this crisis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eBy reintroducing Highland cows into woodland environments, the book proposes a nature-based solution that restores habitat complexity, increases invertebrate populations and improves biodiversity. These changes not only benefit the capercaillie but strengthen the wider Scottish forest ecosystem.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe Highland Cow \u0026amp; the Horse of the Woods is an essential read for those interested in Scottish wildlife conservation, biodiversity restoration, capercaillie recovery, and sustainable forest management. It offers a hopeful and practical vision for the future of Scotland’s native woodland habitats.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Roy Dennis","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733661299062,"sku":"9781849956086","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849956086.jpg?v=1767336429"},{"product_id":"9781849952255_natural-history-of-tenerife","title":"Natural History of Tenerife","description":"\u003cp\u003eTenerife is a remarkable island, dominated by Mount Teide, an active volcano higher than any mountain in mainland Spain. The island has extraordinary volcanic landscapes, and thousands of species of plants and animals that are found only there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors’ love of Tenerife stems from its enormous variety of habitats with their complex plant and animal communities. They have explored the island from the laurel forests of eastern Anaga to the cliffs of Los Gigantes in Teno, from the semi-deserts of the extreme south to the richly vegetated slopes along the north coast, and from remote black sand beaches to the lavas of Las Cañadas and the craters of Teide and Pico Viejo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis book describes the varied natural habitats on the island and illustrates their characteristic plants.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eAn indispensable book for local naturalists and those visiting the island. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Philip Ashmole","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733658972534,"sku":"9781849952255","price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849952255.jpg?v=1764233829"},{"product_id":"9781849955522_life-in-lethinnis","title":"Life in Lethinnis","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA book that reveals life in the Scottish Highlands with all its humour and character.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eAfter 20 years working as a professional biologist, the author decided to ‘retire’ to the Highlands, moving with his wife to a croft at the edge of a small and somewhat inaccessible village on the west coast. This was no romantic and idealistic aspiration for the Good Life, nor really an attempt to ‘get away from it all’; rather a growing disaffection with living in the overpopulated south of England and a desire to return to his Scottish roots. Moving was like stepping back 50 years in time: most of the other residents of this tiny hamlet had been born and bred there, the majority were Gaelic-speaking and, with few of the conventional ‘services’, there was a strong sense of community that had been missed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis engaging story gives a collection of cameos from those first few years as they moved into and settled in their remote smallholding. It is developed as a series of short 'anecdotes' about life in this isolated west-coast Scottish community. Actual anecdotes are interwoven with snippets of natural history observation related to various topical wildlife issues.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn the tradition of Lillian Beckwith’s The Hills is Lonely, the stories revolve around the strong characters who made up this isolated community and became part of their everyday life. All the people and events described in this book are real, although places and names may have been changed. Enough clues remain that professional biologists or those with a keen interest in natural history will readily identify the peninsula.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rory Putman","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733660217718,"sku":"9781849955522","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849955522.jpg?v=1767336429"},{"product_id":"9781849955928_donald-watson-bird-artist-and-writer","title":"Donald Watson, Bird Artist and Writer","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDonald Watson was a seminal figure in the wildlife art and ornithological world from the late 1950s onwards. Since his death in 2005, his work has lived on through active public demand for his outstanding paintings of birds and the continued reading of his books. This is the first time his status and standing in the world of bird art and ornithology has been assessed.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis definitive book is a series of biographical essays written by those who knew him and his outstanding contributions. There are so many perceptive insights about him and his work, and many previously untold stories that enliven the text. Reading the stories will bring back memories for all who knew him and hopefully inspire those who didn’t but who follow in his footsteps.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eReaders will find detailed accounts of his life, his character, his work ethic, his link with his ornithologist son Jeff, his high standing in the world of raptor workers written by his daughter Louise, his daughter-in-law Vanessa and by his close friend and neighbour Chris Rollie. His high standing in raptor protection and especially his outstanding Hen Harrier work is updated by Des Thompson and Colin Galbraith. The author reviews his writing skills and describes how his conservation campaigns are still relevant today. They will also learn so much about his art from the perceptive in-depth account by John Threlfall, himself a very successful wildlife artist.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eBeautifully illustrated with his outstanding paintings, examples of his exquisite scraper board sketches and family photographs, readers will want this book for its images alone.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Roger Crofts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733661528438,"sku":"9781849955928","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849955928.jpg?v=1764233834"},{"product_id":"9781849955669_art-and-nature-in-the-outer-hebrides","title":"Art \u0026 Nature in the Outer Hebrides","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Outer Hebrides is an island archipelago on the remotest north-western periphery of a bigger island archipelago, itself part of Europe’s Atlantic coastline. And what is Atlantic Europe if not the north-western tip of the vast land mass of Eurasia? Here is an unrivalled sense of place, on the edge, the periphery, the brink.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eBruce Kendrick has been visiting these islands, regularly, since 1970. \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eArt \u0026amp; Nature in the Outer Hebrides\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e combines his highly commendable nature writing with fascinating stories of folk he has met over the years who create wonderful art and crafts in these remote islands. How do these artists, be they painters, potters, photographers, or poets, interpret their world of nature, their culture, their heritage, here in the wilds of the north-east Atlantic Ocean?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eLike many worthwhile things in life, making art is not without its challenges. There will be setbacks on any lifelong journey but there will be triumphs too. If there is one trait these Hebridean-based artists do have in common it is their single-minded determination and persistence to create art, in all its many guises, from out of the deep well of their own imagination and their inescapable world of nature’s beauty and inspiration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eBruce is also an accomplished nature photographer and his supporting images of both art and nature in these islands only add to the book’s appeal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eSo come along and enjoy Bruce’s fine narrative style as he travels from Lewis in the north to Vatersay in the south where nature prevails and art flourishes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bruce Kendrick","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733660348790,"sku":"9781849955669","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849955669.jpg?v=1764233831"},{"product_id":"9781849955898_great-misconceptions","title":"Great Misconceptions","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe term rewilding has become part of the common vernacular and with it has come a lot of misunderstanding and even misuse. This has led to a great many misconceptions about what the word actually means. \u003cem\u003eGreat Misconceptions\u003c\/em\u003e brings together different writers, with different experiences, exploring some of those misconceptions, misunderstandings and myths when it comes to what rewilding means to them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eRewilding is a word that has been used and misused by virtually everyone, from school children to politicians, site volunteers to CEOs of conservation organisations and from local village notice boards to mainstream media outlets. It is used in positive and negative terms, to unite and divide, to engender enthusiasm and create fear, to celebrate good decisions and justify bad decisions. Rewilding is a term used to both label and libel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe book boasts an impressive team of writers:  a mix of published authors, seasoned campaigners, active conservationists, academics, a politician, a businessman and a farmer, all of whom write about a particular aspect of rewilding that is important to them. Each chapter has been independently written from the author’s own perspective. Topics include land management at large and smaller scales, mass tree planting, community involvement, reintroductions, both broadly and more specifically with the case of the Lynx. It also considers how rewilding could and perhaps should change politics, how we can run a business in line with rewilding principles, and also, how these principles can be applied to both the countryside and urban areas, and we also ask the question, can we rewild whilst producing food?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the thought of Aurochs rampaging through the House of Commons to recovering temperate rainforests on the west coast of Ireland, this is a book that covers a wide range of topics that all fall within the term of rewilding. It is a book to inform, provoke thought and debate and to stimulate conversation about rewilding conservation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ian Parsons","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733660840310,"sku":"9781849955898","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849955898.jpg?v=1767164950"},{"product_id":"9781849955713_wild-places-wild-encounters","title":"Wild Places, Wild Encounters","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis is a book about Edinburgh and what you may find if you really look hard enough.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eIt is also a book book about reconnecting to nature wherever we find ourselves living and the personal benefits that can ensue. It explores how we can appreciate the natural world on our doorstep in line with the latest research from a range of disciplines, including ecology, outdoor and environmental education, learning for sustainability and mindfulness studies. It does so by means of a blend of encounter-based photography, connection with nature and reading the landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThere has been a tendency for people to lose contact with nature.  The industrial growth society generated  a catalogue of ecological disasters including acid rain, the hole in the ozone layer, the sixth mass extinction and climate collapse. Slowly, we are waking up to the fact that this society is fundamentally extractive and exploitative and the burden of costs has shifted onto the environment and future generations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn appreciating and understanding the enormity of this crisis, we risk compounding it with the mental health crisis that is sweeping the globe. Healing that relationship requires us to slow down and to seek reconnection with nature which can help revitalise and sustain us. Life passes by all too fast when we are oblivious to nature’s presence and are unable to be fully involved in nature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWild Places, Wild Encounters\u003c\/strong\u003e provides the means to break this cycle. The book’s essence is essentially about reconnecting with and learning to relate to nature as explored in these wanderings through the green heart of Scotland’s capital city and the wild nature reserves of the Lothians. Nature is still there, all around us.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Glen Cousquer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733660774774,"sku":"9781849955713","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849955713.jpg?v=1765521368"},{"product_id":"9781849955874_wild-galloway","title":"Wild Galloway","description":"\u003cp\u003eWild Galloway by Ian Carter is a richly illustrated natural history and wildlife photography book celebrating the diverse landscapes, habitats, and biodiversity of Galloway in south-west Scotland. Blending personal reflection with expert naturalist insight, the book explores one of Britain’s most unspoilt wild places, from ancient woodland and heather-clad hills to coastal merse, mudflats and the dramatic Solway Firth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eBased on a lifetime of experience as a naturalist and conservationist, Carter offers an immersive account of living in a remote Scottish glen where wildlife thrives just beyond the doorstep. Readers encounter red squirrels at the window, pine martens in the woods, golden eagles overhead, and otters and brown trout in the burn, revealing the richness of Scottish wildlife in its natural habitat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eWild Galloway highlights the ecological importance of wild places and the deep connections formed between people and nature in low-population rural landscapes. The glen itself reflects the wider biodiversity of Galloway, featuring moorland, bog, ancient ash and hazel woodland, and coastal ecosystems that support red grouse, seabirds, waders, and migratory species.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers interested in Scottish wildlife, nature writing, birdwatching, conservation, walking, and environmental heritage, Wild Galloway is both a personal memoir and a stunning portrait of Scotland’s natural world, showcasing the enduring value of wilderness and biodiversity conservation in the UK.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ian Carter","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733662478710,"sku":"9781849955874","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849955874.jpg?v=1767164949"},{"product_id":"9781870325684_a-high-and-lonely-place","title":"A High and Lonely Place","description":"This is the work of a man who has known and loved the Scottish Cairngorms for more than 30 years. Jim Crumley marries a poet's instincts to an uncompromising passion for the Cairngorm's arctic character, and for those wildlife tribes which thrive there. He marks nature's rhythms with thoughtful observations of bird and beast, flower and landscape. In the process he strives for a purer empathy with the wilds, seeks out the nourishing bond of man and landscape. Ultimately, the book asserts that the Cairngorms are nature's place. Crumley proposes a radical solution to safeguard the mountains from a threatening array of forces ranged against them. In his conclusion he invokes what Seton Gordon called \"the spirit of the high and lonely places\".","brand":"Jim Crumley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733662511478,"sku":"9781870325684","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781870325684.jpg?v=1764233836"},{"product_id":"9781849955997_leaving-lethinnis","title":"Leaving Lethinnis","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn this sequel to \u003cem\u003eLife in Lethinnis\u003c\/em\u003e, Rory offers a further collection of pen-portraits from those early years in the place he has called Lochuisge.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn the tradition of Lillian Beckwith’s \u003cem\u003eThe Hills is Lonely\u003c\/em\u003e, or Sybil Armstrong’s \u003cem\u003eA Croft in Clachan\u003c\/em\u003e, the anecdotes inevitably revolve around the strong characters that made up this isolated community and became part of everyday life. With the author continuing to earn a living as a professional biologist, the characters featured are both human and animal as the various tales capture the atmosphere of living and working in this tight-knit community into which he and his wife were so immediately welcomed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eAfter 20 years leading a research group in wildlife biology at the University of Southampton, Rory Putman decided to ‘retire’ to the Highlands of Scotland, moving with his wife to a croft at the edge of a small and somewhat inaccessible village on the west coast. In the same vein as the well-received \u003cem\u003eLife in Lethinnis,\u003c\/em\u003e he offers a further collection of cameos from those first few years as they moved into and settled in their remote smallholding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe author’s intimate writing style draws the reader with him into the heart of that same community. But in this sequel there is perhaps a greater darkness as Putman registers that life on the Peninsula is changing and that he is in effect chronicling the end of an era.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rory Putman","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56733661856118,"sku":"9781849955997","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849955997.jpg?v=1767336430"},{"product_id":"9781849954440_untangling-the-knot-belugas-and-bears","title":"Untangling the Knot, Belugas and Bears","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe beginning of the author’s adventure with a camera – filming wildlife across the world for the BBC Natural History Unit and other major TV companies – began in 1978 when he joined the RSPB’s film unit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eUntangling the Knot gives an in-depth look into what is involved in capturing the sequences needed for a natural history film, using comprehensive diaries and over 200 photographs. Mike describes the stresses of international flying with 20 cases of film equipment, sometimes alone, to distant corners of the world. The hardships of living and working for weeks in remote regions, avoiding tropical diseases, the onslaught of forest insects, long hours of waiting from dawn to dusk, and of frustration and disappointment when the elements or circumstances conspired against him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThere are times of great elation too, when animal behaviour never seen before is captured on film. Working with top biologists and highly-experienced pilots was an essential partnership in understanding the subject to be filmed, often in remote regions where the challenge was reaching the subject in rainforest canopies, on remote islands or in featureless arctic tundra.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn a career spanning 35 years, several of the programmes in which he was involved have won major awards. He describes filming Attenborough in Paradise in New Guinea with Sir David Attenborough as a career highlight, where he filmed behaviour of Birds of Paradise that had never been seen before. His last programme, Jewelled Messengers was the fulfilment of an ambition to make the ultimate film on hummingbirds with producer Paul Reddish, using the latest high-speed, high-definition cameras, and which was shot mainly in Brazil and Ecuador.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe story concludes when he realizes his dream of visiting the Ross Sea region of the Antarctic. Mike considers himself lucky to have worked in so many spectacular regions of the world and this book enables readers to travel with him and share his incredible experiences.  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mike Potts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56742976192886,"sku":"9781849954440","price":20.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849954440.jpg?v=1764331513"},{"product_id":"9781849954372_world-of-geology","title":"World of Geology","description":"\u003cp\u003eGeology is the foundation of the natural world. Behind every landscape, from soaring mountains and dramatic coastlines to deserts, valleys and waterfalls, lies a geological story shaped by rock, water, ice, wind and time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany of the world’s greatest natural attractions – the spectacular sights, national parks and unforgettable places we travel to see – owe their beauty and character to geology. Yet beyond these famous landmarks are countless other landscapes with equally fascinating stories to tell.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on a lifetime of travel and photography, the author takes readers on a spectacular journey across the surface of our planet. His remarkable collection of photographs reveals the extraordinary variety of the geological world, encompassing landscapes created entirely by natural forces as well as those transformed by human activity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccompanied by accessible, informative text, the photographs explore the geological stories behind some of the world’s most beautiful, dramatic and intriguing places.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore than a showcase of spectacular scenery, this book is a glorious journey of discovery – a visual grand tour celebrating the forces that have shaped our planet and the landscapes that make the world such a fascinating place.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tony Waltham","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56742975537526,"sku":"9781849954372","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849954372.jpg?v=1764331510"},{"product_id":"9781849954976_at-the-very-end-of-the-road","title":"At the Very End of the Road","description":"\u003cp\u003eAt the very end of the road is a six-bar metal gate. It is chained and padlocked and marks the exact line where the tarmac stops. Beyond that is a track, twelve pasture and hay fields, and an area of saltmarsh, bounded on one side by a river and on the other by vast tidal mudflats. Deep in the west of England, this is a place sculpted by the wind and painted by the tides. It is a place full of wildlife. This immersive and carefully crafted book of place explores the impact of season and tides and weather upon this land at the edge through a series of literary pictures crafted through lyrical imaginative language. The author attempts what few, if any, have tried to do, namely to render meticulous observations of the intimate details of wildlife and landscape to depict a place as faithfully and transparently as possible. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a bold book, one that tries to capture the elusive soul of a place; a daring examination of both what makes a place and how it is remade daily through the interactions between landscape and observer. It is also radical for its approach challenges the current orthodoxy of nature writing that in order to supply a connection between author, subject, and reader, some sort of narrative framework of human emotion is required to provide it with a rationale. So, although the prose is subjective, the book is framed in such a way as to remove the author’s presence almost completely. There is no story save that of the eternal change of the seasons, no narrative connection, no focus on a single species, no discussion or allusion to the environmental issues of our age, no characters. Indeed, there is barely any mention of people at all. Although it rarely tries to explain or educate, it simply places observations at centre stage. Yet in trying to unearth what it is precisely that constructs our relationship with place, the author has, paradoxically, produced one of the most deeply personal and unusual nature books.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Phillip Edwards","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56742976848246,"sku":"9781849954976","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849954976.jpg?v=1767336429"},{"product_id":"9781849955348_the-wonder-of-africas-natural-history","title":"The Wonder of Africa’s Natural History","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book opens up a wonderland of natural history for all ages to enjoy, and will spark interest in the intricate web of Africa’s natural history, one that is bursting with exuberance, a great variety of life. It covers a vast range of topics that are often neglected, and reveals untold mysteries hidden in this remarkable continent. It is written in a readable and clear style that allows the reader to gain an appreciation of its continent-wide approach, which is based upon half a century or more of knowledge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eDelving into the intricate fossil history found in Africa, \u003cem\u003eThe Wonder of Africa’s Natural History\u003c\/em\u003e describes some of the largest dinosaurs that walked this earth and extraordinary giant mammals of the Pleistocene, to the largest mammal that still survives to this day. It also encompasses the tiny mites that reside inside animals’ ears and the remarkable maggot that finds a home in the sole of the elephant’s foot. This book discusses creatures great and small.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe remarkable variety of animals described explores their colours, behaviours, displays of weapons and the meanings behind the differences. The book explains the animals’ everyday lives, co-habitations, and how the large carnivores live alongside their prey. The reader is transported into their world from birth, through growing up to their social interactions. Fantastic migrations showing the exuberance of life are described from butterflies to wildebeest and elephants and the once huge increases in number of the springbok in South Africa.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Wonder of Africa’s Natural History\u003c\/em\u003e unfolds a great diversity of life from swamp to forest, rivers and lakes, each with their particular creatures. It shows how an antelope or the bizarre naked mole rat can survive in arid environments. It transports us across the vast panorama of the beautiful plains of Africa, revealing how they are exploited and how the real battles in Nature are fought among the small species, the myriad of insect forms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe co-evolution of the whole community is an astonishingly amazing tangled web of life, having its origin over 300 million years ago. This book is a natural history to be enjoyed by all.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Clive Spinage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56742976258422,"sku":"9781849955348","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849955348.jpg?v=1764331511"},{"product_id":"9781849955744_of-the-trees-and-the-birds","title":"Of the Trees and the Birds","description":"\u003cp\u003eTrees and birds go together, and they have done for millions of years, evolving long before we did. Over their long and shared history, they have formed numerous relationships, some of which are basic and obvious to us, like a bird using a tree to perch in whilst searching for food. Others are more intricate, but still noticeable to us, with the classic example being that many tree species use birds to propagate their next generation by providing their seed wrapped in nutritious food parcels that we call berries. But even this relationship can be more involved than it at first seems, with some trees using lethal methods to ensure that they get the seed courier method they want, whilst other trees use ultraviolet signals to inform the birds that the berries are ready and even change the shade of the berry to indicate whether it is best eaten in the evening or the morning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eAnd then there are those relationships that we are only just beginning to discover that lead to a whole host of fascinating questions: can birds identify individual tree species? Can trees ‘talk’ to birds, can they ask them for help?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe intimate links between trees and birds are extremely intricate, they can be invisible to us, they can be incomprehensible to us, but they are always amazing. Of the Trees and the Birds considers how these may have started and where we are today in our understanding of them. Sometimes we misunderstand those relationships and sometimes our actions result in their breakdown – which can be catastrophic for entire ecosystems.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe need to be aware of these relationships – marvel at and celebrate them – after all the history of Britain would be very different without them. Nature is amazing in all aspects!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ian Parsons","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56742976881014,"sku":"9781849955744","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849955744.jpg?v=1764331512"},{"product_id":"9781849955980_life-at-the-edge","title":"Life at the Edge","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLife at the Edge\u003c\/em\u003e by Ken Crossan is a beautifully illustrated natural history book celebrating the dramatic coastline of Caithness in the far north of Scotland. Through stunning photography and engaging commentary, the book captures the raw beauty, diverse wildlife, and unique habitats found along 147 miles of one of Britain’s most remote and windswept coasts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eExploring five key coastal habitats — harbours, seas, beaches and dunes, sea cliffs and stacks, and rocky shorelines — the book offers a fascinating insight into the wildlife and plant life that survive and thrive in this harsh maritime environment. Readers encounter towering seabird colonies nesting on ancient sandstone cliffs, otters hunting close to shore, orcas cutting through northern waters, and rare coastal plants such as the Scottish primrose flourishing among the dunes and links.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eBlending coastal geology, Scottish wildlife, and environmental storytelling, \u003cem\u003eLife at the Edge\u003c\/em\u003e reveals how tides, weather, and erosion have shaped Caithness into one of the world’s great natural landscapes. Richly detailed and visually striking, it is an essential book for nature lovers, wildlife enthusiasts, photographers, walkers, and anyone passionate about Scotland’s coastal heritage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003ePerfect for readers interested in Scottish natural history, coastal wildlife, seabirds, marine life, and landscape photography, \u003cem\u003eLife at the Edge\u003c\/em\u003e offers an immersive journey into the untamed beauty of the Caithness coastline.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ken Crossan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56742976749942,"sku":"9781849955980","price":21.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849955980.jpg?v=1767164950"},{"product_id":"9781849957243_a-galloway-year","title":"A Galloway Year","description":"\u003cp\u003eA Galloway Year by Ian Carter and Karen Menarry is a beautifully illustrated celebration of the wildlife, landscapes and changing seasons of Galloway in south-west Scotland. Blending evocative nature writing with stunning original artwork, the book explores Galloway’s ancient forests, silver lochs, rugged coastline, rolling farmland, heather-covered hills and the vast Solway shore.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers interested in Scottish wildlife, nature writing, walking, birdwatching and Britain’s remaining wild places, A Galloway Year reveals why Galloway is one of Scotland’s most biodiverse and unspoilt regions. Away from the country’s busiest tourist routes, this hidden corner of south-west Scotland offers rich habitats for wildlife and breathtaking scenery for outdoor enthusiasts and lovers of landscape art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eMore than a celebration of place, the book also reflects on the urgent importance of conservation, biodiversity and protecting fragile natural habitats. Through the combined perspectives of an artist and a naturalist who call Galloway home, readers gain a deeper understanding of the environmental pressures facing Britain’s countryside and the need to preserve its wild landscapes for future generations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\r\n\u003cp\u003eRichly atmospheric and visually inspiring, A Galloway Year is an essential read for anyone passionate about Scottish nature, environmental conservation and the beauty of the British landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ian Carter","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57203975913846,"sku":"9781849957243","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849957243_AGY.jpg?v=1780209039"},{"product_id":"9781849957267_a-naturalists-view-of-the-loch-ness-enigma","title":"A Naturalist's View of the Loch Ness Enigma","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Naturalist’s View of the Loch Ness Enigma\u003c\/em\u003e is Adrian Shine’s definitive examination of the Loch Ness Monster mystery, based on more than fifty years of scientific research, eyewitness analysis and first-hand involvement in the search.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy have so many people reported seeing a large, unfamiliar animal in Loch Ness when no such creature has ever been found? Shine confronts this central paradox by classifying the sightings, revisiting original witness testimony and assessing what the evidence can, and cannot, tell us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on modern scientific research, including the Loch Ness environmental DNA survey, he examines the animals that inhabit the loch and the natural phenomena that may explain reported sightings. He also investigates famous photographs, competing theories and the researchers whose discoveries, disagreements and rivalries shaped the modern legend.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book challenges the claim that the Loch Ness Monster was invented in 1933. Shine traces an earlier tradition of unusual encounters at the loch and uncovers a story that may reveal how the modern mystery began.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is both a scientific investigation and a cultural history of the Loch Ness Monster. It explains how a remote Scottish loch became the centre of a worldwide phenomenon—and why the mystery continues to fascinate us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWritten by\u003c\/strong\u003e a renowned naturalist who spent over 50 years dedicated to the scientific study and popular understanding of Loch Ness\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDraws on\u003c\/strong\u003e cutting-edge research to explore what actually lives in the loch and what science can reveal about the sightings.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReveals\u003c\/strong\u003e the people, rivalries, investigations, and cultural forces that transformed Loch Ness into a worldwide phenomenon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten for readers interested in Loch Ness, cryptozoology, natural history, Scottish history and unexplained phenomena, \u003cem\u003eA Naturalist’s View of the Loch Ness Enigma\u003c\/em\u003e presents the final conclusions of the researcher most closely associated with the modern scientific study of the loch.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Adrian Shine","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487481569654,"sku":"9781849957267","price":21.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/9120\/6262\/files\/9781849957267.jpg?v=1793581147"}],"url":"https:\/\/portopress.com\/collections\/scotland-wildlife-nature.oembed","provider":"Porto Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}