Celebrates the transforming magic of trees, exploring the 'fifth element' of wood as it exists in nature, in our souls, in our culture and our lives.

Capturing the author's turn of phrase and inspired use of language, and infused throughout with the magically meditative tranquillity of Walnut Tree Farm, this book presents an introduction to one of the most important of modern nature writers. It contains descriptions of walks on Mellis Common and thoughts on the importance of nature.

Roger Deakin set out in 1996 to swim through the British Isles. Encompassing cultural history, autobiography, travel writing and natural history, this title is a personal journey, a bold assertion of the native swimmer's right to roam, and a celebration of the magic of water.

For the last six years of his life, Roger Deakin kept notebooks in which he wrote his daily thoughts, impressions, feelings and observations. Discursive, personal and often impassioned, they reveal the way he saw the world, whether it be observing the teeming ecosystem that was Walnut Tree Farm, thinking about the wider environment, walking in his fields, on Mellis Common or on his travels at home

For the last six years of his life, Roger Deakin kept notebooks in which he wrote his daily thoughts, impressions, feelings and observations. Discursive, personal and often impassioned, they reveal the way he saw the world. This book collects the best of these writings, capturing Roger's restless curiosity about the natural and human worlds.

Inspired by John Cheever's short story The Swimmer , Roger Deakin set out in 1996 to swim through the British Isles. From the sea, from rock pools, from rivers and streams, tarns, lakes, lochs, ponds, lidos, swimming pools and spas, Deakin presents an alternative perspective on Britain.