Books to get you outside!

After what feels like the longest winter EVER, the temperature is rising and we’re itching to get out in the sunshine. Find out what books are having us head for the outdoors, booking our summer holidays and escaping to warmer climates.

All Rivers Run Free by Natasha Carthew

Natasha Carthew writes outdoors – and it shows. Her beautifully written, lyrical book about a young woman living an isolated life on the coast of a ruined near-future Cornwall brings the scent of the sea vividly to mind. Her heroine must travel the length of the River Tamar, and Natasha’s intimate knowledge of the Cornish countryside shines through in her nature writing. She also teaches Wild Writing workshops, in which she encourages writers to unlock their creativity by working in the open air. This is the ultimate read to inspire you to get outdoors this weekend!

Eat, Drink, Run. by Bryony Gordon

If there’s one book to get you off of the sofa and in to the outdoors, it’s Eat, Drink, Run. by Bryony Gordon. From the bestselling author that brought you Mad Girl comes an inspirational and hilarious memoir on how one girl (who couldn’t even run for a bus two years ago) came to run the London Marathon. Get inspired by leopard print leggings, countless pots of Vaseline and some very unorthodox exercise regimes. And remember ‘you’re only as old as the girl that helps you in to your sports bra’

The Wild Other by Clover Stroud

Clover Stroud grew up in idyllic rural Wiltshire, surrounded by animals and family. When she was just sixteen her adored mother had a horrific riding accident which left her permanently brain-damaged, and suddenly Clover was left to fend for herself. She embarked on an extraordinary journey to heal her broken heart, courting men and danger through two marriages and five children. The Wild Other is a grippingly honest account of love, sex and travelling to the darkest edges of human experience and back again. A powerful and beautifully written memoir about grief, motherhood, depression and the healing power of nature and horses… this is the story of an extraordinary life lived at its fullest.

Wild Signs and Star Paths by Tristan Gooley

Tristan Gooley – writer, navigator and explorer – shows that we can all achieve a level of outdoors awareness that will enable us to sense direction from stars and plants, forecast weather from woodland sounds and predict the next action of an animal from its body language. Although once common, this now rare awareness would be labelled by many as a ‘sixth sense’. We have become so distanced from this way of experiencing our environment that it may initially seem hard to believe that it is possible, but Tristan Gooley uses a collection of ‘keys’ to show how everyone can develop this ability and enjoy the outdoors in an exciting way – one that is both new, and ancient.

The Wildflowers by Harriet Evans

Transport yourself to a Dorset beach house, where you can feel the sand between your toes. Enter the home of Tony and Althea Wilde – the Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor of their generation and with a marriage every bit as stormy. This glorious tale of tangled family secrets and lies will leave you warm and glowing. This book will have you itching to spend a long weekend at the beach with a good book.

Hidden Nature by Alys Fowler

Leaving her garden to the mercy of the slugs, Alys Fowler set out in an inflatable kayak to explore Birmingham’s canal network, full of little-used waterways where huge pike skulk and kingfishers dart. Her book is about noticing the wild everywhere, and what it means to see beauty where you least expect it. What happens when someone who has learned to observe her external world in such detail decides to examine her internal world with the same care? As well as an exploration of the world around us, Hidden Nature is also the story of Alys Fowler’s emotional journey and her coming out as a gay woman… above all, this book is about losing and finding, exploring familiar places and discovering unknown horizons.