Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • The Book of Trespass

  • Crossing the Lines That Divide Us
  • By: Nick Hayes
  • Narrated by: Nick Hayes
  • Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (563 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Book of Trespass

By: Nick Hayes
Narrated by: Nick Hayes
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Bloomsbury presents The Book of Trespass written and read by Nick Hayes.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A GUARDIAN, I AND SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION 2021

‘Brilliant, passionate and political . . . The Book of Trespass will make you see landscapes differently' Robert Macfarlane

'A remarkable and truly radical work, loaded with resonant truths' George Monbiot

The vast majority of our country is entirely unknown to us because we are banned from setting foot on it. By law of trespass, we are excluded from 92 per cent of the land and 97 per cent of its waterways, blocked by walls whose legitimacy is rarely questioned. But behind them lies a story of enclosure, exploitation and dispossession of public rights whose effects last to this day.

The Book of Trespass takes us on a journey over the walls of England, into the thousands of square miles of rivers, woodland, lakes and meadows that are blocked from public access. By trespassing the land of the media magnates, Lords, politicians and private corporations that own England, Nick Hayes argues that the root of social inequality is the uneven distribution of land.

Weaving together the stories of poachers, vagabonds, gypsies, witches, hippies, ravers, ramblers, migrants and protestors, and charting acts of civil disobedience that challenge orthodox power at its heart, The Book of Trespass will transform the way you see the land.

©2020 Nick Hayes (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Lost Rainforests of Britain cover art
Burn cover art
Who Owns England? cover art
Out of the Wreckage cover art
After the Dance cover art
Cornerstones cover art
The Bridleway cover art
British Woodland cover art
Animal Societies cover art
All the Wide Border cover art
The Gathering Place cover art
Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland cover art
Reflections cover art
The Great British Dream Factory cover art
On Gallows Down cover art
Walking the Invisible cover art

What listeners say about The Book of Trespass

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    474
  • 4 Stars
    57
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    360
  • 4 Stars
    86
  • 3 Stars
    30
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    406
  • 4 Stars
    54
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tales told by a wise friend around the camp fire

Insightful, Political. Provocative. Personal. Historical. Conversational. Funny. Honest. Inspiring. Upsetting.

To me, this is what love of your country really means.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A very important book

Everyone who is interested in the land they live in should read this. It is a fascinating exploration of how land is comodified, and meditation on what access to land means as part of the human condition.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The best book I read in 2021

This should be required reading for all MPs. It is undeniably honest and explains how we have lost a vital human right because of our ignorance. Our acquiescence in a power grab which we foolishly defend without examining what is really happening. How the right to simply relate to our land has been taken away and exploited by a small number of our species and how damaging this is to our universal wellbeing. This book doesn’t encourage revolution but it does list all the things we’ve lost and should be trying to restore.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Get out there and trespass

I wasn’t sure what to expect of this book but had been recommended it by a friend. After the first hour is couldn’t see where it might go next but the narrative keep me enthralled with history and anecdotes of Nick’s various adventure through his life and the trespasses undertaken for the book.
Despite Nick’s clear stance that land should not be fenced off for the few but enjoyed by the many, he tackles all the issues with a sensible, respectful and non threatening approach which leave you with an educated understanding of how we got to this point and the arguments for open access.
I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to and learning from Nick and would highly recommend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Hwicce Dancers will rise.

One for all of us, as we remember there's more of us than them .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

This book explained my feelings on land rights in are country and although I disagree with it in parts.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

must read

I found this fascinating in its assertion that so many modern problems stem back to property rights and land ownership. Hayes makes a very strong case. I was getting hugely depressed that England has got such fundamental things upside down but there are practical solutions by the end so if you feel the same keep going!
the sound quality is a bit worse than usual with some background noise but it's really not that common and I presume caused by recording during a pandemic, I wouldn't let complaints about it put you off.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Will change your view

Beautifully read, interesting and thought provoking. A wandering journey through England's history, laws and lands

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Meditations on exclusion

This was an excellent audiobook. The chapter structure works well, and it’s both written & read with obvious passion by the author.
This book goes beyond the mere facts & figures of land ownership in the UK, and touches on the symbolism & history of enclosure and exclusion. When land was originally common, how can any ownership be justified, if taken without consent. The majority of England falls into this category, and it’s clear that hereditary land owners cannot justify their ownership. But we continue with the power & government structures that enable our own suppression. How I long to walk freely across my country. When you take time to notice the areas you are excluded from, it’s horrifying.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a joy and inspiration

My friend Sue recommended this book to me and kept on recommending it until I finally got it. She was absolutely right it’s a fantastic piece of history it’s funny informative and I have loved every minute. It is as well as an entertaining read a court action and I will be finding like-minded land lovers To act with.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!