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British Woodland
- How to Explore the Secret World of Our Forests
- Narrated by: Ray Mears
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Nobody sees and understands woodland better than Ray Mears.
With deep natural history knowledge and practical woodcraft skills, gained over a lifetime of learning from the world's last remaining indigenous peoples, Ray offers a different way to experience our wooded landscapes. He challenges the old concepts. He looks to our ancestors and shows how man's hand in shaping woodland is critical. We are not separate from nature, we just need to ensure that our interactions have a positive impact.
With the emphasis on interaction, British Woodland is structured by usage. We learn that sycamore and clematis are among the best woods for burning, pine and oak help us navigate, and hawthorn and beech have edible leaves. Rope can be made from willow, utensils and tools from hazel, and historically, weapons were made from yew and wych elm.
With Ray as our guide, encouraging this aboriginal sense of connection to individual trees, our appreciation of wooded landscapes will change. We can learn how to live inclusively in nature, for our own wellbeing and enjoyment, and also for the future of our planet.
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What listeners say about British Woodland
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- Pollis
- 08-06-23
Vital Reading
Vital reading for all those living in the UK & beyond. Insightful, inspiring & yet balanced.
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- Leila Smith
- 28-01-24
fascinating
lots of interesting facts about the history of trees and how they shaped how we live and work. lots of info on individual trees and their characteristics. told in a very interesting way. at first I found the chapters hard to understand as I thought the tree species chapter would resemble the main chapter such as 'fire'.
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- rikki sharp
- 09-06-23
Ray has so much knowledge
Such a great book I think the world leaders should be made to read maybe they will learn something
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1 person found this helpful
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- martlayton
- 14-05-23
A fascinating history of Britain's trees and woods
Ray Mears is a British national treasure and this book reminds us why. His years of experience burst from every page.
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- Amazon Customer
- 17-11-23
One of Rays best books
I personally felt that this is a very good book, I really enjoyed the hunter gatherer info, I reckon there should have been even more of it! :D
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1 person found this helpful
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- Norma
- 04-02-24
Wonderful trees
It was a very good in depth study of trees: an encouragement to love, learn and protect
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- M BeeH
- 18-05-23
Totally fascinating
A wonderful book exploring the deep connections between woodland and us. Fascinating and brilliantly written (and read) Ray imparts his knowledge with the magic of a storyteller I didn’t want it to end…but I’m sure I will be listening again soon.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 13-05-23
One of the most interesting books I’ve listened to
A wonderful insight into British history and British woodlands, one of my favourites for sure
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- Linda jh
- 05-01-24
Really interesting
Interesting and thoughtful. It makes one aware of one’s ignorance! People need to be aware.
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- Smokey O’Bear
- 30-09-23
Fantastic walk in the woods
This is a fantastic walk through the woodlands of Britain in both species and time. Ray interweaves the details of British woodlands from the history of their establishment post-the last ice age, with the story of human relationship to those woods. He is particularly good where he draws on his practical experience of experimental archaeology/ethnobotany, bushcrafting and time spent learning from remaining hunter gathers, to flesh out the details of how early Britons made a living from the woods. He makes an impassioned case for the conservation and expansion of British woodlands and everyone would do well to heed it. Great listen.
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2 people found this helpful