British Woodland cover art

British Woodland

How to Explore the Secret World of Our Forests

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British Woodland

By: Ray Mears
Narrated by: Ray Mears
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About this listen

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.

©2023 Ray Mears (P)2023 Penguin Audio Biological Sciences Botany & Plants Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science Natural History

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All stars
Most relevant
I love this audiobook! It's packed with interesting and useful information, with wonderful narration by the author. It was worth buying just for the introduction to pickled walnuts!

Simply Brilliant!

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Vital reading for all those living in the UK & beyond. Insightful, inspiring & yet balanced.

Vital Reading

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I really liked that Ray narrated his book. It makes listening to books so much more of a personal experience for me.
I really appreciate all the in-depth knowledge he shares about trees, woodland history and everything that is related to this. It's a book I will listen to many times and still learn new things I'm sure.

Excellent

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This is not what I expect from Audible! The sound quality is so bad, I nearly sent it back! There are parts of the book where you can’t even make out certain words, and requires you to rewind and listen again, very annoying! It’s a shame because it does detract from the book. Simply not good enough!!!

Shockingly bad sound quality!

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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.

Totally fascinating

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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

One of Rays best books

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My biggest passion in life is trees this is a must for someone like me!

Fantastic book

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It was a very good in depth study of trees: an encouragement to love, learn and protect

Wonderful trees

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Great book written by the true father of bushcraft and woodland .
Really enjoyable read and informative a

Ray mears outstanding knowledge

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Lovely book but Ray Mears doesn't do a great job of reading it. He doesnt maintain a steady volume. For example, he goes quiet as a sentence goes on. As a result, I find myself changing the volume as I listen so as not to miss things.

Mumbles

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