The Countryside Book

A host of activities for having fun, engaging with wildlife and exploring your wild side in the countryside.

Britain's countryside offers a host of varied habitats for the walker, the amateur naturalist and the family in search of entertainment for children. This brand new collection of reflections on and activities to do in the countryside from an author passionate about reconnecting both children and adults with nature offers ideas for a range of activities all of which will enhance the reader's enjoyment of and engagement with, the natural world.

You'll learn how to watch 'mad' March hares - and whether their boxing matches are for real. You'll discover the best places to see butterflies and how to encourage them in your own garden. Find out how to navigate using just the sun and stars, and the best places to run wild in the country. And take part in some ancient and often inexplicable country rituals including cheese rolling, maypole dancing and wassailing. All the activities are tried and tested by the author and her family and illustrated with stunning photos from their many expeditions.

Perfect for adults and children who enjoy climbing, investigating, den building, camping and generally having adventures and new experiences, this book will encourage readers to have fun with nature.

Auteur

Educated in watery disciplines to masters level, Tessa Wardley is a member of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management and a former senior water ecologist at a leading environmental consultancy and policy adviser to the Environment Agency. These days she uses her 15 years experience of studying rivers to back up the fun and adventures she has in and around them, usually accompanied by her four children.

Contenu

Introduction
How to use this book
Getting started

Relax
Watch the clouds
Notebook: clouds
Hare spotting
Notebook: The mythology of the hare
Search for fairy rings
Savour the seasons
Notebook: The best of the seasons
Watch the sunset
Star gazing
Notebook: Key stars and constellations in the night sky
Count magpies
Notebook: Magpies
Go gate spotting
Visit churches and churchyards

Play
The humble grass
Notebook: the importance of grass
Roll down a hill
Have fun with wild clay
Notebook: Clays in the UK
Sheep's wool and natural dyes
Notebook: Wool and wealth - how it shaped the UK and beyond
Looking at butterflies and moths
Notebook: Ten common night and day moths in the UK
Notebook: Ten common butterflies in the UK
Play with ice
Fun with flowers
Playing with stones
Let's go fly a kite
Games for walking

• *Be curious
  Sun magic: understanding the sun
  Notebook: Understanding our solar system
  Wild flower spotting
  Hawks and falcons
  Notebook: Man and hawk
  Ageing walls and hedgerows
  Notebook: The history of fields
  Spotting migrating birds
  Notebook: Bird migration
  Spiders and their diamond necklaces
  Notebook: Some interesting spiders
  Seek out interesting insects
  Fossick for fossils
  Visit standing stones
  Collect some antlers
  
  Be adventurous
  Get off the beaten track
  Bivouac under the stars
  Try some navigation challenges
  Follow ancient routes on long-distance paths
  Get up high
  Notebook: Skylarks
  Take off your shoes
  Go on an Arthurian quest

Questions
What rock am I standing on?
Where can I see Red Squirrels?
Why does a dock leaf help soothe a nettle sting?
Where do scientists get their species names from?
Which flowers do bees like?
What is the story behind Morris dancing?
Why do roads have bedns?
What's so great about cowpats?

Resources
Safety
Ticks and Lyme Disease
Useful links
Bibliography
Acknowledgements