The woodlanders' traditional way of life is increasingly under pressure from the modern world, and this book provides a record of the lives and work of a range of people who are part of Britain's rural heritage: chestnut coppicers; craftsmen who made sheep hurdles, wattle panels, walking sticks, roofing shingles and a host of other traditional products; those who worked with horses and those who produced charcoal; naturalists who simply loved the woodlands for their flora and fauna; and women who worked in the woods, such as the Timber Corps in World War II. There are those who worked alone, and those who were employed on great estates, or by the Crown or the Forestry Commission.

With their unique crafts and traditions, our woodlands and forests have long held a deep fascination for lovers of the countryside. For centuries men and women have made a living there, but now this way of life is increasingly under pressure from the modern world. Val Porter here records the memories of such sturdy woodland characters, often stretching back to the days of their forefathers. These vivid accounts are bound together by tales from the archives, from beyond living memory: stories of adder-catchers, of gypsies, of fairy children in the forest, and of mythical woodlanders.

WINNER OF THE ELWYN HARTLEY-EDWARDS AWARD FOR EQUINE WRITING, 2023. Tiffany Francis-Baker explores how the relationship between humans and horses has shaped the British landscape and how this connection has become part of our nation's ecosystems. Many of us enjoy walking or riding on bridleways. These ancient networks crisscross the British countryside, but we rarely pause to ponder how they came to be. Tiffany Francis-Baker tells the intriguing history of Britain's bridleways, revealing how our relationship with horses is deeply woven into the fabric of British culture, from street and pub names to trading routes and coaching inns. She meets the closest living descendants of wild horses and investigates our evolving relationship with horses, exploring equestrian sports, horse fairs, horseback travellers and adventurers, and how humans and horses have worked together for millennia. Part-domesticated and part-fiercely independent, horses have long captured our imaginations, and in The Bridleway, Francis-Baker reveals how deeply rooted they have been in our culture for thousands of years and how they can help us understand the natural world and our place within it.

The Woodlanders is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It was serialised from May 1886 to April 1887 in Macmillan's Magazine[1] and published in three volumes in 1887.[2] It is one of his series of Wessex novels.

Spanning the 1920s and the 1930s, Through the Classroom Window gives the reader a warm collection of rich memories, recording experiences, attitudes and emotions that are, in many respects, unique to a generation.

In the second volume of Maurice Gee’s acclaimed O Trilogy, Susan must stop terrible things being done in her name... Face the High Priest. Face him alone. That was why she was back on O. To end the religion grown up in her name. Susan Ferris and her cousin Nick return to the world of O, which they had saved from the evil Halfmen, only to discover that a hundred years have passed and O is now ruled by cruel and ruthless priests. Susan is inspired by the dreams and prophecies related to her to face the most dreadful dangers and free the inhabitants of O. Also available as an eBook

Britain’s great cloak of natural forest disappeared mostly in prehistoric times. Over the passage of time and by the industrial revolution, Britain’s economy had become almost entirely dependent on timber imports from abroad. Shipping blockades in the First World War meant a frantic search for woodlands that could be cut down to make vital pit props and sawn wood for wartime construction. After the war, Britain’s tree cover was near to an all-time low. Only since 1919 have practical measures been taken to reverse the long history of forest decline, and a hundred years of tree planting has seen the forest cover of Britain more than double.Today, tree planting in Britain is motivated more by environmental and social concerns than purely timber production. In Woods and People, David Foot reveals the story of twentieth-century forest creation, and the eureka moment in the 1980s that challenged foresters and conservationists to work together on new ideas.

The essays in this volume, originally published in 1992, examine some of the pervasive implications of Victorian medievalism, and assess its creative manifestations and dual capacities for expression of reformist anger and escapist retreat. Some of the emotional and intllectual reasons for the strong Victorian attraction to ‘medieval’ history and litereature are discussed and emblematic responses to this attraction are examined.