Oak and Ash and Thorn: The Ancient Woods and New Forests of Britain

by Peter Fiennes

Overview

A Guardian Best Nature Book of the Year


The magic and mystery of the woods are embedded in culture, from ancient folklore to modern literature. They offer us refuge: a place to play, a place to think. They are the generous providers of timber and energy. They let us dream of other ways of living. Yet we now face a future where taking a walk in the woods is consigned to the tales we tell our children.

Immersing himself in the beauty of woodland Britain, Peter Fiennes explores our long relationship with the woods and the sad and violent story of how so many have been lost. Just as we need them, our woods need us too. But who, if anyone, is looking out for them?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786071675
Publisher:	Oneworld Publications
Publication date:	09/07/2017
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Peter Fiennes is the author of To War with God, a moving account of his grandfather’s service in WWI. He lives in Wandsworth, south-west London.
Peter Fiennes is the author of the critically acclaimed Footnotes, Oak and Ash and Thorn, and To War with God. As the publisher for Time Out, he nurtured a lifelong obsession with old guidebooks, creating award-winning city guides, walking books and titles about Britain’s countryside and seaside. He lives in south-west London.

What People are Saying About This

author of A Natural History of the Hedgerow —John Wright

" Oak and Ash and Thorn is a lament. A lament for the trees and forests we have lost since the first axe glistened and the first torch flared. The destruction frequently came from plain necessity, but also, to our shame, from greed, stupidity and, as Fiennes suggests, fear. Despite the inventory of tragedy in his book, Fiennes is the best of guides, gently, eloquently and with a fierce humour telling a sad story – relating chapters of fascinating detail to brighten his tale and quoting the poets as he goes. Despite the calamity that our relationship with trees has become, this is not a depressing book. Oak and Ash and Thorn may be a lament, but Fiennes invigorates and arms us with the knowledge to ensure that it will not become a requiem."

From the Publisher

"Oak and Ash and Thorn is a lament. A lament for the trees and forests we have lost since the first axe glistened and the first torch flared. The destruction frequently came from plain necessity, but also, to our shame, from greed, stupidity and, as Fiennes suggests, fear. Despite the inventory of tragedy in his book, Fiennes is the best of guides, gently, eloquently and with a fierce humour telling a sad story – relating chapters of fascinating detail to brighten his tale and quoting the poets as he goes. Despite the calamity that our relationship with trees has become, this is not a depressing book. Oak and Ash and Thorn may be a lament, but Fiennes invigorates and arms us with the knowledge to ensure that it will not become a requiem."
—John Wright, author of A Natural History of the Hedgerow

"A wonderful wander into woods that explores our deep-rooted connections – cultural, historical and personal – with the trees."
—Rob Cowen, author of Common Ground

"Passionate and thoughtful in exactly the way the best nature writing should be. With Peter Fiennes, the woodlands of Britain have found their perfect advocate."
—Hugh Thomson, author of The Green Road into the Trees

"Taking to the woods to tell stories about the value of trees and woods is not new – there is a lot of tree-woods-forest writing about – but it’s fresh and raw and urgent to Fiennes, and that’s entirely the point. His sensibilities are inescapably metropolitan, and yet harbour the poetic soul of Edward Thomas and the greenwood outlaws. Oak and Ash and Thorn is a tender hymn to the trees, a manifesto for a woodland society, a contemporary gazette of ideas and attitudes radiating into the future like annual rings from the original pith: that inexplicable enchantment with trees. In this lyrical, informative, unashamedly arboreal propaganda, one man’s walk in the woods can inspire a generation."
—Paul Evans, author of Field Notes from the Edge

author of A Natural History of the Hedgerow John Wright

" Oak and Ash and Thorn is a lament. A lament for the trees and forests we have lost since the first axe glistened and the first torch flared. The destruction frequently came from plain necessity, but also, to our shame, from greed, stupidity and, as Fiennes suggests, fear. Despite the inventory of tragedy in his book, Fiennes is the best of guides, gently, eloquently and with a fierce humour telling a sad story – relating chapters of fascinating detail to brighten his tale and quoting the poets as he goes. Despite the calamity that our relationship with trees has become, this is not a depressing book. Oak and Ash and Thorn may be a lament, but Fiennes invigorates and arms us with the knowledge to ensure that it will not become a requiem."

Editorial Reviews

‘A wonderful wander into the woods that explores our deep-rooted connections – cultural, historical and personal – with the trees.’

Rob Cowen

‘Lyrical, angry and often very funny. I loved it.’

Tom Holland

‘Fiennes is the best of guides, gently, eloquently and with a fierce humour telling a sad story – relating chapters of fascinating detail to brighten his tale and quoting the poets as he goes.’

John Wright

‘Peter Fiennes really can see the wood for the trees – he blends mythology, natural history and a sense of righteous anger to produce a paean of praise to our ancient woodlands and modern forests, and the life support system they provide.’

Stephen Moss

‘Rich, personal, evocative, rousing.’

Robert Penn

‘A passionate ramble through Britain’s complicated relationship with its woodland.’

Daily Mail

‘Fascinating...This passionate book should inspire readers to plant more trees, support woodland campaigns and participate in active conservation.’

BBC Countryfile Magazine

‘Extraordinary... Written with a mixture of lyricism and quiet fury...Fiennes’s book winningly combines autobiography, literary history and nature writing. It feels set to become a classic of the genre.’

Observer

‘A tender hymn to the trees, a manifesto for a woodland society, a contemporary gazette of ideas and attitudes radiating into the future like annual rings from the original pith... In this lyrical, informative, unashamedly arboreal propaganda, one man’s walk in the woods can inspire a generation.’

Paul Evans

‘Peter Fiennes writes with a piercingly urgent tone as he examines what he sees as the desperate state of our trees.’

BBC Wildlife

‘A joy of a book and a delight to read.’

The Great Outdoors

‘Passionate and thoughtful in exactly the way the best nature writing should be...the woodlands of Britain have found their perfect advocate.’

Hugh Thomson

‘Steeped in poetry, science, folklore, history and magic, Fiennes is an eloquent, elegiac chronicler of copses, coppicing and the wildwood.’

Sunday Express

‘A passionate ramble through Britain’s complicated relationship with its woodland.’

Daily Mail

‘Steeped in poetry, science, folklore, history and magic, Fiennes is an eloquent, elegiac chronicler of copses, coppicing and the wildwood.’

Sunday Express

"A wonderful wander into woods that explores our deep-rooted connections – cultural, historical and personal – with the trees."

author of Common Ground —Rob Cowen

"Steeped in poetry, science, folklore, history and magic, Fiennes is an eloquent, elegiac chronicler of copses, coppicing and the wildwood."

— Sunday Express (UK)

"Taking to the woods to tell stories about the value of trees and woods is not new – there is a lot of tree-woods-forest writing about – but it’s fresh and raw and urgent to Fiennes, and that’s entirely the point. His sensibilities are inescapably metropolitan, and yet harbour the poetic soul of Edward Thomas and the greenwood outlaws. Oak and Ash and Thorn is a tender hymn to the trees, a manifesto for a woodland society, a contemporary gazette of ideas and attitudes radiating into the future like annual rings from the original pith: that inexplicable enchantment with trees. In this lyrical, informative, unashamedly arboreal propaganda, one man’s walk in the woods can inspire a generation."

author of Field Notes from the Edge —Paul Evans

"Passionate and thoughtful in exactly the way the best nature writing should be. With Peter Fiennes, the woodlands of Britain have found their perfect advocate."

author of The Green Road into the Trees —Hugh Thomson

"Peter Fiennes writes with a piercingly urgent tone as he examines what he sees as the desperate state of our trees."

—BBC Wildlife

"Peter Fiennes writes with a piercingly urgent tone as he examines what he sees as the desperate state of our trees."

--BBC Wildlife

"A wonderful wander into woods that explores our deep-rooted connections – cultural, historical and personal – with the trees."

author of Common Ground Rob Cowen

"Taking to the woods to tell stories about the value of trees and woods is not new – there is a lot of tree-woods-forest writing about – but it’s fresh and raw and urgent to Fiennes, and that’s entirely the point. His sensibilities are inescapably metropolitan, and yet harbour the poetic soul of Edward Thomas and the greenwood outlaws. Oak and Ash and Thorn is a tender hymn to the trees, a manifesto for a woodland society, a contemporary gazette of ideas and attitudes radiating into the future like annual rings from the original pith: that inexplicable enchantment with trees. In this lyrical, informative, unashamedly arboreal propaganda, one man’s walk in the woods can inspire a generation."

author of Field Notes from the Edge Paul Evans

"Passionate and thoughtful in exactly the way the best nature writing should be. With Peter Fiennes, the woodlands of Britain have found their perfect advocate."

author of The Green Road into the Trees Hugh Thomson