Frontierlands: The inspiring new book about community, regeneration and reinvention in the face of climate change

by Hazel Sheffield

Brought to you by Penguin.

The inspiring new book about Britain’s abandoned and neglected places, the opportunities they present for business and communities, and how they can help us face the challenges of climate change.

'Frontierlands' are Britain's forgotten places. Silt-filled harbours, overgrown forests, sunken railway tracks and empty buildings. All once economic engines, now abandoned by investors and the state.

But they are home to local communities, and amongst them, some remarkable pioneers working together to repair, rebuild and prepare for the future.

Hazel Sheffield takes her readers on a journey that begins at the coastline and travels inward via hoardings and railway arches, factories, streets and neighbourhoods to our homes. Moving from Watchet harbour in the South West to Gateshead in the North East, from Lancashire to London and the South East, she introduces us to the people who are acting to shape their own destinies - people with first-hand knowledge of the problems Britain faces and with clear ideas how to make things better.

This is a book about regeneration, reclaiming power, and the hope that comes from community action. About people questioning how the world works and determined to do things differently in the face of economic upheaval and climate crisis. People learning to build a new world, challenging us all to think about how we should live in the face of certain change.

Immersive and inspiring, Frontierlands challenges us to reconnect with and reclaim our environment, showing that it is possible to regenerate, reskill and create opportunities for industry, and to address the challenges of climate change.

'This is not just a grassroots manual for 21st century survival – groundswelling and prophetic, it could be a startling blueprint for life in the 22nd.' - Tom Nancollas, author of Seashaken Houses

'Remarkable, exquisitely researched and acutely observed, it won’t leave me.' - Lucy Easthope, author of When the Dust Settles

'This is a book for now, when so many feel jaded, worn thin and in desperate need of hope.' - Kassia St Clair, author of The Secret Lives of Colour

'Read one page, and you will want to keep reading.' - Paul Hawken, author of Regeneration

© Hazel Sheffield 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Audible Audio

Published February 5, 2026

Reviews

[Lauren Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring and thought-provoking exploration of normal people and their relationship with land, power, and belonging. I loved the way it uncovers the social and political forces that shape landscapes, revealing how questions of ownership and territory are deeply tied to inequality and identity. It’s insightful, engaging, and full of ideas that stayed with me long after reading.

[Greg Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frontierlands by Hazel Sheffield is a book about how Britain’s forgotten places – from forests to factories, harbours to high streets – are becoming testing grounds for people finding new ways of working and living in the modern world.

She finds meaning in the mundane, bringing community action and the way we inhabit our environments to life through the duality of hoardings - advertising boards or accumulated goods.
"Hoarding is a condition of surplus - too much of everything - but it is most often linked to a condition of scarcity we call poverty...Inside we live surrounded by never-ending stuff, while outside the streets are full of hoardings. Next time you're in a built-up place, take a moment to look for these supposedly temporary structures."

You will learn a lot. I had no idea half the world's supply of china clay used to come from Cornwall, and how the boom and bust of its mining has shaped the region's land and people. I hadn’t considered how vastly the expansion of the railways changed Britain’s way of life, “birthing not just the commuter and the seaside holiday but even time itself, which was standardized in order for people to know when to catch a train”.

The language is steeped in everyday Britishness that hits a particular mark for an Englishman abroad. "A kettle went on. Bread rolls wrapped in foil tumbled out of an old Sainsbury's carrier bag onto a table. People stuck their names on their chest, in felt-tip on envelop labels. Teacups in hand, paper spread wide, the dreaming started."

There is beautiful language on every page, without every veering away from the point. "Britain is littered with abandoned factories, each one speaking the dying dialects of industry. From the derelict distilleries of Scotland, to the windmills of East Anglia, to the textile mills of Lancashire and the North West, each region has its own vernacular, etched into the architecture of these crumbling monuments."

Describing the revitalisation of a high street in Plymouth, she writes: "Dancing, listening, learning, grinning. Union Street has become a street you want to spend time on, even as it grows into a demonstrator for so much more." The same can be said for time spent on Frontierlands, in Hazel's company on the page.

Hazel has worked on this book for a long time, researching relentlessly and resourcefully while reimagining her own life and building her family. In Cornwall, a mountain walk provides a fitting story. "It's not an easy hike, and slowly we split into two groups - those who want to continue to the summit and those would rather make their way back down towards the car park." Hazel is looking out from the top.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hazel Sheffield's book tells us inspiring stories from the Frontierlands of Britain. Beautifully written stories of people shaping their own futures, using imagination and creativity to reinvent abandoned buildings and land in forgotten places. The carefully crafted stories in each chapter about a different, inspirational community were absorbing. Time shifts, people dip in and out, and make their contributions, large and small, to better their lives.

Sheffield highlights the loss, neglect and extraction that communities in Britain have suffered. Despite the 10 years it has taken her to write the book, the projects and the work being done – from reviving derelict buildings to restoring forests – remain as relevant today as when she started. In fact, more so.

This book also brings to life the deep relationships people have with place, with materials and with each other. You sense too, the deep work Sheffield has undertaken to build trust with those she writes about and tell their stories with honesty and integrity.

Now, more than ever, we need stories of hope. Stories of collaboration and collective action. Stories that show it is possible to reclaim space for local people and craft sustainable futures.  

This book renewed hope for me.