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Ring the Hill
A hill is not a mountain. You climb it for you, then you put it quietly inside you, in a cupboard marked 'Quite A Lot Of Hills' where it makes its infinitesimal mark on who you are. Ring the Hill is a book written around, and about, it includes a northern hill, a hill that never ends and the smallest hill in England. Each chapter takes a type of hill - whether it's a knoll, cap, cliff, tor or even a mere bump - as a starting point for one of Tom's characteristically unpredictable and wide-ranging explorations. Tom's lyrical, candid prose roams from an intimate relationship with a particular cove on the south coast, to meditations on his great-grandmother and a lesson on what goes into the mapping of hills themselves. Because a good walk in the hills is never just about the you never know where it might lead.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 19, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews
October 9, 2019
There are countless books written about mountains, just take a look around the travel section of a bookshop. However, there are not so many written about hills, in particular, the small inconsequential hills that abound the landscape in our country. A hill might not have the majesty or presence of a mountain, but for Cox, these are more accessible, and still have as much mystery and lore and their larger cousins.
Beginning in Somerset under the ever-watchful eye of the Tor and the inland sea that is the Somerset levels he wanders from Britain’s smallest hill, in Norfolk no less, to the highest point on the South Coast. Yet another house move takes him to a house most of the way up a hill in Derbyshire; he is snowed in and it is a place that alarms his cats, and he is often woken at 3.44 in the morning from a nightmare and he would often hear things being moved in the loft… Not many things scare him, sitting with his feet over the edge of Golden Cap is no problem, but halfway up some mechanical edifice is enough to freak Cox out.
He wades through some family history when he discovers that his great grandmother who lived on Dartmoor, prior to moving to Nottingham. He finds that Dartmoor is at its most eerie in the summer when the heat makes time move like treacle. He spends time walking across Dorset’s hills spotting his third hare since moving to the West Country and amusing himself over alternative meanings for the village names in the area. Just seeing a hill on a car journey and then finding on an OS map late is a thrill, especially if there is access to walk up it later.
As I drive the roads, I watch the hills. I always notice the interesting ones, and none of them aren’t interesting, so I notice them all.
Ring the Hill is not quite a sequel to 21st Century Yokel, more of a slightly lairy companion. He seems to be one of the fastest funded authors on the publisher Unbound as he doesn’t really fit in any of the niches that a regular publisher has. Preferring to write widely about whatever the hell takes his fancy, from folklore to the music that works best when he is walking in a place. It is this wide-ranging fascination with all that he sees is what makes this book such a delight. Hares permeate the book too, not just the scant physical ones that he sees out and about, but the way that they are interwoven into the natural and spiritual worlds. I thought that this was a wonderful book, full of tangents and glimpses of things that fascinate him. I love the traditional linocut illustrations of hares that have been created by his mother and I was glad to see that his very LOUD DAD was back in the book again.
Beginning in Somerset under the ever-watchful eye of the Tor and the inland sea that is the Somerset levels he wanders from Britain’s smallest hill, in Norfolk no less, to the highest point on the South Coast. Yet another house move takes him to a house most of the way up a hill in Derbyshire; he is snowed in and it is a place that alarms his cats, and he is often woken at 3.44 in the morning from a nightmare and he would often hear things being moved in the loft… Not many things scare him, sitting with his feet over the edge of Golden Cap is no problem, but halfway up some mechanical edifice is enough to freak Cox out.
He wades through some family history when he discovers that his great grandmother who lived on Dartmoor, prior to moving to Nottingham. He finds that Dartmoor is at its most eerie in the summer when the heat makes time move like treacle. He spends time walking across Dorset’s hills spotting his third hare since moving to the West Country and amusing himself over alternative meanings for the village names in the area. Just seeing a hill on a car journey and then finding on an OS map late is a thrill, especially if there is access to walk up it later.
As I drive the roads, I watch the hills. I always notice the interesting ones, and none of them aren’t interesting, so I notice them all.
Ring the Hill is not quite a sequel to 21st Century Yokel, more of a slightly lairy companion. He seems to be one of the fastest funded authors on the publisher Unbound as he doesn’t really fit in any of the niches that a regular publisher has. Preferring to write widely about whatever the hell takes his fancy, from folklore to the music that works best when he is walking in a place. It is this wide-ranging fascination with all that he sees is what makes this book such a delight. Hares permeate the book too, not just the scant physical ones that he sees out and about, but the way that they are interwoven into the natural and spiritual worlds. I thought that this was a wonderful book, full of tangents and glimpses of things that fascinate him. I love the traditional linocut illustrations of hares that have been created by his mother and I was glad to see that his very LOUD DAD was back in the book again.
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November 11, 2019A genial, occasionally very funny account of assorted rambles around and residencies in the British countryside, taking as its starting point the way that there's a lot written about the grandeur of mountains, but not enough about the gentler charm of hills. It's not going to win over anyone concerned about how much of the nature writing revival seems to centre on white guys with the sort of security that lets them hop into rivers or wander off through the woods whenever the urge takes them, though he's not entirely a middle class cliché, coming, like me, from the End Of The Middle (in his case Nottingham) and with at least one accented parent. For all of which, Cox is amiable enough company, and he does evoke the landscapes well, from that lingering sense of sea-ness which pervades the Somerset Levels to the arsiness of Dartmoor's ponies. And who among us would not be curious upon learning that a nearby village has a street named 'Teapot Lane (Worms Lane)'?
One darker interlude follows his ill-advised winter in the grim heart of the Peak District, the bit nobody visits for a daytrip – just up out of Eyam, only 500 feet off being a mountain. I can confirm that, extreme as this section may sometimes read, having once and only once in all my years in Derbyshire ended up in these parts, if anything he's underselling it. There are bleak places up there. And here as elsewhere, Cox has that lovely balance of not going full believer about the supernatural, but not disbelieving either, just recounting the stories as they stand, and (in Ken Campbell's formulation) supposing.
(Netgalley ARC)
One darker interlude follows his ill-advised winter in the grim heart of the Peak District, the bit nobody visits for a daytrip – just up out of Eyam, only 500 feet off being a mountain. I can confirm that, extreme as this section may sometimes read, having once and only once in all my years in Derbyshire ended up in these parts, if anything he's underselling it. There are bleak places up there. And here as elsewhere, Cox has that lovely balance of not going full believer about the supernatural, but not disbelieving either, just recounting the stories as they stand, and (in Ken Campbell's formulation) supposing.
(Netgalley ARC)
November 13, 2019
It’s impossible to imagine a more genial, candid, or generous tour guide than Tom Cox, whose fascinating, enlightening and moving accounts of his meanderings through the English countryside fill the pages of Ring the Hill. This is by no means a conventional travel book: the information it provides regarding towns, villages, hamlets, hills, rivers, fields, historical sites and monuments that are on Cox’s itinerary is secondary to the author’s often humorous, sometimes sobering reflections on being alive, and the story of his own life in progress: the relationships, observations, learning opportunities and personal decisions that have bestowed on him an uncommon degree of self-awareness and a vivid sense of his place in the world and, indeed, the cosmos. Tom Cox is less traveler than nomad: a man who moves house with unusual regularity, not out of dissatisfaction, but more out of restless curiosity, driven, one imagines, by a yearning for a new and different experience. Once settled into new digs—sometimes before settling—his custom is to go out and explore, compulsively and in any weather, the surrounding countryside and jot down his findings and commentary in a journal. In the six sections of Ring the Hill, Cox reports on ramblings through, among others, Glastonbury, The Peak District, Dartmoor and Dartington. Interspersed among descriptions of his discoveries and sightings are accounts of events taking place in his life at the time: visits with his Mom and Dad, encounters with locals (human and animal), the music he’s listening to, an obsession with climbing hills, an equal obsession with swimming, extreme weather, the adventures of his cats, his struggles to keep a tidy garden. Cox writes from a perspective of great compassion for the natural world and for those among us who strive to nurture and protect that world: his critiques are generally reserved for the disfiguring scars that recent human activity has left upon the landscape. He is knowledgeable, a retainer and purveyor of facts, but also easily distracted: we often witness him changing course on a whim when something off the beaten path catches his eye. He is flawed but aware of and admirably at peace with his shortcomings. Discussions of the ways in which natural phenomena influence his moods cause us to suspect that here is someone highly attuned and sensitive to the rhythms of the planet. Casual references to the presence of the dead within the land of the living and the influence of ancient rites and customs upon the present lend a mystical note to the narrative. Make of me what you will, he seems to be saying, this is who I am. The overall tone in these pieces is wise and conversational, and it is a conversation that will leave you hungry for more while lingering in your mind long after you have finished reading the book.
October 15, 2019
Is Ring the Hill Tom's best written book yet?
I rarely have more than an hour of reading time a day, but by these standards I've pretty much inhaled this book - it took me a week - that's a sign of a book so well written I can't even bring myself to savour it, because I can't put it down.
If you read Tom's blogs a lot of the book will be familiar, but setting the pieces in the larger context of the intention of this work obviously makes the whole even richer and...magical? (Just a tiny bit.)
I think my favourite chapter was the cursed house on almost-mountain one. In the way that I'm glad that somebody lived it and lived to write about it, without me having to experience it for myself, not in a tee-hee kind of way.
And obviously, I also loved the final chapter, even though I might have dreaded reading it just a teeny tiny bit - because I knew it would make me cry (and it did).
Reading Ring the Hill has been one of my favourite reading experiences of the year and I'm glad I helped getting it published - even if only in just a very small way.
P.S. Jo Cox's lino prints that adorn some of the pages of the book are the cutest/coolest thing and it makes me sad she likely won't be able to make more. But following her on Instagram was the best thing I did on Instagram this year...because garden delights! Her account out-delights even Monty Don's as far as I'm concerned.
I rarely have more than an hour of reading time a day, but by these standards I've pretty much inhaled this book - it took me a week - that's a sign of a book so well written I can't even bring myself to savour it, because I can't put it down.
If you read Tom's blogs a lot of the book will be familiar, but setting the pieces in the larger context of the intention of this work obviously makes the whole even richer and...magical? (Just a tiny bit.)
I think my favourite chapter was the cursed house on almost-mountain one. In the way that I'm glad that somebody lived it and lived to write about it, without me having to experience it for myself, not in a tee-hee kind of way.
And obviously, I also loved the final chapter, even though I might have dreaded reading it just a teeny tiny bit - because I knew it would make me cry (and it did).
Reading Ring the Hill has been one of my favourite reading experiences of the year and I'm glad I helped getting it published - even if only in just a very small way.
P.S. Jo Cox's lino prints that adorn some of the pages of the book are the cutest/coolest thing and it makes me sad she likely won't be able to make more. But following her on Instagram was the best thing I did on Instagram this year...because garden delights! Her account out-delights even Monty Don's as far as I'm concerned.
December 23, 2019
It's very interesting to read this straight after Tom Cox’s earlier books. Then, his writing was witty and entertaining. Now there's an added dimension and depth to his writing, with more poetic imagery, more quirky and wonderful perspectives on things.
Each section is about different hills around England.
The first bit is about when he lived in Somerset near Glastonbury Tor. Lots of evocative descriptions of the Somerset Levels and the town of Bruton. I particularly liked the descriptions of the Levels as a dry sea; in a sense that's what they are, as they frequently get flooded and the Tor, Burrow Mump, and Athelney (where King Alfred hid from the Danes and burned the cakes) were islands once. The second bit is about his sojourn near Eyam in a very high, cold, haunted house. I remember reading his blogposts when he was living there: very scary. But the experience created the amazing title story of Help the Witch, which is probably what you might call suffering for your art.
I love the way his writing is so evocative of landscape. It helps that I'm very familiar with the landscapes he's writing about, but even if I wasn't, I think I'd still enjoy reading it. It's also interesting getting someone else's perspective on a landscape that you know well (a bit like book clubs at their best. There should be a landscape club!) and it helps that he's also interested in folklore and history and wildlife.
The book deals with so many landscapes and hills I've known and loved: the area around Glastonbury, Crook Peak, Brent Knoll, Blackdown, Dartington (which I've visited twice, once for a trade union training, and once for the classic music summer school), Eyam (and some that I haven't visited, but would like to make the acquaintance of) that it was like visiting a selection of old friends. This book will be going on the sacred bookshelf containing William Dalrymple and Patrick Leigh Fermor.
The first bit is about when he lived in Somerset near Glastonbury Tor. Lots of evocative descriptions of the Somerset Levels and the town of Bruton. I particularly liked the descriptions of the Levels as a dry sea; in a sense that's what they are, as they frequently get flooded and the Tor, Burrow Mump, and Athelney (where King Alfred hid from the Danes and burned the cakes) were islands once. The second bit is about his sojourn near Eyam in a very high, cold, haunted house. I remember reading his blogposts when he was living there: very scary. But the experience created the amazing title story of Help the Witch, which is probably what you might call suffering for your art.
I love the way his writing is so evocative of landscape. It helps that I'm very familiar with the landscapes he's writing about, but even if I wasn't, I think I'd still enjoy reading it. It's also interesting getting someone else's perspective on a landscape that you know well (a bit like book clubs at their best. There should be a landscape club!) and it helps that he's also interested in folklore and history and wildlife.
The book deals with so many landscapes and hills I've known and loved: the area around Glastonbury, Crook Peak, Brent Knoll, Blackdown, Dartington (which I've visited twice, once for a trade union training, and once for the classic music summer school), Eyam (and some that I haven't visited, but would like to make the acquaintance of) that it was like visiting a selection of old friends. This book will be going on the sacred bookshelf containing William Dalrymple and Patrick Leigh Fermor.
August 18, 2025
I really loved the first half of this book and was going to give it 5 stars (very unusual for me for non fiction). I really enjoyed the chapters about Somerset and Eyam and it was wholesome and funny. I was disappointed with the last couple of chapters though. They just weren't as engaging and I skim read a few bits.
December 30, 2019
Essentially, Ring the Hill is a collection of autobiographical stories based around or near hills in England, but it so much more. This book is a balm - an antidote to crazy modern living - and one which I have fallen in love with. I relished hanging out in between the pages of these stories. They calmed me and made me long for the hills!
Divided into six sections, each one is directly or loosely based on a hill located near where Cox was living at some point in the last decade. Tom shares stories, anecdotes and observations on topics ranging from local history, folklore, family history, SHOUTY DAD shenanigans, cat love, OS maps, places of wonder and colourful characters he has met whilst out rambling.
Beautiful prints by Tom's mum, artist Jo Cox, are shared throughout the book, along with some wonderfully evocative black and white snaps of different locations written about in the book.
I found each of the sections enjoyable, very entertaining and as individual as the hills that they are based on. The storytelling meanders masterfully, like Tom's expeditions.
I absolutely loved this book, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys nature, rambling, hills, folklore or just damn good writing.
Divided into six sections, each one is directly or loosely based on a hill located near where Cox was living at some point in the last decade. Tom shares stories, anecdotes and observations on topics ranging from local history, folklore, family history, SHOUTY DAD shenanigans, cat love, OS maps, places of wonder and colourful characters he has met whilst out rambling.
Beautiful prints by Tom's mum, artist Jo Cox, are shared throughout the book, along with some wonderfully evocative black and white snaps of different locations written about in the book.
I found each of the sections enjoyable, very entertaining and as individual as the hills that they are based on. The storytelling meanders masterfully, like Tom's expeditions.
I absolutely loved this book, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys nature, rambling, hills, folklore or just damn good writing.
July 28, 2022
This is one of those naturey non-fiction books that defies categorisation. The description on the back says it's about hills, but that's not truly the case? Hills do feature in it, quite prominently in some chapters, but then there's no clear hill in others. There's not really a specific topic that is addressed, or issue, etc.
If you are someone who generally likes their books to be about a specific something, don't let this put you off. It's really well-written and Tom Cox is a really funny writer. The kind of funny that feels almost accidental, as if he's trying to give you a chuckle but doesn't expect you to end up laughing out loud.
And then in the final chapter, which has a large section devoted to his four cats, he made me cry quite badly as I ended up thinking about our late cat and her elderly years. So yes, I definitely recommend this book and will be picking up more of TC's writing in the future.
If you are someone who generally likes their books to be about a specific something, don't let this put you off. It's really well-written and Tom Cox is a really funny writer. The kind of funny that feels almost accidental, as if he's trying to give you a chuckle but doesn't expect you to end up laughing out loud.
And then in the final chapter, which has a large section devoted to his four cats, he made me cry quite badly as I ended up thinking about our late cat and her elderly years. So yes, I definitely recommend this book and will be picking up more of TC's writing in the future.
March 16, 2020
I read this book through The Pigeonhole, which meant it came stave by stave. I think that was the perfect way to read this, as each chapter is entire in itself.
I enjoyed this book so much. It was like having a really fascinating conversation with a really interesting bloke in a country pub on a cold, wet January night,when nobody has anywhere they really need to be. Tom goes for walks, gets lost, spends a winter snowed in, watches his cats - and observes the world as he does so. He shares those observations with you - funny, intriguing, mundane and a little bit mystical at times. His expeditions are really "doable" - he left me inspired to walk more, watch more and think more. And read more of his books, obviously.
I enjoyed this book so much. It was like having a really fascinating conversation with a really interesting bloke in a country pub on a cold, wet January night,when nobody has anywhere they really need to be. Tom goes for walks, gets lost, spends a winter snowed in, watches his cats - and observes the world as he does so. He shares those observations with you - funny, intriguing, mundane and a little bit mystical at times. His expeditions are really "doable" - he left me inspired to walk more, watch more and think more. And read more of his books, obviously.
April 19, 2023
I bought this book back in 2020 and finally got a chance, and in the right state of mind, to read it.
I really enjoyed it! Who knew a guy talking about walking in the British countryside and the stories being told it brings forth would be so interesting! I am now curious about his other books. I actually have a few sitting in an online bookstore cart waiting to be purchased when I get some money for it.
I really enjoyed it! Who knew a guy talking about walking in the British countryside and the stories being told it brings forth would be so interesting! I am now curious about his other books. I actually have a few sitting in an online bookstore cart waiting to be purchased when I get some money for it.
May 25, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed Ring The Hill; Cox's humour and wit is brilliant (big fan of Shipley the sweary cat), and the way he describes scenes, landscapes and wildlife is a joy to read. I found the book very relatable, being from the Midlands and moving up North (cement-coloured skies in winter, yep that's about right). 5⭐️
April 7, 2020
Beautiful prose-writing. Proud to have been a supporter of this with Unbound
July 17, 2024
To say this is about hills would be to diminish it somewhat, as it encompasses so much more. The descriptions are unique, detailed and often infused with excellent humour. His storytelling meanders, much like his life seems to have; sometimes there seems to be a purpose but often it was just a good story enjoyed for the sake of it. The photos and lino-etched drawings added an additional level of enjoyment.
November 6, 2025
What am amazing experience. I came across this book by accident and what a happy accident it was. His descriptions are beautiful. His inner dialogues amazing. I laughed out loud often at his musings. I felt visceraly his losses. Thank you Tom for a wonderful book. I am already on line looking for the next.
November 1, 2020
I spent nearly half a year reading this book, not because I didn't like it, but because some books just makes you feel better about things. And this book made me feel better about a lot of thing. I really appreciate its ability to take you along on a stroll in the English countryside and beyond- into the fey places.
July 13, 2025
if you live nearby you will relate very well but no so much if you haven't been to Sonerset. some of the writing was waffling but otherwise good
November 2, 2025
A soothing balm for the displaced-by-birth Anglophile’s heart.
Funny, touching, tender. What a lovely companion this book has been. It felt like listening to an old friend telling you their innermost secrets under the cover of a blanket fort on a stormy night.
Funny, touching, tender. What a lovely companion this book has been. It felt like listening to an old friend telling you their innermost secrets under the cover of a blanket fort on a stormy night.
July 8, 2021
a lovely exploration of hills and their stories, some cats, a few people, and some very interesting houses.
February 15, 2020
Love Tom's style and attitude. A beautiful journey across and about England. WOFFAL!
December 11, 2020
I love pretty much everything I've read from Tom Cox, and this nature-memoir is no different. It's all lovely, informative, and funny too, with some bonus spooky elements. Just as it should be. Looking forward to the next one.
May 3, 2021
Genial, funny memoir of place(s). At times made me feel particularly square and risk-averse, but then I probably knew that about myself anyway. Good stuff.
December 19, 2020
Review to come :)
October 31, 2019
“Ring the Hill” is an ancient nickname for a hare, one of the many animals that Tom Cox encounters in his largely spontaneous rambles and journeys around various bits of Britain. Cox is a unplanned writer in many ways, drifting from topic to topic as he describes his frequent house moves, largely unplanned but undertaken for the satisfying of a need to explore. Not content just to visit for a short stay, Cox regularly packs up all his goods and chattels and moves to a rented house in a different area. Not that he conducts a careful study of the area, walking specific routes, planning to look for particular features. While he has discovered the joys of a personalised Ordinance Survey maps which he deploys while on a walk, he also frequently departs from any planned route, sometimes because there is some form of blockage, sometimes because he is attracted by something else.
Cox meets people who are shaped by where they live, in lonely places or in places with strong traditions. Like many books which supposedly concern the countryside, he writes meaningfully about the people who live alternative lives. He writes about the treatment of the animals he encounters, about eels from an eel catcher, his disgust at a man who hunts deer, the problems of tick infestations. He is a magpie writer, picking up various things as they catch his attention. He becomes obsessed by various things such as swimming in a particular cove, giving it a special name as he gets to know the tides and behaviours of the people he encounters on his days there in a specially warm season.
The mundane things of life entertain and bemuse him, such as his relationships with indoor plants and the cats he adopts. The first move detailed in the book reveals his obsession with the inland sea levels, thus the section is called “Island Hopping”, as he travels from the higher points of Somerset to the lower. He discovers the personalities of recent and present neighbours, speculating on their attitude to the land. Small pieces of history are dotted throughout the book, such as King Alfred’s ill fated cooking.
Cox also indulges in self depreciation, admitting to being a tall person who frequently bangs his head on all manner of things among other faults such as picking places to live without checking such things as access in bad weather and local supplies. He is fortunately supported by his largely unshockable and dedicated parents, even if he describes his father as always talking in capital letters, having a group of friends who he describes in exhausting detail, and having a fascination with dead creatures. Fortunately he can also call on them for supplies when he finds himself trapped in an isolated house, and conversation whenever he feels the need. Cox becomes fascinated on the definitions of the “North” of the country, debating whether it is a matter of strict geography or culture and tradition. Thus he is aware of accents and behaviours which may be considered more Northern or Southern.
This book defies easy description, as it is an appreciation from a very personal position of an eccentric set of observations of animals, people, countryside, behaviour and many other things. It is enjoyable and stimulating reading, as he spots the delight of glow worms, spiritual and magical influences on areas, and the extremes of weather in a particular place. Not a travelogue, or a nature study book, or a self help book, but a loose collection of entertaining observations and conclusions by a very skilful writer.
Cox meets people who are shaped by where they live, in lonely places or in places with strong traditions. Like many books which supposedly concern the countryside, he writes meaningfully about the people who live alternative lives. He writes about the treatment of the animals he encounters, about eels from an eel catcher, his disgust at a man who hunts deer, the problems of tick infestations. He is a magpie writer, picking up various things as they catch his attention. He becomes obsessed by various things such as swimming in a particular cove, giving it a special name as he gets to know the tides and behaviours of the people he encounters on his days there in a specially warm season.
The mundane things of life entertain and bemuse him, such as his relationships with indoor plants and the cats he adopts. The first move detailed in the book reveals his obsession with the inland sea levels, thus the section is called “Island Hopping”, as he travels from the higher points of Somerset to the lower. He discovers the personalities of recent and present neighbours, speculating on their attitude to the land. Small pieces of history are dotted throughout the book, such as King Alfred’s ill fated cooking.
Cox also indulges in self depreciation, admitting to being a tall person who frequently bangs his head on all manner of things among other faults such as picking places to live without checking such things as access in bad weather and local supplies. He is fortunately supported by his largely unshockable and dedicated parents, even if he describes his father as always talking in capital letters, having a group of friends who he describes in exhausting detail, and having a fascination with dead creatures. Fortunately he can also call on them for supplies when he finds himself trapped in an isolated house, and conversation whenever he feels the need. Cox becomes fascinated on the definitions of the “North” of the country, debating whether it is a matter of strict geography or culture and tradition. Thus he is aware of accents and behaviours which may be considered more Northern or Southern.
This book defies easy description, as it is an appreciation from a very personal position of an eccentric set of observations of animals, people, countryside, behaviour and many other things. It is enjoyable and stimulating reading, as he spots the delight of glow worms, spiritual and magical influences on areas, and the extremes of weather in a particular place. Not a travelogue, or a nature study book, or a self help book, but a loose collection of entertaining observations and conclusions by a very skilful writer.
October 15, 2019
Thank you to Anne Cater for my invitation and to Unbound for my copy of the book in return for a fair and honest review.
This was my first Tom Cox read and it certainly will not be the last, what can I say. I have followed Tom on Twitter for a long time with his cat adventures and a friend of mine loves his books and always had them on order at the library we worked at.
I loved it the writing was gorgeous and as I began I felt like I was accompanying Tom on the walks in his new home in Somerset. I love the narrative that often accompanied the tours through the hills and the anecdotes like that John Steinbeck had once lived in Bruton amongst many others.
There were laugh out loud moments and also some of the walks felt very meditative and reflective.
I liked how to past and present were intertwined and I would recommend this book to any one who loves folklore, nature, travel and a really honest at times a very touching read.
It is about place and being present and I found it soothing and interesting and my favourite chapter is set in my home county of Devon fabulously named The Lion,The Witch and the Dress code and more specifically on the Dartington Estate near Totnes and Tom's time living there with his cats, make sure you have a tissue ready, I was in bits.
A really unique book with wonderful illustrations and photographs that I totally fell in love with.
This was my first Tom Cox read and it certainly will not be the last, what can I say. I have followed Tom on Twitter for a long time with his cat adventures and a friend of mine loves his books and always had them on order at the library we worked at.
I loved it the writing was gorgeous and as I began I felt like I was accompanying Tom on the walks in his new home in Somerset. I love the narrative that often accompanied the tours through the hills and the anecdotes like that John Steinbeck had once lived in Bruton amongst many others.
There were laugh out loud moments and also some of the walks felt very meditative and reflective.
I liked how to past and present were intertwined and I would recommend this book to any one who loves folklore, nature, travel and a really honest at times a very touching read.
It is about place and being present and I found it soothing and interesting and my favourite chapter is set in my home county of Devon fabulously named The Lion,The Witch and the Dress code and more specifically on the Dartington Estate near Totnes and Tom's time living there with his cats, make sure you have a tissue ready, I was in bits.
A really unique book with wonderful illustrations and photographs that I totally fell in love with.
April 19, 2022
Stumbled across this by accident and loved it. Gentle, humorous memoir/nature book/walking guide/reflective journal that both defies description and yet feels like a warm welcome home. If you the vagaries of the English countryside seen through a dry sense of humour this is worth a read.
‘Did you know that it took 33 years for Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s masterpiece, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, to be completed, and that Brunel died five years before its 1864 completion, although he had only narrowly escaped death much earlier in the bridge’s construction, in 1843, when he had to have a tracheotomy to remove a coin he’d swallowed while performing a magic trick for a child? Or that the first member of public to cross the bridge was 21 year-old Mary Griffiths, an impressive harelike runner who – after paying the one penny toll, and lifting up her skirts – raced and beat a young man to the other side, by several yards? I do, because I have visited the Clifton Suspension Bridge Museum three times in eighteen months. The reason I have visited so often, besides my slight obsession with the Avon Gorge, is that I don’t fully believe the bridge exists and feel the matter needs investigating. How did they make it meet in the middle? It all seems very fishy to me. ‘
‘Did you know that it took 33 years for Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s masterpiece, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, to be completed, and that Brunel died five years before its 1864 completion, although he had only narrowly escaped death much earlier in the bridge’s construction, in 1843, when he had to have a tracheotomy to remove a coin he’d swallowed while performing a magic trick for a child? Or that the first member of public to cross the bridge was 21 year-old Mary Griffiths, an impressive harelike runner who – after paying the one penny toll, and lifting up her skirts – raced and beat a young man to the other side, by several yards? I do, because I have visited the Clifton Suspension Bridge Museum three times in eighteen months. The reason I have visited so often, besides my slight obsession with the Avon Gorge, is that I don’t fully believe the bridge exists and feel the matter needs investigating. How did they make it meet in the middle? It all seems very fishy to me. ‘
August 28, 2020
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Very interesting traveling the beautiful countryside with Tom Cox. His style of writing brings the countryside to life.
December 28, 2021
A delightful book. It leapt about a bit but captured a strong sense of the places visited.
March 4, 2020
Thank you to Unbound for a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘Ring the Hill’ by Tom Cox in exchange for an honest review.
My thanks also to The Pigeonhole for hosting a group read where I was able to share my thoughts and exchange comments with other members as we read the daily chapters.
From Tom’s Unbound page: “A book about hills. Actually, that’s not true. It’s a book around hills: the magical names we have given hills over the centuries, the legends associated with them, the history hidden in their folds, the exhilarated feeling you get when you’ve walked at pace to the top of one on a crisp autumn day, the perspective they give us on the land, on life.”
I have read and enjoyed a number of Tom Cox’s memoirs, though mainly those that were focused on his adventures with his various cats. This was a little different in its focus though his cats also made appearances.
This was a delight to read. It’s as though you are sitting around a cosy fire being entertained by a friend who is a gifted storyteller. It’s very rich in imagery and infused with Tom Cox’s deep love of nature, the landscape and history. There is certainly a great deal of humour throughout and yes a few tears as well.
It also sparked memories of my own visits to the various locations especially those in Somerset and Devon.
Highly recommended.
My thanks also to The Pigeonhole for hosting a group read where I was able to share my thoughts and exchange comments with other members as we read the daily chapters.
From Tom’s Unbound page: “A book about hills. Actually, that’s not true. It’s a book around hills: the magical names we have given hills over the centuries, the legends associated with them, the history hidden in their folds, the exhilarated feeling you get when you’ve walked at pace to the top of one on a crisp autumn day, the perspective they give us on the land, on life.”
I have read and enjoyed a number of Tom Cox’s memoirs, though mainly those that were focused on his adventures with his various cats. This was a little different in its focus though his cats also made appearances.
This was a delight to read. It’s as though you are sitting around a cosy fire being entertained by a friend who is a gifted storyteller. It’s very rich in imagery and infused with Tom Cox’s deep love of nature, the landscape and history. There is certainly a great deal of humour throughout and yes a few tears as well.
It also sparked memories of my own visits to the various locations especially those in Somerset and Devon.
Highly recommended.
May 9, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. I think I might best describe it as being talked to by someone, a friend almost, about what they see and do from day to day, without easily getting tired of it. Someone who you sense shares your ideas about nature, politics, animals; some of the very important things in life. Someone with a sense of humour as well.
I really admire how the book meanders along in such a conversational way without annoying me. The author is a stranger to me, yet I found myself interested in his life, wondering about his larger background story, and whether I was going to read more about it. I had never read anything like it before.
It's also a beautiful book to look at: probably the most beautiful one I own.
I think the main reasons for my liking the book so much are the unusual setup, the fact that it's set in the UK, which has been my favourite country since I started having a favourite country (somewhere around the age of 12), the fresh and open style of writing, but also some of the practical philosophy in it: it made me think about life choices (including my own), and how they determine what you do in life, and also what you don't do; not something I had necessarily expected of the book, and therefore all the more reason to appreciate it.
I really admire how the book meanders along in such a conversational way without annoying me. The author is a stranger to me, yet I found myself interested in his life, wondering about his larger background story, and whether I was going to read more about it. I had never read anything like it before.
It's also a beautiful book to look at: probably the most beautiful one I own.
I think the main reasons for my liking the book so much are the unusual setup, the fact that it's set in the UK, which has been my favourite country since I started having a favourite country (somewhere around the age of 12), the fresh and open style of writing, but also some of the practical philosophy in it: it made me think about life choices (including my own), and how they determine what you do in life, and also what you don't do; not something I had necessarily expected of the book, and therefore all the more reason to appreciate it.
January 20, 2023
This is a difficult to describe book. Is it a collection of stories? No. Is it a collection of non-fiction essays? Definitely no. I have not come across another writer so far who quite writes like Tom. Every story (for lack of a better word) is a whirlwind of thoughts, meandering through the landscape, both in Tom's mind and the physical. Because he loves walks in the country. A lot. He loves nature. He loves hills. He loves writing about all of that, and it shows. His love for his subjects, whether it is hill walking, nature, hares, gardens, his cats, wild swimming is very infectious. I don't particularly like hills, but after reading this book I do feel like I need to go up to Glastonbury Tor, or wander around Dartmoor, or need to go swimming in not Jenny's Cove. Maybe I don't need to go live in in a haunted house in Eyem though for the winter. So if you love reading somebody who is obviously passionate about hills, hares, country walks, maps, trees, folk music, swimming, moors etc, this book is well recommended.
The only negative thing I can say about this book is that the printing of the paperback version doesn't do justice to Tom's lovely pictures. I have seen online how nice some of them are, and on paper it doesn't really work. The linoprints work a lot better.
The only negative thing I can say about this book is that the printing of the paperback version doesn't do justice to Tom's lovely pictures. I have seen online how nice some of them are, and on paper it doesn't really work. The linoprints work a lot better.
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