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On the Marshes: A Journey into England's waterlands
What would happen if you decided to live simply within your means in a caravan or a cabin in the woods?
It’s a question for our times. When Carol Donaldson walked across the marshlands of north Kent, travelling from Gravesend to Whitstable, she was still coming to terms with being evicted from her home and the break-up of a long-term relationship. Before then she had chosen a simple existence, living in a caravan underneath a willow tree while she worked on a RSPB nature reserve surveying wetland wildlife. Despite the frozen pipes and electricity that blew out in every storm, it was a way of life she came to love.
What begins as a walk away from her troubled past becomes a journey of self-discovery, a pilgrimage in search of people who have chosen to live on the edge of England in this lonely, beautiful waterland. She meets plot-holders, houseboat owners and cabin dwellers who are all drawn to the watery margins by an urge to escape the expectations, comforts and costs of twenty-first-century life.
On The Marshes brings us an original voice that weaves Donaldson’s personal story of alienation and yearning with others who have made the north Kent marshes their home. She explores the conflicts between marsh-dwellers and corporate Britain, between private ownership and conservation, exploring the different ways we choose to live on this tribally divided island.
It’s a question for our times. When Carol Donaldson walked across the marshlands of north Kent, travelling from Gravesend to Whitstable, she was still coming to terms with being evicted from her home and the break-up of a long-term relationship. Before then she had chosen a simple existence, living in a caravan underneath a willow tree while she worked on a RSPB nature reserve surveying wetland wildlife. Despite the frozen pipes and electricity that blew out in every storm, it was a way of life she came to love.
What begins as a walk away from her troubled past becomes a journey of self-discovery, a pilgrimage in search of people who have chosen to live on the edge of England in this lonely, beautiful waterland. She meets plot-holders, houseboat owners and cabin dwellers who are all drawn to the watery margins by an urge to escape the expectations, comforts and costs of twenty-first-century life.
On The Marshes brings us an original voice that weaves Donaldson’s personal story of alienation and yearning with others who have made the north Kent marshes their home. She explores the conflicts between marsh-dwellers and corporate Britain, between private ownership and conservation, exploring the different ways we choose to live on this tribally divided island.
300 pages, Paperback
Published December 11, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 6, 2017
The marshland of the north Kent coast has long been recognised as one of the most important natural wetlands in Northern Europe and it is thought to host around 300,00 migrant birds as they travel from Africa to the Arctic, the marshes are also a natural flood protection for London. There are many positives to modern living, warm and dry homes, running water, electricity and fast internet. However, some choose a simpler life, and Carol Donaldson was one of those. Working for the RSPB on the Thames Estuary she lived in a caravan beneath a willow. It could be tough at times, cold winters froze the pipes, storms would frequently knock out the electricity, but within a few feet of the door, she was immersed in the local landscape. This uncomplicated life was about to come to an abrupt end; her relationship with her partner Connor was unravelling and the powers that be decide that she cannot live in her caravan anymore. She is about to be evicted.
The wild beauty of the marshes has drawn many who wish to live on the fringes of society or escape from the claustrophobia of London. It is a classic edgeland landscape that has the remains of industry, World War Two relics and homes in amongst the creeks and marshlands. It is across this landscape that Donaldson begins to travel, partly to escape her painful memories, partly to find others who have made this their home but also to reacquaint herself with the seascape. It is a place that still faces battles though; having stopped the airport being built, the people who have come here for the tranquility of being near water will face increased pressure from corporate and government interests.
Weaving together a personal story of an author seeking comfort from the natural world is a popular genre these days which has its roots in H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald. Donaldson’s writing is gentle and fluent, taking as much care over the describing the bleak landscape as she travels on foot and by boat, as she does when opening up about her past and the new direction that she wants to head. Her encounters with friends and strangers who live all over the region from Gravesend to Whitstable about the way they make their livelihoods make for equally stimulating reading. It was also interesting to learn about a landscape in the UK that I knew almost nothing about, in particular about the long history that has happened there. It has a stunning cover too, another great book from Little Toller.
The wild beauty of the marshes has drawn many who wish to live on the fringes of society or escape from the claustrophobia of London. It is a classic edgeland landscape that has the remains of industry, World War Two relics and homes in amongst the creeks and marshlands. It is across this landscape that Donaldson begins to travel, partly to escape her painful memories, partly to find others who have made this their home but also to reacquaint herself with the seascape. It is a place that still faces battles though; having stopped the airport being built, the people who have come here for the tranquility of being near water will face increased pressure from corporate and government interests.
Weaving together a personal story of an author seeking comfort from the natural world is a popular genre these days which has its roots in H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald. Donaldson’s writing is gentle and fluent, taking as much care over the describing the bleak landscape as she travels on foot and by boat, as she does when opening up about her past and the new direction that she wants to head. Her encounters with friends and strangers who live all over the region from Gravesend to Whitstable about the way they make their livelihoods make for equally stimulating reading. It was also interesting to learn about a landscape in the UK that I knew almost nothing about, in particular about the long history that has happened there. It has a stunning cover too, another great book from Little Toller.
January 14, 2025
Well I really enjoyed this.
The author's passion for the marshes shines through at every turn, as she describes the wildlife, the vulnerability of species and the diversity of bio-organisms. She explores the fine balance between attracting and maintaining public interest in order to "save the marshes" and the potential for misuse of the land through over-visitation/abuse of the landscape from people wanting to camp/light fires/leisurely use the waterways. Such fragile ecosystems need people to be invested in their future whilst not being degraded away by those same people wanting to repeatedly exploit them.
This difficult discussion is set within the author's reflection on her time spent working for the RSPB, living on site in a caravan and her slowly eroding relationship with her long term partner. There is the right pitch of the personal and emotional versus practical and informative.
Highly recommended if you enjoy marshes and their varied wildlife.
*January 2025 re-read : remains a great book on the marshes with Donaldson really evoking a sense of place and atmosphere. I picked up more this time an overshare regarding the author's failing relationship with her partner; she seemed to be hanging on to that too much and it got in the way slightly, but it still remains a 4 star read for me.
The author's passion for the marshes shines through at every turn, as she describes the wildlife, the vulnerability of species and the diversity of bio-organisms. She explores the fine balance between attracting and maintaining public interest in order to "save the marshes" and the potential for misuse of the land through over-visitation/abuse of the landscape from people wanting to camp/light fires/leisurely use the waterways. Such fragile ecosystems need people to be invested in their future whilst not being degraded away by those same people wanting to repeatedly exploit them.
This difficult discussion is set within the author's reflection on her time spent working for the RSPB, living on site in a caravan and her slowly eroding relationship with her long term partner. There is the right pitch of the personal and emotional versus practical and informative.
Highly recommended if you enjoy marshes and their varied wildlife.
*January 2025 re-read : remains a great book on the marshes with Donaldson really evoking a sense of place and atmosphere. I picked up more this time an overshare regarding the author's failing relationship with her partner; she seemed to be hanging on to that too much and it got in the way slightly, but it still remains a 4 star read for me.
June 2, 2017
My relationship with Kent has been a troubled one over the years. I remember deciding on a railway excursion in the mid 1990s, somewhere on the interminably dull straight line between Tonbridge and Ashford on some dirty old slam-door stock, that I was convinced I didn't like Kent at all. However, over the years as I've explored more I've begun to truly appreciate the diversity of Kent. The sheer size of the county, taking in the broad sweep of land from the English Channel to the Thames Estuary, means that my early churlish observations were of course utterly invalid when applied more widely. In particular, the stretch of coast from the Medway to the North Sea has become something of a favourite spot over the years. Times change, people change - and contrary to our hopes and wishes, places often change too. That is, in a sense, the abiding truth captured in Carol Donaldson's 'On The Marshes'.
At face value, Donaldson's book uses a long, fractured walk along the sometimes impressively bleak marshes of North Kent as an opportunity to unravel and regroup after a serious of challenging life events. Donaldson's early career, living in a caravan and cataloguing the bird population of the marshes equips her beautifully to describe the scenery and its inhabitants. Her most powerful prose is often deployed in describing the expanses of absence which are so impressive in person but so hard to conjure in words. Her love for, and connection with these places is evident in every well-chosen word. This solvitur ambulando trope is of course not entirely new, but it has so often been the preserve of men - and there are points where Donaldson is curling up in her makeshift camp on an island or sleeping in an unlocked country church where the walk - and indeed the narrative - touches on vulnerability and fear. Happily, the greatest threat to Donaldson on her walk is the daddy long-legs, her pathological fear of which rather calls into question the wisdom of devoting her early career to working for the RSPB on the marshes!
As the walk develops, more of the tale unwinds - a relationship parts ways achingly slowly: he is pulled towards the everyday, middle-class world of a career, a house, boxed-sets and takeaways while she feels rooted in the caravan on the marshes. He strays, the Thames a literal and figurative divide, while she struggles to keep her home - finally losing to the machinery of the planning process. Cut loose from people and place Donaldson retraces her steps through the marshes - and this journey becomes as much about the people who have opted out of the norm and into an unorthodox life along the muddy creeks as it is about her own experiences. Along the way, what could be an excruciating tale of self-discovery or a hymn to alternative lifestyles actually begins to grapple with a dichotomy echoed in the management of the marshes: do we want to preserve things forever as they are, unknown and untroubled, or do we want to engage with the world?
At times, there is an oversimplification in the thinking - that those who live in houseboats or tiny plotland cottages are the colourful truth while the rest of the world is a grey and unenlightened fiction - but this is generally balanced by Donaldson's self-searching and often self-deprecating rumination after meeting the cast of characters. She shows utter respect for them, and warmth and appreciation for their lifestyles and choices - but ultimately can't commit to their complete fracture from the wider world. For most of us, I suspect that this would feel the same way - and while that boat or cottage might seem utterly compelling at times of turmoil or strife, it doesn't salve the underlying issues we face. As Donaldson settles on this conclusion herself, she turns her thinking to the land which supports these unofficial communities and the politics of its management. I suspect she and I wouldn't entirely agree on this either - but her case is well-made and she writes from the rare perspective among preservationists of someone who has lived and worked on the land which she writes about.
'On The Marshes' is a strange book which sounds simple on its surface, but surprisingly challenged my thinking as I reflected on reading it. At times I was convinced I didn't like it and disagreed entirely with Donaldson's worldview and political standpoints, but by the close I was rooting for her to find her path and to write more about the landscape she knows so well. What was entirely refreshing in terms of topographical writing, was to read from the female viewpoint - to focus for a refreshing change of acceptance and belonging rather than alienation.
At face value, Donaldson's book uses a long, fractured walk along the sometimes impressively bleak marshes of North Kent as an opportunity to unravel and regroup after a serious of challenging life events. Donaldson's early career, living in a caravan and cataloguing the bird population of the marshes equips her beautifully to describe the scenery and its inhabitants. Her most powerful prose is often deployed in describing the expanses of absence which are so impressive in person but so hard to conjure in words. Her love for, and connection with these places is evident in every well-chosen word. This solvitur ambulando trope is of course not entirely new, but it has so often been the preserve of men - and there are points where Donaldson is curling up in her makeshift camp on an island or sleeping in an unlocked country church where the walk - and indeed the narrative - touches on vulnerability and fear. Happily, the greatest threat to Donaldson on her walk is the daddy long-legs, her pathological fear of which rather calls into question the wisdom of devoting her early career to working for the RSPB on the marshes!
As the walk develops, more of the tale unwinds - a relationship parts ways achingly slowly: he is pulled towards the everyday, middle-class world of a career, a house, boxed-sets and takeaways while she feels rooted in the caravan on the marshes. He strays, the Thames a literal and figurative divide, while she struggles to keep her home - finally losing to the machinery of the planning process. Cut loose from people and place Donaldson retraces her steps through the marshes - and this journey becomes as much about the people who have opted out of the norm and into an unorthodox life along the muddy creeks as it is about her own experiences. Along the way, what could be an excruciating tale of self-discovery or a hymn to alternative lifestyles actually begins to grapple with a dichotomy echoed in the management of the marshes: do we want to preserve things forever as they are, unknown and untroubled, or do we want to engage with the world?
At times, there is an oversimplification in the thinking - that those who live in houseboats or tiny plotland cottages are the colourful truth while the rest of the world is a grey and unenlightened fiction - but this is generally balanced by Donaldson's self-searching and often self-deprecating rumination after meeting the cast of characters. She shows utter respect for them, and warmth and appreciation for their lifestyles and choices - but ultimately can't commit to their complete fracture from the wider world. For most of us, I suspect that this would feel the same way - and while that boat or cottage might seem utterly compelling at times of turmoil or strife, it doesn't salve the underlying issues we face. As Donaldson settles on this conclusion herself, she turns her thinking to the land which supports these unofficial communities and the politics of its management. I suspect she and I wouldn't entirely agree on this either - but her case is well-made and she writes from the rare perspective among preservationists of someone who has lived and worked on the land which she writes about.
'On The Marshes' is a strange book which sounds simple on its surface, but surprisingly challenged my thinking as I reflected on reading it. At times I was convinced I didn't like it and disagreed entirely with Donaldson's worldview and political standpoints, but by the close I was rooting for her to find her path and to write more about the landscape she knows so well. What was entirely refreshing in terms of topographical writing, was to read from the female viewpoint - to focus for a refreshing change of acceptance and belonging rather than alienation.
November 17, 2020
I bought this at a literary festival in Faversham. Fascinating read but I wanted more about the wildlife on the marshes here and a bit less about Carol's love life.
April 19, 2017
A superb blending of biography and nature writing which follows the author on a series of walks through the North Kent marshes. Looking at the landscape, the wildlife, and also the people who chose to make these edgelands their home. Elegantly crafted and beautifully written this is an important book that challenges the reader to consider their impact upon the land, their role in the destruction in our natural world and asks them how they could live a life in nature not one apart from it. Reading about the author's own experiences and those of others living 'alternative' lifestyles I've come away from this book thinking about how I can make some changes for the benefit of my world but also for my own wellbeing. This is also a book that has introduced me to a part of Britain I wasn't really aware of and has made me long to pay it a visit but also to travel through my own part of the world with the same attention to detail as the author. Elegant, fascinating, and really, really worth a read.
December 23, 2024
Loved this book!
Carol's voice is very authentic and honest and I like her sense of humour. I also loved reading about all the places she visited, many of which I've also walked or cycled through. The marshes can be a bleak place, but fascinating in their history and full of wildlife.
The nature writing is beautiful and I liked all the personal stuff too - again, very honest and self reflective. She and Connor (presumably not his real name, I wonder what he thought of this book!) clearly should have split up long before - but I felt her sadness at them not wanting the same things in life. She made the right decision and I hope she is happier now.
Enjoyed all the thoughts on alternative ways of living and the alienation from 21st century life, which I empathise with. There are ways to exist in society but be outside it at the same time. It's hard though, especially when you have children.
I'll definitely be reading Carol's new book, The Volunteers, at some point soon.
Carol's voice is very authentic and honest and I like her sense of humour. I also loved reading about all the places she visited, many of which I've also walked or cycled through. The marshes can be a bleak place, but fascinating in their history and full of wildlife.
The nature writing is beautiful and I liked all the personal stuff too - again, very honest and self reflective. She and Connor (presumably not his real name, I wonder what he thought of this book!) clearly should have split up long before - but I felt her sadness at them not wanting the same things in life. She made the right decision and I hope she is happier now.
Enjoyed all the thoughts on alternative ways of living and the alienation from 21st century life, which I empathise with. There are ways to exist in society but be outside it at the same time. It's hard though, especially when you have children.
I'll definitely be reading Carol's new book, The Volunteers, at some point soon.
March 11, 2019
Over the last year I have become a fan of early 20th century topography books. I am lucky that my local library allows me to take out these 100-year-old books, so I can sit there immersing myself in vintage walks and travels. The poetic language they use and little stories and anecdotes dotted through have been inspiring in my recent textile work. Someone close to me, who had spotted what I had been reading, bought me a copy of On the Marshes as a birthday present, and possibly (I think) to prompt me to read some more contemporary books on walking and nature. I love books as gifts as I find I can get stuck in a rut of reading the same style of books, so presents mean that I try something new.
The book is about the Kent marshes, somewhere the author knows well through her environmental work. It brings together anecdotes about walking, details about ecology, and reflections on the author's past. On the walks, the author talks about who lives there, how then communities have and are changing and what could happen in the future. It is well written, and I loved the feel that the author was not looking down or peering in, but was part of the area. I have never visited this part of Kent but while reading the book I did have a little search online to look at some of the places - the area is a mix of industry and nature, the two opposing forces if you like.
As a lifelong city dweller this book really resounded with me. Is there a better way to live where we are not working harder and faster to get to somewhere that is always just out of reach, and is there a different life out there for those of us daring enough? It was well written, easy to read and I am slightly in awe of the authors ability to go walking on her own, even sleeping in the car overnight if needed. A sign of a good book is late nights, and there were a few where I stayed up and kept telling myself just one more page, one more page…
The book is about the Kent marshes, somewhere the author knows well through her environmental work. It brings together anecdotes about walking, details about ecology, and reflections on the author's past. On the walks, the author talks about who lives there, how then communities have and are changing and what could happen in the future. It is well written, and I loved the feel that the author was not looking down or peering in, but was part of the area. I have never visited this part of Kent but while reading the book I did have a little search online to look at some of the places - the area is a mix of industry and nature, the two opposing forces if you like.
As a lifelong city dweller this book really resounded with me. Is there a better way to live where we are not working harder and faster to get to somewhere that is always just out of reach, and is there a different life out there for those of us daring enough? It was well written, easy to read and I am slightly in awe of the authors ability to go walking on her own, even sleeping in the car overnight if needed. A sign of a good book is late nights, and there were a few where I stayed up and kept telling myself just one more page, one more page…
April 30, 2020
An unexpected pleasure, it marries the nature writing and personal history well. I enjoyed the inclusive pleasure taken in a landscape which includes post-industrial detritus as well as birds and flowers. Donaldson takes a mature view of the paradox that it is always 'others' who spoil the landscape we're in. I also learned a lot about the changing world of nature conservation, including the sad truth that opportunities she had probably do not exist for someone of her background now. It is also very well-written.
June 9, 2020
It’s strange I have lived in Kent since 1990 and have been aware of some of the locations described in this book. One feels privileged to accompany the author on this journey. A quirky book, and I hope there might be a sequel.
November 7, 2017
Absolutely brilliant. The author retraces her life via locations on the Thames Estuary...meeting a poose of people who've chosen to live off grid in a variety of ways. Nomadland meets The Outrun.
August 1, 2023
A walking autobiography of the Kent Marshes with an engaging companion.
Carol Donaldson's 'On the Marshes' is both about the Kent Marshes but also about coming to terms with where she is in her life.
Carol Donaldson's book follows her year-long walk along the Medway River where she meets and tells the stories of people who have defied conventions and live on the edges of the river, (there were breaks in between sections, she didn't walk it all at once,) as she comes to terms with being evicted from a home she loved and a man she thought she'd always be with.
She's an engaging companion. Donaldson tells the stories of an alternative community of plotholders, cabin-dwellers and houseboat owners; as she researches and discovers forgotten places along the river. That she loves this rugged, watery land and the Nature that inhabits it is very apparent.
Donaldson feels strongly that we have to protect these magical edgeland spaces for the important habitat they are, and resource for human wellbeing. The creeping encroachment of urbanisation, as councils and government plan to build houses on the marshes, (or airports), and drain the water, is a constant threat to this beautiful, unspoiled environment she loves.
'A hundred oystercatchers circled the crystalline bay, their bodies reflected in the mirror-calm water. Clouded yellow butterflies floated along the sea wall. The glasswort threw up fiery tongues from the saltmarsh. Skeins of geese flew low across the surface. It was a world of reflections and sparkle. It was like a dream, translucent, blurred, too beautiful to exist.’
A theme that comes through strongly is that there is a somehow contradictory desire for people to be able to connect with Nature, but when people are allowed free access, how they can often do harm - leaving behind rubbish, disturbing birds and animals. Carol Donaldson gives an example of how when she was camping on an island in the Medway, a group of boisterous men on hovercrafts joined her and interrupted the peace that she'd hoped to enjoy.
In brief: Nature, walking and a story of a doomed love against the marshes where Magwitch met Pip.
Carol Donaldson's 'On the Marshes' is both about the Kent Marshes but also about coming to terms with where she is in her life.
Carol Donaldson's book follows her year-long walk along the Medway River where she meets and tells the stories of people who have defied conventions and live on the edges of the river, (there were breaks in between sections, she didn't walk it all at once,) as she comes to terms with being evicted from a home she loved and a man she thought she'd always be with.
She's an engaging companion. Donaldson tells the stories of an alternative community of plotholders, cabin-dwellers and houseboat owners; as she researches and discovers forgotten places along the river. That she loves this rugged, watery land and the Nature that inhabits it is very apparent.
Donaldson feels strongly that we have to protect these magical edgeland spaces for the important habitat they are, and resource for human wellbeing. The creeping encroachment of urbanisation, as councils and government plan to build houses on the marshes, (or airports), and drain the water, is a constant threat to this beautiful, unspoiled environment she loves.
'A hundred oystercatchers circled the crystalline bay, their bodies reflected in the mirror-calm water. Clouded yellow butterflies floated along the sea wall. The glasswort threw up fiery tongues from the saltmarsh. Skeins of geese flew low across the surface. It was a world of reflections and sparkle. It was like a dream, translucent, blurred, too beautiful to exist.’
A theme that comes through strongly is that there is a somehow contradictory desire for people to be able to connect with Nature, but when people are allowed free access, how they can often do harm - leaving behind rubbish, disturbing birds and animals. Carol Donaldson gives an example of how when she was camping on an island in the Medway, a group of boisterous men on hovercrafts joined her and interrupted the peace that she'd hoped to enjoy.
In brief: Nature, walking and a story of a doomed love against the marshes where Magwitch met Pip.
May 26, 2025
I was surprised how much I liked this. Some books of this kind, which mix exploration of the natural world with exploration of personal histories, can be very self indulgent. But here, the balance felt about right. I was also interested because, as part of a series of long-distance trails done with my sister over the years, we finished the Thames Path at the Thames Barrier, and decided to miss out most of which this book covers, and to start our journey on the England Coastal Path at Faversham. This was on the basis that 3 days walking through marshland would be dull. Well, to be fair, it might have been for us, without the author's knowledge and backstory. Recommended.
June 28, 2023
An elegiac journey into a simpler lifestyle from a broken relationship. Soul searching, comparisons between modern life and life before "trickle down". Criticism of the power of the wealthy and those who care nothing for future generations and for whom only the bottom line is of any importance.
August 10, 2017
3.5 / 5
January 1, 2023
An inner journey well balanced with the outer. I do hope to read more from Carol in the future as this was enjoyable, relatable and I learned much about an area I am personally familiar with.
February 2, 2025
Quite enjoyed it, but she goes on a bit in random directions - in her writing, not her walking!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews