A Spotter’s Guide to Countryside Mysteries

by John Wright

Have you ever looked at bare trees and wondered about the masses of twigs that look like abandoned nests? Seen fuzzy red balls on roses? A stranded pond on a hilltop? Or even considered the shaded paths we walk along?

One of Britain's best-known naturalists, John Wright, describes and explores fifty of the natural (and unnatural) puzzles of the countryside that might confound the ever-curious. He reveals the histories and practicalities of those that are human-made and the astounding and intricate lives of the natural wonders around us. From the enormous to the truly tiny he illuminates the oddities that pepper our countryside and reveals the many pleasures of spotting and understanding them. Informative, entertaining, and beautifully illustrated, this is for anyone who has ever gone outside and wondered.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Natural History, Animals, Reference, Science

233 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 14, 2021

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. ^1

John Wright is the author of the River Cottage Handbooks Mushrooms, Edible Seashore, Hedgerow and Booze and also The Naming of the Shrew, a book which explores the infuriating but fascinating topic of how and why plants, animals and fungi earn their Latin names. As well as writing for national publications, he often appears on the River Cottage series for Channel 4. He gives lectures on natural history and every year he takes around fifty 'forays', many at River Cottage HQ, showing people how to collect food - plants from the hedgerow, seaweeds and shellfish from the shore and mushrooms from pasture and wood. Over a period of nearly twenty-five years he has taken around six hundred such forays. Fungi are his greatest passion and he has thirty-five years' experience in studying them.

John Wright is a member of the British Mycological Society and a Fellow of the Linnaean Society.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have ever been out for a walk in the countryside and wonder what those lumps and bumps in the field are, or curious as to what that pile of sticks is in a tree, then A Spotter’s Guide to Countryside Mysteries is a good a place as any on your journey of discovery.

Split into three sections, the Field, The Wood and the Seashore, Wright leads us on a journey of discovery through the natural and man-made worlds. If you want to know the difference between a tussock, a piddock and a pollard, or what animal actually makes cuckoo spit or where and when you would find hair ice or if cramp balls are as painful as it sounds…

The book is packed full of information about the features that Wright has chosen to include in the book, along with pictures of typical examples to help you find them when you are out and about. I have come across some of the features that he mentions, such as holloways, pollards and water meadows. There were lots of subjects that I hadn’t come across, tussocks, pillow mounds, spalted wood and the honeycomb worm.

I really liked this book. Wright takes what you would think is a complex subject matter and makes it simple to understand and more importantly easy to spot the things that he talks about in this book. He has a way with words, making this an easy and entertaining read with the occasional part that made me chuckle. If you want to find out more about the lumps and bumps in the countryside around you when you are walking then this is a good place to start.

[Erik B.K.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly informative and funny too, but not always interesting. As others have pointed out, a lot of chapters are on fungi. And I wish Wright wouldn't have omitted ancient Celtic/Briton/Roman structures and monuments, even though I get his reasoning for this. I really love the pictures though: photographs Wright shot himself. It shows his love for this subject.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a wealth of lesser know and I guess lost information on how out country side looks the way it is and how in some cases we formed it (the book itself is separated in to field, woodland and sea shore.

The book does go in to a lot of details - it shows the level of research that was put in to it and it goes without saying I learnt a lot reading it. It does get a little heavy at times but at others it comes alive especially when it talks about aspects I can actually see in the village I grew up in.

This is one of those books you just want to go out and explore after reading although sadly a lot of what is talked about is either hidden lost or over looked - so really at the end of this book it felt like it was as much a memorial to a bygone era as we it was a spotters guide

[Sophy H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I've come as far as I can with this one.

Whilst John Wright's book has some absolutely stunning colour photographs and looks at interesting things like cuckoo spit (!), the writing style is a little dry and there seems to be some repetition and over similarity between some subjects (lots of different humps, bumps and mounds in the ground!)

Admittedly I speed read some sections as they became a little laborious.

Ultimately, I was glad to be finished.

I think this is the type of book that is better as a quick library loan to skim through at leisure, but not a keeper for the shelves at home.

[Harry Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book about those things you see on walks that make you wonder. It's evident he's a mycology specialist because the sections about various fungi do go on a bit long, and into too much detail, but overall its very interesting and informative with a mix of natural, and human history involved:)

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read that will fill in some missing knowledge gaps for the most experienced walker and spotter. Why ramble blind when it is possible to see beyond the mystery of the world we inhibit. Or at least some of it.

[Ivan Monckton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great idea that does’t work too well in practice…The ‘mysteries’ are dealt with in 3 sections of the book concerning; The Field, The Wood and The seashore. Each section has a selection of ‘mysteries’, man-made and natural. Unfortunately, the author’s obvious enthusiasm for fungi gets the better of him and they make up the largest group of ‘mysteries’. They may well be interesting, but hardly mysterious (stinkhorns is an example). The sections are also completely unbalanced, which I suppose is inevitable, but given there are only 4 man made listings for woodland as opposed to 19 natural, one would’ve thought the author might have included saw-pits and charcoal making remains.
Having said all that, the author has a jolly, easy writing style that makes for a pleasant read.

[Adrian Mabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant easy read. I found the author’s choice of what to include was quite unbalanced and clearly driven by his particular interests and where he lives - Dorset. The choice of mysteries is clearly subjective. I’m not sure it is that much use as a reference book so I think my copy is probably destined for the charity shop.

[Beth N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever been out on a walk in the countryside and seen a weird lump in a field or a discolouration on a leaf and wondered, what is that?

If so, this is the book for you. In a series of dedicated chapters neatly organised into field, woodland and seashore, famed nature writer John Wright elucidates one mystery after another. His evident enthusiasm and gentle humour make what could be a very dry book instead charming and engaging. Complicated biological concepts are explained in detail that simplifies without condescending, Wright himself acknowledging that he is no expert (though in some things he clearly is).

This is the sort of book that both inspires you to get outside and encourages you to come back to it when you can't quite remember that one detail. Foreign friends be aware the subject matter is almost exclusively UK-based. Nevertheless, it is well worth a read both as a reference guide and as a non-fic with which to pass some peaceful afternoons.

[Jack Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is funny, charming and quite a pleasant read, but the title is slightly misleading. It’s not really a comprehensive guide of interesting things. instead, you should treat this like a walk through the countryside with a very experienced mycologist, who just happens to know a lot about other things he comes across on the way.

How interested you are in this depends on how much you enjoy his writing style - it’s good! - and how much you want to read about fungus and antiquated farming methods.

3.5/5

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A humorous and easy-to-read summary of many things encountered in the British countryside. I can’t say that I had personally wondered before about most of the mysteries that are explained but that doesn’t diminish the value in learning about them and indeed I’ll be keeping an eye out for many of the phenomena and species John Wright covers. Well worth reading for anybody remotely interested in British naturalism.

[Hannah McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. The dry wit of the author is exactly what I look for in a book, and luckily I like mushrooms so it's a 5/5 from me. As others have mentioned, I wish the author didn't omit celtic/roman etc structure, but I can hope for a sequel! perfect sort of light reading book.

[Chris B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but ponderous

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating glimpse into some of the things you might spot in the British countryside. :)

[Tolkien InMySleep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite a "warts and all" answer to those "what IS that ?" questions you have when you're out walking in the UK ... more of a "fungi, bacteria, parasitoid and all" guide !

[John Calver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book , perhaps less focus on fungus would be good, but I understand this is the author’s area of expertise

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good early on but in the latter half got too technical

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - some interesting bits and some decidedly less interesting bits, fun to take on a walk though

[Liberty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming.
The closest I have yet found to my desired book of Parasites I Might Encounter on a Stroll.

[Chris O'Rawe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A modern day Jack Hardgreaves.