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The Circling Sky: On Nature and Belonging in an Ancient Forest
From a 2018 Wainwright Prize shortlisted author , THE CIRCLING SKY is part childhood memoir , blended with exquisite nature observation , and the story of one man's journey over a year to one of the UK's key natural habitats, the New Forest of Hampshire
In the form of several journeys, beginning in January 2019, Neil Ansell returns for solitary walks to the New Forest in Hampshire , close to where he was born. With beautiful sightings and observations of birds, trees, butterflies, insects and landscape , this is also a reflective memoir on childhood , on the history of one of the most ancient and important natural habitats in the United Kingdom , and on the Gypsies who lived there for centuries - and were subsequently expelled to neighbouring cities. It is also part polemic on our collective and individual responsibility for the land and world in which we live, and how we care for it .
'Neil Ansell is a wonderful guide ... this is a delight of nature writing ' Choice Magazine
In the form of several journeys, beginning in January 2019, Neil Ansell returns for solitary walks to the New Forest in Hampshire , close to where he was born. With beautiful sightings and observations of birds, trees, butterflies, insects and landscape , this is also a reflective memoir on childhood , on the history of one of the most ancient and important natural habitats in the United Kingdom , and on the Gypsies who lived there for centuries - and were subsequently expelled to neighbouring cities. It is also part polemic on our collective and individual responsibility for the land and world in which we live, and how we care for it .
'Neil Ansell is a wonderful guide ... this is a delight of nature writing ' Choice Magazine
- GenresNonfictionNatureMemoir
352 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2021
14 people are currently reading
468 people want to read
About the author
Neil Ansell
6 books46 followersNeil Ansell is an award-winning freelance journalist and writer. He spent seven years with the BBC as a community affairs specialist, working predominantly in television but also in radio, and working in both news and current affairs as researcher, assistant producer and producer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
May 19, 2021
There are parts of the New Forest that have not changed in the past thousand years since the land was seized by the new monarch, William the Conqueror, nee Bastard and he made is one of his new hutting forests. It is not heavily wooded, rather it is a delightful mix of woodlands, heathlands and other habitats. Bar the few roads that cross it and small towns there has been very little development on the landscape, wildlife that is rare in other parts of the south can often be found here.
It is a place that Neil Ansell has known since childhood. He grew up in Portsmouth fairly close to the area and would spend days there watching all sorts of wildlife and immersing himself in the natural world. This is a trip back through his own memories of childhood and a self pilgrimage to find the place that had such a long-lasting impact on the direction of his life.
He begins in January on the heath at Shatterford; it is bitter and a strong wind isn’t helping either. The sun glinting off the ice does add a certain magic. Just pausing long enough to look at the fractal patterns on the pond is enough to bring the birds out from where they had been hiding as he had walked up, stonechats and then in the sky, a raven. He follows the trail onward and pauses again to sit on a fallen branch. He takes in what is around and then sees a bird perched on top of a dead birch, a shrike.
It is wiser to go out with my eyes wide open, to fully appreciate what is actually there, rather than ending up regretting what is absent.
He returns each month to the forest just to be there really. Some visits have a specific aim; to find a place that was once a memory, but mostly he is there just to walk aimlessly and see where it leads him. By visiting regularly, he gets a better sense of the way that the seasons fade into each other. There are moments though where you sense that another pivot has been reached, the return of a particular migrant, the first flower from a plant that wasn’t there the last time he passes and the first butterflies floating about.
The journey there takes him past where he grew up and each time the train stops at Cosham, he has a nervous feeling as the memories pour back. He didn’t have an unhappy childhood, but the events at the time set in motion the direction of his life and have determined where he ended up now. With this, he draws in a tangle of other threads about the natural world, travellers and strong thoughts on who now owns the land of our country.
The goal is not to walk through a landscape, but to walk into it. The point of a walk is not to reach the end but to reach the middle. To find the centre of things, and soak it all in.
As with his other books this is a joy to read. It is more reflective than his other books, he is recounting past memories of his childhood trips there and tries to find the places that made such a distinct impression on him in his formative years. It is more political than his other books, I think that he has reached a point where he sees birds and animals disappearing that he used to see a few decades ago and rightly feels that we are doing bugger all about it. I do like to that that he is not a specialist in any particular field, rather he is there to absorb the rhythms of the natural world on his wanders through the forest. His steady hearing loss means that the sounds of some birds and the whisper of the wind through the trees are lost to him forever, but this has sharpened his observational skills. It is another wonderful book from Ansell and I can highly recommend it.
It is a place that Neil Ansell has known since childhood. He grew up in Portsmouth fairly close to the area and would spend days there watching all sorts of wildlife and immersing himself in the natural world. This is a trip back through his own memories of childhood and a self pilgrimage to find the place that had such a long-lasting impact on the direction of his life.
He begins in January on the heath at Shatterford; it is bitter and a strong wind isn’t helping either. The sun glinting off the ice does add a certain magic. Just pausing long enough to look at the fractal patterns on the pond is enough to bring the birds out from where they had been hiding as he had walked up, stonechats and then in the sky, a raven. He follows the trail onward and pauses again to sit on a fallen branch. He takes in what is around and then sees a bird perched on top of a dead birch, a shrike.
It is wiser to go out with my eyes wide open, to fully appreciate what is actually there, rather than ending up regretting what is absent.
He returns each month to the forest just to be there really. Some visits have a specific aim; to find a place that was once a memory, but mostly he is there just to walk aimlessly and see where it leads him. By visiting regularly, he gets a better sense of the way that the seasons fade into each other. There are moments though where you sense that another pivot has been reached, the return of a particular migrant, the first flower from a plant that wasn’t there the last time he passes and the first butterflies floating about.
The journey there takes him past where he grew up and each time the train stops at Cosham, he has a nervous feeling as the memories pour back. He didn’t have an unhappy childhood, but the events at the time set in motion the direction of his life and have determined where he ended up now. With this, he draws in a tangle of other threads about the natural world, travellers and strong thoughts on who now owns the land of our country.
The goal is not to walk through a landscape, but to walk into it. The point of a walk is not to reach the end but to reach the middle. To find the centre of things, and soak it all in.
As with his other books this is a joy to read. It is more reflective than his other books, he is recounting past memories of his childhood trips there and tries to find the places that made such a distinct impression on him in his formative years. It is more political than his other books, I think that he has reached a point where he sees birds and animals disappearing that he used to see a few decades ago and rightly feels that we are doing bugger all about it. I do like to that that he is not a specialist in any particular field, rather he is there to absorb the rhythms of the natural world on his wanders through the forest. His steady hearing loss means that the sounds of some birds and the whisper of the wind through the trees are lost to him forever, but this has sharpened his observational skills. It is another wonderful book from Ansell and I can highly recommend it.
April 30, 2021
(4.5) After The Last Wilderness and Deep Country, his account of five solitary years in a Welsh cabin, Ansell is among my most-admired British nature writers. I was delighted to learn that his new book would be about the New Forest as it’s a place my Hampshire-raised husband and I have visited often and feel fond of. It has personal significance for Ansell, too: he grew up a few miles from Portsmouth. On Remembrance Sunday 1966, though, his family home burned down when a spark from a central heating wire sent the insulation up in flames. He can see how his life was shaped by this incident, making him a nomad who doesn’t accumulate possessions.
Hoping to reclaim a sense of ancestral connection, he returned to the New Forest some 30 times between January 2019 and January 2020, observing the unfolding seasons and the many uncommon and endemic species its miles house. The Forest has more than 1000 trees of over 400 years old, mostly oak and beech. Much of the rest is rare heath habitat, and livestock grazing maintains open areas. There are some plants only found in the New Forest, as well as a (probably extinct) cicada. He has close encounters with butterflies, a muntjac, and less-seen birds like the Dartford warbler, firecrest, goshawk, honey buzzard, and nightjar.
But this is no mere ‘white man goes for a walk’ travelogue, as much of modern nature writing has been belittled. Ansell weaves many different themes into the work: his personal story (mostly relevant, though his mother’s illness and a trip to Rwanda seemed less necessary), the shocking history of forced Gypsy relocation into forest compounds starting in the 1920s, biomass decline, and especially the unfairness of land ownership in Britain. More than 99% of the country is in the hands of a very few, and hardly any is left as common land. There is also enduring inequality of access to what little there is, often along race and class lines. The have-nots have been taught to envy the haves: “We are all brought up to aspire to home ownership,” Ansell notes. As a long-term renter, it’s a goal I’ve come to question, even as I crave the security and self-determination that owning a house and piece of land could offer.
Ansell speaks of “environmental dread” as a “rational response to the way the world is turning,” but he doesn’t rest in that mindset of despair. He’s in favour of rewilding, which is not, as some might assume, about leaving land alone to revert to its original state, but about the reintroduction of native species and intentional restoration of habitat types. In extending these rewilded swathes, we would combat the tendency to think of nature as something kept ‘over there’ in small reserves while subjecting the rest of the land to intensive, pesticide-based farming and the exploitation of resources. The New Forest thus strikes him as an excellent model of both wildlife-friendly land management and freedom of human access.
I appreciated how Ansell concludes that it’s not enough to simply love nature and write about the joy of spending time in it. Instead, he accepts a mantle of responsibility: “nothing is more political than the way we engage with the world around us. … Nature writing may often be read for comfort and reassurance, but perhaps we need to allow a little room for anger, too, for the ability to rage at everything that has been taken from us, and taken by us.” The bibliography couldn’t be more representative of my ecologist husband’s and my reading interests and nature library. The title is from John Clare and the book is a poetic meditation as well as a forthright argument. It also got me hankering for my next trip to the New Forest.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
Hoping to reclaim a sense of ancestral connection, he returned to the New Forest some 30 times between January 2019 and January 2020, observing the unfolding seasons and the many uncommon and endemic species its miles house. The Forest has more than 1000 trees of over 400 years old, mostly oak and beech. Much of the rest is rare heath habitat, and livestock grazing maintains open areas. There are some plants only found in the New Forest, as well as a (probably extinct) cicada. He has close encounters with butterflies, a muntjac, and less-seen birds like the Dartford warbler, firecrest, goshawk, honey buzzard, and nightjar.
But this is no mere ‘white man goes for a walk’ travelogue, as much of modern nature writing has been belittled. Ansell weaves many different themes into the work: his personal story (mostly relevant, though his mother’s illness and a trip to Rwanda seemed less necessary), the shocking history of forced Gypsy relocation into forest compounds starting in the 1920s, biomass decline, and especially the unfairness of land ownership in Britain. More than 99% of the country is in the hands of a very few, and hardly any is left as common land. There is also enduring inequality of access to what little there is, often along race and class lines. The have-nots have been taught to envy the haves: “We are all brought up to aspire to home ownership,” Ansell notes. As a long-term renter, it’s a goal I’ve come to question, even as I crave the security and self-determination that owning a house and piece of land could offer.
Ansell speaks of “environmental dread” as a “rational response to the way the world is turning,” but he doesn’t rest in that mindset of despair. He’s in favour of rewilding, which is not, as some might assume, about leaving land alone to revert to its original state, but about the reintroduction of native species and intentional restoration of habitat types. In extending these rewilded swathes, we would combat the tendency to think of nature as something kept ‘over there’ in small reserves while subjecting the rest of the land to intensive, pesticide-based farming and the exploitation of resources. The New Forest thus strikes him as an excellent model of both wildlife-friendly land management and freedom of human access.
I appreciated how Ansell concludes that it’s not enough to simply love nature and write about the joy of spending time in it. Instead, he accepts a mantle of responsibility: “nothing is more political than the way we engage with the world around us. … Nature writing may often be read for comfort and reassurance, but perhaps we need to allow a little room for anger, too, for the ability to rage at everything that has been taken from us, and taken by us.” The bibliography couldn’t be more representative of my ecologist husband’s and my reading interests and nature library. The title is from John Clare and the book is a poetic meditation as well as a forthright argument. It also got me hankering for my next trip to the New Forest.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
November 25, 2025
It's obvious how much Neil Ansell loves the New Forest and knows it well enough that if he were airlifted and dropped randomly while blindfolded, he would recognize which part of the forest he was in. He describes the forest as “A couple of hundred square miles of mostly unenclosed common land, about half of it ancient semi-natural wood pasture grazed by free-roaming cattle and ponies and wild deer, grazing that gives it an unexpected open quality.”
The New Forest dates back to Norman times and is made up of a “patchwork of scarce habitats that makes the place so exceptional.” Ansell provides us with his family background and tells us how he is drawn back to the forest repeatedly as he says, “whenever I go for long without getting out in nature I start to feel an ache, a void in my life.”
He tells us about what he discovers as he wanders the forest through the seasons. For example, he says of the goshawk he came across “I may walk in silence, always aiming toward invisibility, but this is a bird whose eyesight is ten times as acute as mine.”
In winter, I loved how he describes the ice forms over time in a puddle as I have viewed the beauty of these puddles on my own walks. Additionally, I enjoyed his descriptions of birds and other creatures of the forest.
It’s sad how ravens were once “persecuted to the point of eradication,” and even in current times “the crow family are often treated with suspicion.” One of my family members loves ravens and crows and enjoys training them to eat out of his hand.
In spring the butterflies appear. “Most are bright lemon-yellow brimstones, but there is a single red admiral.” Then as he wanders onto the heath, he sees a “portly cock bullfinch, glorious with his neat black cap and his rosy breast, nipping at the new buds.”
I love to listen to the sound of birdsong on my walks, and it was interesting to read “that the birds with the most appealing songs tend to be dull in colour – the larks, the nightingales, the thrushes, some of the warblers.”
Ansell writes of only ever seeing one fox in the New Forest and that sadly was a dead one on a road. He discusses how “they have been transformed from country-dwellers to townies, much like most of us.” Personally, I have seen more foxes in the neighborhoods of London than in rural Herefordshire where I now live.
In June, Ansell discovers “hundreds upon hundreds of heath-spotted orchids” on the heaths. He also spots a herd of fallow deer. “Incredibly, it seems to be the exact same herd, unchanged, that [he] saw three months ago in March, and several miles away. It is like running unexpectedly into an old friend.”
Ansell describes “the gladiolus or sword-lily” as being “startlingly beautiful with its fan of magenta flowers.” We learn that it “is perhaps the most celebrated of all the forest’s wildflowers” as this is the only place in Britain where it can be found.
“It is possible, I hope, to simply be awestruck by the immense variety of life, its vitality, its complexity.”
“The lovely wood in which I find myself is a product of neither unbridled competition, nor cooperation, alone, but rather the place where these two forces meet; creativity and destruction, hand in hand.”
In autumn, Ansell sees dragonflies and butterflies including “a solitary late-flying purple hairstreak.” He also describes seeing several green woodpeckers and “a roe deer with a fawn.” At Brockis Hill he sees many badger setts, however the badgers themselves are not in evidence, as they are sleeping.
Then, he arrives at “a large grassy clearing. The raven calls again right above [him], to its mate away across the clearing; a charm of goldfinches blows over, and a pied wagtail – a polly dishwasher – is bobbing on the grass.” How delightful it is to read about this intertwined with Ansell’s family history as well as history of the forest and conservation also.
On conservation, he writes that “an ecosystem only functions naturally if you restore entire food chains, and yet an awful lot of people seem to go into conniptions at the slightest suggestion of the return of predators.”
I’ve heard a lot about rewilding in various parts of the globe and people seem to be enthusiastic. However, “rewilding requires human intervention, and intervention requires hard choices.”
Ansell concludes, “It seems to me that one thing we need alongside rewilding is a measure of re-commoning, to restore greater land rights to everyone, so that people feel more invested in the land, more connected.”
There is a ‘further reading’ list at the back of the book which includes works that Ansell refers to in this one.
The New Forest dates back to Norman times and is made up of a “patchwork of scarce habitats that makes the place so exceptional.” Ansell provides us with his family background and tells us how he is drawn back to the forest repeatedly as he says, “whenever I go for long without getting out in nature I start to feel an ache, a void in my life.”
He tells us about what he discovers as he wanders the forest through the seasons. For example, he says of the goshawk he came across “I may walk in silence, always aiming toward invisibility, but this is a bird whose eyesight is ten times as acute as mine.”
In winter, I loved how he describes the ice forms over time in a puddle as I have viewed the beauty of these puddles on my own walks. Additionally, I enjoyed his descriptions of birds and other creatures of the forest.
It’s sad how ravens were once “persecuted to the point of eradication,” and even in current times “the crow family are often treated with suspicion.” One of my family members loves ravens and crows and enjoys training them to eat out of his hand.
In spring the butterflies appear. “Most are bright lemon-yellow brimstones, but there is a single red admiral.” Then as he wanders onto the heath, he sees a “portly cock bullfinch, glorious with his neat black cap and his rosy breast, nipping at the new buds.”
I love to listen to the sound of birdsong on my walks, and it was interesting to read “that the birds with the most appealing songs tend to be dull in colour – the larks, the nightingales, the thrushes, some of the warblers.”
Ansell writes of only ever seeing one fox in the New Forest and that sadly was a dead one on a road. He discusses how “they have been transformed from country-dwellers to townies, much like most of us.” Personally, I have seen more foxes in the neighborhoods of London than in rural Herefordshire where I now live.
In June, Ansell discovers “hundreds upon hundreds of heath-spotted orchids” on the heaths. He also spots a herd of fallow deer. “Incredibly, it seems to be the exact same herd, unchanged, that [he] saw three months ago in March, and several miles away. It is like running unexpectedly into an old friend.”
Ansell describes “the gladiolus or sword-lily” as being “startlingly beautiful with its fan of magenta flowers.” We learn that it “is perhaps the most celebrated of all the forest’s wildflowers” as this is the only place in Britain where it can be found.
“It is possible, I hope, to simply be awestruck by the immense variety of life, its vitality, its complexity.”
“The lovely wood in which I find myself is a product of neither unbridled competition, nor cooperation, alone, but rather the place where these two forces meet; creativity and destruction, hand in hand.”
In autumn, Ansell sees dragonflies and butterflies including “a solitary late-flying purple hairstreak.” He also describes seeing several green woodpeckers and “a roe deer with a fawn.” At Brockis Hill he sees many badger setts, however the badgers themselves are not in evidence, as they are sleeping.
Then, he arrives at “a large grassy clearing. The raven calls again right above [him], to its mate away across the clearing; a charm of goldfinches blows over, and a pied wagtail – a polly dishwasher – is bobbing on the grass.” How delightful it is to read about this intertwined with Ansell’s family history as well as history of the forest and conservation also.
On conservation, he writes that “an ecosystem only functions naturally if you restore entire food chains, and yet an awful lot of people seem to go into conniptions at the slightest suggestion of the return of predators.”
I’ve heard a lot about rewilding in various parts of the globe and people seem to be enthusiastic. However, “rewilding requires human intervention, and intervention requires hard choices.”
Ansell concludes, “It seems to me that one thing we need alongside rewilding is a measure of re-commoning, to restore greater land rights to everyone, so that people feel more invested in the land, more connected.”
There is a ‘further reading’ list at the back of the book which includes works that Ansell refers to in this one.
April 15, 2021
What a delightful read, and the cover of this book is simply stunning. Neil Ansell is an award winning television journalist with the BBC and a long standing newspaper journalist. He has written a couple of other books that I want to read next. This book is all about his walks to the New Forest. The New Forest has a special place in my heart as I use to go there alot when I was younger. I love driving through the New Forest too as you get to see all different wildlife. It made me feel calm when reading this book, hearing about all the different wildlife and birds and also the landscape gave me a fresh perspective on what you might be able to see if you go there. Neil is a great naturalist who is inquisitive and sensible and describes such a precious place in such great detail, one could almost imagine walking in his footsteps. I look forward to reading more of Neil's books in the future.
April 3, 2021
‘𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨, 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙮.’
🌟B O O K R E V I E W🌟
The Circling Sky - Neil Ansell
We have taken solace in nature this past year, our world has shrunk to our gardens and parks for some and fields for others or even window boxes.
This glorious book is part childhood memoir and nature observation and the author’s journey over a year to the New Forest in Hampshire.
‘𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙀𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧.’
There are beautiful descriptions of the wildlife from his childhood to now, highlighting species that are in decline and those recovering. So much of this book really made me think and reflect on ourselves as a species and what we are doing to the others we share our planet with. As Neil says, we need to completely rethink how we see our relationship with the Earth. Through collaborating with nature we may be able to make some difference.
It’s really interesting to read of the ancient forest rights still in place today. There is something quite calming about reading about the longevity of trees and that they will be around long after we are gone.
‘𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨, 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙮.’
The writing is lyrical and beautiful, heartwarming, informative yet personal with lots of memories shared with his family.
It is a truly wonderful piece of writing and one that I will return to.
✩✩✩✩✩
🌟B O O K R E V I E W🌟
The Circling Sky - Neil Ansell
We have taken solace in nature this past year, our world has shrunk to our gardens and parks for some and fields for others or even window boxes.
This glorious book is part childhood memoir and nature observation and the author’s journey over a year to the New Forest in Hampshire.
‘𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙀𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧.’
There are beautiful descriptions of the wildlife from his childhood to now, highlighting species that are in decline and those recovering. So much of this book really made me think and reflect on ourselves as a species and what we are doing to the others we share our planet with. As Neil says, we need to completely rethink how we see our relationship with the Earth. Through collaborating with nature we may be able to make some difference.
It’s really interesting to read of the ancient forest rights still in place today. There is something quite calming about reading about the longevity of trees and that they will be around long after we are gone.
‘𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨, 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙮.’
The writing is lyrical and beautiful, heartwarming, informative yet personal with lots of memories shared with his family.
It is a truly wonderful piece of writing and one that I will return to.
✩✩✩✩✩
December 30, 2021
The Circling Sky is a thought-provoking and fascinating non-fiction book that's quite possibly my favourite read of 2021 (and this is really saying something, as I've read a sizeable number of truly excellent books to get me through an epically challenging time).
Neil Ansell catalogues his visits throughout the year to the New Forest, with its flourishing plant and birdlife; a forest that's almost unchanged from its original, planted at the time of William the Conqueror who particularly liked to hunt game.
There are hints of sadness to the book as the author reflects upon the drastic diminishment of birdlife in the United Kingdom during the last few decades, plus the loss of habitat in general for wildlife. He also talks of how the Gypsies dwelt in the New Forest for centuries, living in harmony with the environment, but were then expelled to cities by those who thought they knew better.
Ansell manages to travel quite seamlessly backwards and forwards in time, weaving history, childhood memoir, the present, and the long-term ecological impact of failing to care for the environment.
February 13, 2023
A year in the life of Neil Ansell. A very personal memoir. Revisiting and rediscovering The New Forest. Finding lost youth, new memories and voicing strong opinions on rewilding, the use of common land and how nature is fading away from us- maybe forever.
April 12, 2021
Review to follow...
September 20, 2021
This is inspired nature writing from Neil Ansell.
Part nature journal, part memoir, part plea to open our eyes with acceptance, tolerance and understanding to other species.
There is a poetic undertone to the writing which beautifully represents the description of the New Forest that he explores.
A firm favourite of mine for this year.
Part nature journal, part memoir, part plea to open our eyes with acceptance, tolerance and understanding to other species.
There is a poetic undertone to the writing which beautifully represents the description of the New Forest that he explores.
A firm favourite of mine for this year.
October 4, 2022
Delightful nature study, part memoir about youth, and part descriptive about the New Forest. Ansell's observations are insightful, and he has an eye for explaining everyday phenomena in a simple way. However, what he is trying to say is much deeper, and he leaves us to contemplate this. I like how the author describes the way in which the natural environment gently sways our consciousness.
February 15, 2023
This book is such a beautiful combination of memoir and nature non-fiction.
Neil Ansell is a tv journalist for the BBC and also writes regularly for a journal article. He has written this book in a diary kind of format, taking you across many months and different trips he did to the New Forest, UK.
The descriptions of the landscapes, forest and wildlife was so beautifully written and just brought about just a calm and serene reading experience. I found myself loving every minute and wanting to savour the experience of all the wildlife sightings he talks about.
Neil Ansell also writes about the history of the New Forest, the trees and wildlife within in it, as well as the gypsies that once lived there. With memories from his childhood to being with his own children in the forest, this book covers so many wonderful moments.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I can normally read a book within a few days but I purposefully read this one slower so I could savour every last wonderful and beautiful detail. It really was like I was in the forest walking right alongside him - something that takes a lot of talent and well crafted descriptions, and something that Neil Ansell did phenomenally.
Neil Ansell is a tv journalist for the BBC and also writes regularly for a journal article. He has written this book in a diary kind of format, taking you across many months and different trips he did to the New Forest, UK.
The descriptions of the landscapes, forest and wildlife was so beautifully written and just brought about just a calm and serene reading experience. I found myself loving every minute and wanting to savour the experience of all the wildlife sightings he talks about.
Neil Ansell also writes about the history of the New Forest, the trees and wildlife within in it, as well as the gypsies that once lived there. With memories from his childhood to being with his own children in the forest, this book covers so many wonderful moments.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I can normally read a book within a few days but I purposefully read this one slower so I could savour every last wonderful and beautiful detail. It really was like I was in the forest walking right alongside him - something that takes a lot of talent and well crafted descriptions, and something that Neil Ansell did phenomenally.
June 27, 2023
I really enjoyed Ansell's previous book The Last Wilderness, while his Deep Country was my 'book of the year' when I read it, and remains one of my favourite nature books of all time, so I had high hopes of The Circling Sky.
I did enjoy it, but I didn't find it made the same impact on me as his other books - it was one of those 'ok to pass the time but won't read again' volumes. The quality of writing that made 'Deep Country' so memorable just isn't there: most of the time, this reads more like an email or letter to family or a report. Ansell does mention that this is the first time he has shared his work while it is in progress, and several times he comments that he is adding things in to the book because family members told him he should - perhaps this explains the falling off in quality. I also found his rants over land ownership became somewhat repetitive - yes, it's unfair, but unless you are going to suggest some practical things we can do to change this, repeated complaints just become tedious.
This won't put me off reading any further books Ansell writes, but I won't be keeping this one. And if you've read this and didn't rate it highly, I suggest you check out his other books which I think are much better.
I did enjoy it, but I didn't find it made the same impact on me as his other books - it was one of those 'ok to pass the time but won't read again' volumes. The quality of writing that made 'Deep Country' so memorable just isn't there: most of the time, this reads more like an email or letter to family or a report. Ansell does mention that this is the first time he has shared his work while it is in progress, and several times he comments that he is adding things in to the book because family members told him he should - perhaps this explains the falling off in quality. I also found his rants over land ownership became somewhat repetitive - yes, it's unfair, but unless you are going to suggest some practical things we can do to change this, repeated complaints just become tedious.
This won't put me off reading any further books Ansell writes, but I won't be keeping this one. And if you've read this and didn't rate it highly, I suggest you check out his other books which I think are much better.
January 20, 2024
For me this was three stars because I don't really get the purpose of books like this. However, that isn't a fault of the book. It is nicely written and evocative which I assume are the intentions of the author. I haven't come away with much new interesting information or new ideas, which is what I seek in a book. Maybe the message I got was the value of repeated visits to a place to really get to know it.
I imagine that the writing style is very accessible even to people who don't think they are interested in wandering around the New Forest looking for birds. If this writing encourages an appreciation of nature in any reader then that is valuable because, as the author discusses at several points, in the UK we urgently need to change our ways so that the declines in nature since his childhood don't continue.
Amongst his observations of nature and personal reflections, the author also criticises the pattern of land ownership in the UK, and how that has arisen, but just enough to please those who agree with his view and not with any suggestions as to how this could change (but that would be another book so that is not a criticism).
I imagine that the writing style is very accessible even to people who don't think they are interested in wandering around the New Forest looking for birds. If this writing encourages an appreciation of nature in any reader then that is valuable because, as the author discusses at several points, in the UK we urgently need to change our ways so that the declines in nature since his childhood don't continue.
Amongst his observations of nature and personal reflections, the author also criticises the pattern of land ownership in the UK, and how that has arisen, but just enough to please those who agree with his view and not with any suggestions as to how this could change (but that would be another book so that is not a criticism).
March 15, 2023
'Sometimes it seems as if it is not a good time to be a human either; it is hard not to feel overwhelmed by anxiety for the future, a kind of existential helplessness in the face of overwhelming environmental degradation, and the feeling that there is nothing we can do that would make a difference.'
Very well written and informative, mostly a calming and serene read, but just not for me. (rather too much about the birdlife) The book centres around the often diminishing birdlife the author meets upon his wanderings through the New Forest; a challenging but totally heartbreaking book in places, and not always an easy read.
Very well written and informative, mostly a calming and serene read, but just not for me. (rather too much about the birdlife) The book centres around the often diminishing birdlife the author meets upon his wanderings through the New Forest; a challenging but totally heartbreaking book in places, and not always an easy read.
November 12, 2024
I've only just got into audiobooks, so I listened to this. It was pleasant, without being amazing. I listened via my free hours on Spotify, but I don't think it's a book I would have spent money on. The author describes several visits to The New Forest over the course of a year (apart from a random chapter where he visited Rwanda), and I enjoyed listening to his reflections and observations of nature. I did think the last chapter ended the book really strongly - especially the author stressing the importance of thinking about what you can do for nature, and not just what it can do for you - but I wished more of the content had been equally engaging.
August 6, 2021
I love the New Forest and have always loved wildlife so I was really pleased to have been given this book by another reviewer.
The book follows the author on his monthly walks through the New Forest, but it is also part memoir. I found it both an informative and relaxing read, and it's made me look forward to returning to the forest even more.
The cover is stunning and the title always puts the Pink Floyd song 'Learning to Fly' in my head, which seems very fitting for the book.
This is a recommended read for anyone who would like some gentle escapism.
The book follows the author on his monthly walks through the New Forest, but it is also part memoir. I found it both an informative and relaxing read, and it's made me look forward to returning to the forest even more.
The cover is stunning and the title always puts the Pink Floyd song 'Learning to Fly' in my head, which seems very fitting for the book.
This is a recommended read for anyone who would like some gentle escapism.
June 8, 2022
'There is nothing to stop evolution leading to an organism that has the capacity to bring all life to an end'
I read this line and thought to myself, yes, that might be us.
All in all, a good book.
Like all 'nature writing' though it comes with the stark warnings needed but never seemingly heeded by the powers that be making reading these books a mixed bag of good, nice, joy even, with devastation and anger.
I read this line and thought to myself, yes, that might be us.
All in all, a good book.
Like all 'nature writing' though it comes with the stark warnings needed but never seemingly heeded by the powers that be making reading these books a mixed bag of good, nice, joy even, with devastation and anger.
September 2, 2023
Absolutely fascinating, and having also spent some of my childhood running around the New Forest, I really enjoyed being taken back there.
However the writing style just didn’t suit me as a reader. There was nothing wrong with the book, it was just harder for me to read than some others.
I loved reading about all the birds through the year and you can feel the author’s joy in them.
However the writing style just didn’t suit me as a reader. There was nothing wrong with the book, it was just harder for me to read than some others.
I loved reading about all the birds through the year and you can feel the author’s joy in them.
January 12, 2022
This book deeply resonated with me, being both a nature walker and deafness. It was nice to read of a fellow walker who experiences the soundscape in a similar way to i. An enjoyable read, painted such delightful scenes in my mind.
March 29, 2023
I picked up this book as I've enjoyed visiting the new forest in the past and I do like learning about local history and nature but I found it really hard to get into the book. I'm sure for some it's a great read with lots of valuable information but I struggled to get through.
January 15, 2022
I don't massively remember this but remember liking it while not thinking it was a massive stand out. But I would read his other work
February 20, 2023
If you want to read a book about a man’s life and what he sees while looking in the forest then this is for you but if you want a more informative book on nature look elsewhere
April 14, 2023
Loved it, love the New Forest, very inspiring and motivating
August 28, 2023
Loved the way it described new forest. Makes me want to visit lots
October 31, 2023
A truly beautiful book, very personal and very informative.
Read
May 14, 2024Excellent book! Great sense of place and feel for the varied wildlife that makes up the New Forest
September 21, 2025
A really beautiful read, one I took my time with and dived into bit by bit. A great reflective read that made me really appreciate nature and the present moment even more with each page
July 16, 2021
Neil Ansell takes us through a year of walks and musings in the New Forest, memories of his childhood, New Forest gypsies, land rights, extinction, climate change, family life, birds, butterflies, and plants. Whilst I enjoyed this book and it has made me desperate to get to the New Forest for some long walks… I didn’t love it. Ansell covers a lot of ground and I felt like there was a lot of this book that I’ve read before elsewhere.
Although maybe that’s a strength of the book? For a good all rounder nature book, this one ticks a lot of boxes. Also a bonus is that only one small chapter mentions connecting with nature in lockdown!
Although maybe that’s a strength of the book? For a good all rounder nature book, this one ticks a lot of boxes. Also a bonus is that only one small chapter mentions connecting with nature in lockdown!
March 14, 2025
Listen to Neil Ansell’s audiobooks. They will transport you to natural places, birdsong in the air, trampling the morning dew, the scent of wood smoke, the flash of a bird of prey streaking across the sky.
Reminiscent of Deakin’s ‘Notes from Walnut Tree Farm’, The Circling Sky is part memoir, part ode to the landscape around us. It’s a beautiful piece of nature writing. 4.5/5 ⭐️
Reminiscent of Deakin’s ‘Notes from Walnut Tree Farm’, The Circling Sky is part memoir, part ode to the landscape around us. It’s a beautiful piece of nature writing. 4.5/5 ⭐️
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