The Observant Walker: Wild Food, Nature and Hidden Treasures on the Pathways of Britain

by John Wright

When we go for a walk, whether in the countryside or city, we pass through landscapes full of natural beauty and curiosities both visible and invisible - but though we might admire the view, or wonder idly about the name of a flower, we rarely have the knowledge to fully engage with what we see. When we do, our sense of place is expanded, our understanding deepened and we can discover richness in even the most everyday stroll.

John Wright has been leading forays around Britain for decades. As an expert forager, he shows people how to identify the edible species that abound - but he also reveals the natural history, stories and science behind our surroundings. Here, he takes us with him on eight walks: from verdant forests to wild coastlines, via city pavements, fields and rolling hills, he illuminates what can be found on a walk across any British terrain, and how you might observe and truly understand them, for yourself.

Warm, wise and endlessly informative, with helpful illustrations and suggested routes, this book will help you to see the world around you with new eyes: no walk will be the same again.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Natural History, History, Audiobook, Walking

336 pages, Hardcover

First published May 11, 2023

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

[Jack Hatcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Wright shows us that natures’ curiosities are all around us, taking us on a series of walks across different landscapes. Often the focus is on the various fungi and lichen that he spots, which I suppose might seem tedious to some but I personally enjoyed it. The occasional foray into an interesting insect or animal is a welcome bonus but definitely go into this expecting to learn a lot about the aforementioned fungi and lichens (of which there are many).

My only gripe, and possibly a daft one, is in one chapter he details how he captured a bee to identify at home (thus killing the bee) and uses the defence that we inevitably kill numerous invertebrates just by stepping outside. Personally I think there’s a difference between the accidental and the intentional but there we are. As Wright says, to learn about something you sometimes need to take a closer look, though sometimes I wonder if the pursuit of knowledge is worth one less bee in the world (yes I’m that precious about bees)

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m delighted to finally meet someone who walks even more slowly than I do and is as easily distracted, there is too much trophy hunting today: the highest peak, the longest walk, the fastest finish time. This is a book about a man and his long suffering wife who take a series of sojourns across the UK and set off on a walk to notice the natural world. Occasionally it will take him an hour to leave the car park. A small knowledge of the natural world and an optional understanding of binomial nomenclature is useful but its good to know that we all need to look things up and we are all perfectly capable of making mistakes. Sadly we don’t all have our personal Bryan (and Eddie) but I have always thought it is a useful skill to develop to be comfortable not knowing, and to be content to notice. Just don’t eat them if you’re not sure.

[Morrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went to a presentation by John which was very interesting and informative. However I feel an audio book is not the best medium to experience this world.

If you don't know the scientific names of plants you're going to be a bit lost.

Fair play to his work and knowledge but the audio book is hard work.

[Freeze · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone from Malaysia, this book is a very fascinating read on British nature. Even with this, I found the visual explanation of the plants /animals, plus the picture attached really helpful to understand the area.

I am introduced to the wicked world of Lichens in this book, looking forward to explore them further.

This book felt like your best friends diary for his walks which make this book charming in its own way which influences my rating for this book. I wish to find more books like this in the future.

[Jim Levi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much extolls slow walking, with incredible detail that sometimes becomes little more than lists of obscure lichen and fungi species. Luckily, it is written in a pleasant, conversational style that makes it an easy read. It definitely helps the walker look more closely - and more intelligently - at smaller plants and organisms that might be found in almost any environment.

[Arjun T · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 rounded up.

Incredibly well researched and well written, but also incredibly scientific and technical. For a layperson or someone without knowledge of this topic (I.e. casual reader looking to learn something) it can be a bit tricky, and constantly having to google what things referred to looked like. Dare I say, more pictures in the book please!

[Kirsty Cartin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too much Latin in this book for my taste but still a great insight into the variety of fungi, plants and insects in the UK. I did find myself itching to look up pictures of each natural wonder mentioned which was a distraction!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this, since I try to be an observant, though less knowledgeable, walker myself.

[Jane Gregg · Rating 3 out of 5]

New adventures in fungi

[Mrs Margaret Litchfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok but not quite what I expected. Too many fungi and over indulgence o
In Latin names. Not enough about the landscape, but then I am a geographer

[Chloe · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 75%
Audiobook
I trudged through this until the anti-vegan rant and then said byeeeee because ugh

[Philip Chaston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this whimsical foray into nature!