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Im Wald: Mein Jahr im Cockshutt Wood
Written in diary format, The Wood is the story of English woodlands as they change with the seasons. Lyrical and informative, steeped in poetry and folklore. For four years John Lewis-Stempel managed Cockshutt wood, a particular wood - three and half acres of mixed woodland in south west Herefordshire - that stands as exemplar for all the small woods of England. John coppiced the trees and raised cows and pigs who roamed free there. This is the diary of the last year, by which time he had come to know it from the bottom of its beech roots to the tip of its oaks, and to know all the animals that lived there - the fox, the pheasants, the wood mice, the tawny owl - and where the best bluebells grew. For many fauna and flora, woods like Cockshutt are the last refuge. It proves a sanctuary for John too.
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First published March 8, 2018
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December 17, 2021
3.5 stars
For four years John Lewis-Stempel managed the three/four acres of Cockshutt wood in Herefordshire. In his last year he kept a diary, and this is it. He used traditional methods including coppicing and allowing livestock (especially pigs) to root around in the wood. The writing relies heavily on poetry and folklore. There are occasional recipes for the produce of the wood and lots of observation and descriptions of the wood, its plants and animals. Lewis-Stempel describes himself as a countryside writer rather than a nature writer.
“It is a modern fallacy that woods should be museums of trees. Woods are to be used and are the better for it. A managed wood is better for wildlife. Cockshutt, aside from providing woodcock for the table, has, down the centuries, supplied alder for charcoal, oak for timber, forage for pigs, holly for sheep fodder, coppiced hazel for hurdles, ash for farm implements. A typical English wood, then.
A wood is always in the past tense. There was a slight breeze through the tracery of the silver birch. This, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge noted, is the most beautiful of trees, ‘the Lady of the Woods’, but it’s tough. It was the first tree to colonise Britain after the last Ice Age, so the sound of the wind in the birch’s naked branches was the sound of England’s February 10,000 years ago.”
On the whole it’s a pretty good observational piece, somewhat disjointed at times, but the poetry is good and there are lots of interesting pieces of information.
“I thought the trees and birds belonged to me. But now I realise that I belonged to them.”
For four years John Lewis-Stempel managed the three/four acres of Cockshutt wood in Herefordshire. In his last year he kept a diary, and this is it. He used traditional methods including coppicing and allowing livestock (especially pigs) to root around in the wood. The writing relies heavily on poetry and folklore. There are occasional recipes for the produce of the wood and lots of observation and descriptions of the wood, its plants and animals. Lewis-Stempel describes himself as a countryside writer rather than a nature writer.
“It is a modern fallacy that woods should be museums of trees. Woods are to be used and are the better for it. A managed wood is better for wildlife. Cockshutt, aside from providing woodcock for the table, has, down the centuries, supplied alder for charcoal, oak for timber, forage for pigs, holly for sheep fodder, coppiced hazel for hurdles, ash for farm implements. A typical English wood, then.
A wood is always in the past tense. There was a slight breeze through the tracery of the silver birch. This, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge noted, is the most beautiful of trees, ‘the Lady of the Woods’, but it’s tough. It was the first tree to colonise Britain after the last Ice Age, so the sound of the wind in the birch’s naked branches was the sound of England’s February 10,000 years ago.”
On the whole it’s a pretty good observational piece, somewhat disjointed at times, but the poetry is good and there are lots of interesting pieces of information.
“I thought the trees and birds belonged to me. But now I realise that I belonged to them.”
December 16, 2020
The Wood: The Life & Times of Cockshutt Wood is very good, but parts do not quite fit
ME
! This explains why I give it three rather than four stars. I will explain.
The writing varies from lines of lyrical beauty to those presenting interesting and informative content. The text is in diary format starting in December and ending in November the following year. It offers a view of English countryside from someone who works the land, from someone who knows it and loves it. The book is in this respect more than simply nature writing. Cockshutt Wood is as known to the author as the back of his own hand. He managed the wood located in south-west Herefordshire for four years. The book is a recording of his last year there. He knows every tree, every hillock, every copse and the birds and bugs and animals that inhabit it. He lived and worked on the land in winter, spring, summer and fall and saw it transform from season to season.
Beautiful and interesting are the two adjectives that best sum the book up.
The daily entries are often only a line or two—a poem, an observation, or an interesting fact.
There are both the author’s own poems and poems of those such as Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy. I rarely read poetry nowadays, but the poems here were not only special but also very well placed between bits of fascinating information. Reading one poem after another is difficult, but that is not how it is done here! Personally, I love Frost and several of his poems are included here. The poem / composition by Edward Elgar about an owl in late October I absolutely adored. It is wonderfully read in the audio version narrated by Leighton Pugh.
Here follow a smattering of clever lines and thoughts expressed in the book:
*The character of a tree depends on the season.
*That an oak is not felled in one stroke speaks of the value of patience.
*The snowdrop says winter is not forever.
*Think of those times of the year when ”seasons steal days from each other”.
*There is an autumnal storm. The author describes Cockshutt Wood as a scene of “magnified pick-up sticks”.
*Sometimes on a wintry day, just to "look out of the window is to feel cold."
*Owls have asymmetrically placed ears to better pinpoint where sounds come from.
*Crabapples are the basis for the word crabby, i.e. bad-tempered people!
*The medicinal value of herbs, foliage and flowers is spoken of.
*Trees communicate with each other-- through fungus.
*Agroforestry is employed in this wood. It is spoken of and praised.
There are recipes in the book. The ingredients are of course readily accessible in a wood. The instructions are clear and easy to follow and will be appreciated by many. There are recipes for soups (chestnut), jellies (crabapple), drinks (elderberry champagne and acorn coffee) and ways to prepare nuts and herbs. Cooking is however not my favorite pastime.
Had I been better acquainted with British names of flora and fauna, I would have enjoyed the book even more. I was sometimes not able to envision the animal or flower spoken of; I would guess and wonder which flower, plant, shrub or animal was referred to. Even in one language, terminology is not the same from country to country.
Occasionally there were lines that were beyond my comprehension. I had no idea what the author was speaking of. Were I British, I perhaps might have. The book can be recommended to all who value nature, but it is best suited to the British public.
Leighton Pugh narrates the audiobook version very well. He speaks clearly and holds the perfect pace. His reading of the poems is magnificent. The narration I have given four stars.
This book is relaxing to listen to. It is informative and interesting. It has some fantastic lines. The author expresses himself well and knows intimately about that which he speaks of.
The writing varies from lines of lyrical beauty to those presenting interesting and informative content. The text is in diary format starting in December and ending in November the following year. It offers a view of English countryside from someone who works the land, from someone who knows it and loves it. The book is in this respect more than simply nature writing. Cockshutt Wood is as known to the author as the back of his own hand. He managed the wood located in south-west Herefordshire for four years. The book is a recording of his last year there. He knows every tree, every hillock, every copse and the birds and bugs and animals that inhabit it. He lived and worked on the land in winter, spring, summer and fall and saw it transform from season to season.
Beautiful and interesting are the two adjectives that best sum the book up.
The daily entries are often only a line or two—a poem, an observation, or an interesting fact.
There are both the author’s own poems and poems of those such as Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy. I rarely read poetry nowadays, but the poems here were not only special but also very well placed between bits of fascinating information. Reading one poem after another is difficult, but that is not how it is done here! Personally, I love Frost and several of his poems are included here. The poem / composition by Edward Elgar about an owl in late October I absolutely adored. It is wonderfully read in the audio version narrated by Leighton Pugh.
Here follow a smattering of clever lines and thoughts expressed in the book:
*The character of a tree depends on the season.
*That an oak is not felled in one stroke speaks of the value of patience.
*The snowdrop says winter is not forever.
*Think of those times of the year when ”seasons steal days from each other”.
*There is an autumnal storm. The author describes Cockshutt Wood as a scene of “magnified pick-up sticks”.
*Sometimes on a wintry day, just to "look out of the window is to feel cold."
*Owls have asymmetrically placed ears to better pinpoint where sounds come from.
*Crabapples are the basis for the word crabby, i.e. bad-tempered people!
*The medicinal value of herbs, foliage and flowers is spoken of.
*Trees communicate with each other-- through fungus.
*Agroforestry is employed in this wood. It is spoken of and praised.
There are recipes in the book. The ingredients are of course readily accessible in a wood. The instructions are clear and easy to follow and will be appreciated by many. There are recipes for soups (chestnut), jellies (crabapple), drinks (elderberry champagne and acorn coffee) and ways to prepare nuts and herbs. Cooking is however not my favorite pastime.
Had I been better acquainted with British names of flora and fauna, I would have enjoyed the book even more. I was sometimes not able to envision the animal or flower spoken of; I would guess and wonder which flower, plant, shrub or animal was referred to. Even in one language, terminology is not the same from country to country.
Occasionally there were lines that were beyond my comprehension. I had no idea what the author was speaking of. Were I British, I perhaps might have. The book can be recommended to all who value nature, but it is best suited to the British public.
Leighton Pugh narrates the audiobook version very well. He speaks clearly and holds the perfect pace. His reading of the poems is magnificent. The narration I have given four stars.
This book is relaxing to listen to. It is informative and interesting. It has some fantastic lines. The author expresses himself well and knows intimately about that which he speaks of.
March 18, 2018
Until recently woodlands were essential to our survival, we used them for food, fuel and livelihoods. Even though very few make their living from them now, they are places that hold a special place in the hearts of people in the UK, as the government found out when they tried to sell off the Forestry Commission, a decision that was quickly reversed given the outcry. Just taking a walk through a wood helps nature seep back into your soul and are a sanctuary from the madness of modern life.
Sadly I don't own my own woodland, but John Lewis-Stempel does, and his three and a half acres of mixed species in Herefordshire is a typical small wood. He has managed Cockshutt Wood now for four years, watching the way it changes through the seasons, tracing the paths that animals have made through the understory and taking time to stay still, observe as the lives of the birds and animals play out around him. He lets his cattle and pigs root around in the woods too, a method of farming that harks back centuries. Lots of these woodlands are under threat, but not this one; this is a cherished patch, a place of refuge, a place that he visits every day, just because. Woodlands show the daily march of time through the seasons and yet when you are within one, time seems to stand still.
This is another sublime book from Lewis-Stempel to add to his raft of award-winning books. I really liked the diary format and the way that it is interspersed with folklore, poems, history, recipes and personal thoughts. The longer entries reflect when he has had time to pause and absorb the sights and smells of his wood, and brief entries when he was charging off elsewhere, even the shortest of visits would be sufficient to recharge his soul. 4.5 stars
Sadly I don't own my own woodland, but John Lewis-Stempel does, and his three and a half acres of mixed species in Herefordshire is a typical small wood. He has managed Cockshutt Wood now for four years, watching the way it changes through the seasons, tracing the paths that animals have made through the understory and taking time to stay still, observe as the lives of the birds and animals play out around him. He lets his cattle and pigs root around in the woods too, a method of farming that harks back centuries. Lots of these woodlands are under threat, but not this one; this is a cherished patch, a place of refuge, a place that he visits every day, just because. Woodlands show the daily march of time through the seasons and yet when you are within one, time seems to stand still.
This is another sublime book from Lewis-Stempel to add to his raft of award-winning books. I really liked the diary format and the way that it is interspersed with folklore, poems, history, recipes and personal thoughts. The longer entries reflect when he has had time to pause and absorb the sights and smells of his wood, and brief entries when he was charging off elsewhere, even the shortest of visits would be sufficient to recharge his soul. 4.5 stars
May 9, 2018
Lewis-Stempel has become one of the foremost nature writers in the UK. His
Meadowland
is stellar, but I’ve been disappointed by a few of his most recent books. This is a fragmentary diary of a year in the Shropshire wood for which he used to act as caretaker. It’s something like an old-fashioned commonplace book that incorporates history, culture, folklore, folk wisdom, and long poems and quotations from other writers, in addition to personal observations and events. There are even recipes! Read it for the occasional utterly unique description – “The male catkins on the alder have expanded from hard chipolatas to soft lengths of pipe cleaner” – but read it sparingly if at all possible, because if you read too many entries in a row they get very repetitive. (Thus me skimming the book. It was also requested after me at the library.) I find writing like this ever so slightly lazy, like the author couldn’t be bothered to tidy everything up into proper paragraphs and thought streams. I most liked his interactions with his pigs. (“Running pigs are not gainly. They galumph. Neither are they quiet. There is grunting, and as they near me there is the flesh-slap of Dumbo ears.”)
Another favorite passage: “People claim they enjoy winter, but what they really mean is they enjoy winter as a livener, a cobweb-blower-away, a quick flirt with the elements before resorting to their real love, central heating.”
A neat thing I learned: how to estimate the age of a tree without cutting it down and counting its rings. Measure the circumference in feet with a tape measure and divide it by π to get the diameter. Multiply that by the growth factor (5 for alder, birch, cherry and oak; 4 for ash and elm).
Another favorite passage: “People claim they enjoy winter, but what they really mean is they enjoy winter as a livener, a cobweb-blower-away, a quick flirt with the elements before resorting to their real love, central heating.”
A neat thing I learned: how to estimate the age of a tree without cutting it down and counting its rings. Measure the circumference in feet with a tape measure and divide it by π to get the diameter. Multiply that by the growth factor (5 for alder, birch, cherry and oak; 4 for ash and elm).
June 1, 2024
A year in the life of a wood. A lovely book; I was reminded of Beverley Nichols suggesting in one of his books (I think one from the All ways trilogy), that everyone who could should plant a wood. I will no doubt return to this as a comfort read/listen.
April 14, 2018
I thought the trees and birds belonged to me. But now I realise that I belonged to them.
The Wood is a diary of Cockshutt Wood, just over 3 acres of mixed woodland in Herefordshire. Lewis-Stempel managed the woodland for 4 years and the book is really a love letter to that time and place.
Lewis-Stempel is a truly wonderful writer. I was going to call him a nature writer, but that's a term he baulks at. In his words he's a countryside writer -
"I give the view of the countryside from someone who works there."
The book is a wonderful mixture of keen observation, history, poetry, meditations and even some recipes from the wood's products.
Lewis-Stempel, a very busy farmer, always took time out to sit in a cheap plastic picnic chair by the pond in the woods and allow himself to become immersed in his surroundings.
He sees and hears things that the majority of us would be completely oblivious to.
Returning home from a holiday or business trip, the first thing he does is enter the wood to note the changes and to let it work its usual magic on him.
I don't give a lot of 5 stars but this book deserves nothing less.
The Wood is a diary of Cockshutt Wood, just over 3 acres of mixed woodland in Herefordshire. Lewis-Stempel managed the woodland for 4 years and the book is really a love letter to that time and place.
Lewis-Stempel is a truly wonderful writer. I was going to call him a nature writer, but that's a term he baulks at. In his words he's a countryside writer -
"I give the view of the countryside from someone who works there."
The book is a wonderful mixture of keen observation, history, poetry, meditations and even some recipes from the wood's products.
Lewis-Stempel, a very busy farmer, always took time out to sit in a cheap plastic picnic chair by the pond in the woods and allow himself to become immersed in his surroundings.
He sees and hears things that the majority of us would be completely oblivious to.
Returning home from a holiday or business trip, the first thing he does is enter the wood to note the changes and to let it work its usual magic on him.
I don't give a lot of 5 stars but this book deserves nothing less.
February 24, 2020
I have no idea what anyone would see in this book. I must admit, I only skimmed the second half, because I just couldn't take it anymore. The beautiful cover is the only positive thing I can find about it, and even that, after reading is tainted by his romanticisation of farming. Granted, if I guy who kills pigs for a living calls himself their quasi father, that just makes me feel queasy, but at least, in these short passages, this book evoked any kind of feeling even if it was annoyance and anger. The same was true when he waxes patriotically about England ("Germany can keep Grimm!").
The rest of the book is simply boring. There is nothing informative about the wood or animals. It reads like this guy hasn't been in nature in his whole life. But he sure can go on about the wind in his hair, and the chirping of a bird above and the sun setting. Nauseating.
The rest of the book is simply boring. There is nothing informative about the wood or animals. It reads like this guy hasn't been in nature in his whole life. But he sure can go on about the wind in his hair, and the chirping of a bird above and the sun setting. Nauseating.
October 18, 2018
Book 175: some times you read a book by an author whose work you previously enjoyed and you realise that you would not like the person. This is a diary of a year tending a wood in Herefordshire. I learned a lot of new things. Some very interesting stuff, but it is the personal elements that left me reeling a bit at times. I guess it is unfair of me to judge him, who lives in nature, on how he relates to it, but I - the suburban dweller - did, instinctively. It is a good, lyrical book, although one too many puns.
August 10, 2021
I think I have found a new favourite natural history author with John Lewis-Stempel! The Wood is written in the format of a diary and it follows John's real-life experiences managing a stretch of woodland called Cockshutt Wood. Some of the entries were quite short in length but very visual and inviting. It made me want to travel out to the local woods where I live, which I haven't done for many years.
October 27, 2020
4.5 stars
This is a book you can read again and again - not only because the writing is beautiful, but also because it contains far too much information to take in on one reading, especially if your knowledge about the countryside is on the sketchy side.
It’s a diary of John Lewis-Stempel’s last year managing the Cockshutt Wood, in a remote hilly bit of Herefordshire, but it’s also rather like an almanac, albeit a highly personalised one. The book is made up mostly of the author’s observations of his wood - not just of the trees, but also the wildlife which inhabits it - but also includes information about the weather, the history of words, recipes for woodland edibles, poetry (presumably all favourites of the author) and many other woodland related tidbits, some of them scientific, although never ponderously so. It’s the sort of book that makes me realise how little I know about trees and other wildlife, and what a lot of reading, observing and doing it takes to become truly knowledgeable on the subject.
The flavour of the writing really appealed to me. The author definitely has a poetic sensibility, but spiked with a nice amount of earthy humour.
This is a book you can read again and again - not only because the writing is beautiful, but also because it contains far too much information to take in on one reading, especially if your knowledge about the countryside is on the sketchy side.
It’s a diary of John Lewis-Stempel’s last year managing the Cockshutt Wood, in a remote hilly bit of Herefordshire, but it’s also rather like an almanac, albeit a highly personalised one. The book is made up mostly of the author’s observations of his wood - not just of the trees, but also the wildlife which inhabits it - but also includes information about the weather, the history of words, recipes for woodland edibles, poetry (presumably all favourites of the author) and many other woodland related tidbits, some of them scientific, although never ponderously so. It’s the sort of book that makes me realise how little I know about trees and other wildlife, and what a lot of reading, observing and doing it takes to become truly knowledgeable on the subject.
The flavour of the writing really appealed to me. The author definitely has a poetic sensibility, but spiked with a nice amount of earthy humour.
March 23, 2018
From BBC radio 4 - Book of the week:
Over twelve months, this is the story of Cockshutt Wood in Shropshire, representative of all the small woods in our landscape and the sanctuary they provide.
From January through to December, John Lewis-Stempel records the passage of the seasons in exquisite prose, as the cuckoo flits through the green shade in the silence and the wind of winter. He explores from the roots of the oak to its tips, under the black, spicy leaf mould of the woodland floor and up into the mysterious canopy.
It's a unique account of the animals that inhabit this refuge - the fox, the pheasant, the wood mouse and the tawny owl, among others - with the stories of their births, lives and deaths threaded through the book.
Read by Greg Wise
Produced by David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09v...
Over twelve months, this is the story of Cockshutt Wood in Shropshire, representative of all the small woods in our landscape and the sanctuary they provide.
From January through to December, John Lewis-Stempel records the passage of the seasons in exquisite prose, as the cuckoo flits through the green shade in the silence and the wind of winter. He explores from the roots of the oak to its tips, under the black, spicy leaf mould of the woodland floor and up into the mysterious canopy.
It's a unique account of the animals that inhabit this refuge - the fox, the pheasant, the wood mouse and the tawny owl, among others - with the stories of their births, lives and deaths threaded through the book.
Read by Greg Wise
Produced by David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09v...
August 19, 2022
That's it, I'm done with Lewis-f***ing-Stempel!
What could have been an amazing book about a woodland in Herefordshire descends into a litany of shooting conquests (pheasants, squirrels, Canada geese, wtf!!!!), "hunting instincts" and general twatty behaviour- example: "Visit the Californian redwood, the BFG, have fun punching it....." Have fun punching it?!!! How's about I have some fun punching you!!!
Needless to say I think this writer is an arse. I'm not reading any more of his animal cruelty, tree bashing shite.
What could have been an amazing book about a woodland in Herefordshire descends into a litany of shooting conquests (pheasants, squirrels, Canada geese, wtf!!!!), "hunting instincts" and general twatty behaviour- example: "Visit the Californian redwood, the BFG, have fun punching it....." Have fun punching it?!!! How's about I have some fun punching you!!!
Needless to say I think this writer is an arse. I'm not reading any more of his animal cruelty, tree bashing shite.
October 10, 2018
A biologist, Edward O Wilson, is famed for his studies of ants around the world and the wider implications of his research, not all of which I actually agree with. In his autobiography, he claims that he could have produced research of equivalent value and complexity without leaving his own back garden. This book strikes me as evidence that he was right. It is nicely written but a slow read for me, because so many seemingly simple terms describing the natural world were strange to me. I therefore worked closely with my internet guides, exploring all sorts of strange and unexpected topics. I discovered that plants descibed in this book were present as weeds in my own garden. I found video guides to foraging as I explored the curious variants of mushrooms. I was invited at least to appreciate that killing is intrinsic to nature - if we want song birds to thrive, it may be that we have to eliminate their predators, not least grey squirrels. I found myself reading about collections of gin traps and their unpleasant modes of operation; not least to cleverly spike moles as they scurry along their undergound tunnels. I read about the way livestock can radically transform the undergrowth, grazing away invasive plants that would othrwise smother the area. The varieties of thrush made sense to me for the first time. Not all of this is actually inside the covers of the book of course but the clues are there, the sparkles that suggest much more.
The book also opens out to a much wider vista. While concentrating on the life and management of a small area of woodland, it explores the many unexpected ways by which human intervention shapes and transforms the physical environment. The countryside, on a local or a regional scale, is to a large extent artificial, and quite unlike anything that Nature would have made.
The book also opens out to a much wider vista. While concentrating on the life and management of a small area of woodland, it explores the many unexpected ways by which human intervention shapes and transforms the physical environment. The countryside, on a local or a regional scale, is to a large extent artificial, and quite unlike anything that Nature would have made.
October 9, 2020
Der Journalist und Autor John Lewis-Stempel kauft das Anwesen Trelandon mit Blick auf die Black Mountains in Herefordshire, in einer Gegend, in der bereits seit dem 13. Jahrhundert seine Vorfahren als Landwirte arbeiteten. Er und seine Frau züchten zu diesem Zeitpunkt schon Schafe, sie möchten mehr Platz dafür und wollen vom Tourismus entlang des Offa’s Dyke Path profitieren, indem sie Zimmer vermieten und Wollprodukte auf Bauernmärkten verkaufen. Die 16 ha liegen idyllisch am Escley, ein verfallenes Farmhaus und 1000-jährige Eichen warten auf die neuen Besitzer. Das abgelegene Tal mit Blick auf die Red Mountains an der Grenze zu Wales scheint die letzte Wildnis Englands zu sein.
Cockschutt heisst sein Wäldchen, weil die Engländer so ein Waldstück nannten, in dem Schnepfen mit Netzen gefangen wurden. Der Wald mitsamt einem kleinen Teich, dem Lewis-Stempel sich einen Jahreslauf als Tagebuch schreibender Beobachter widmet, ist beispielhaft für einen kleinen englischen Wirtschaftswald, in dem die Bewohner früher ihre Nutztiere weiden ließen und aus dem sie u. a. durch „Heckenknicken“ Nutzholz für Werkzeuge, Bauholz, Zäune, Särge und Karren holten. Das Beweiden durch Kühe und Schweine versorgt die Tiere mit Laubheu, lockert den Boden auf, reduziert das Brombeer-Gestrüpp und schafft damit Raum für Pilze und Kleintiere. Allerdings bietet Lewis-Stempels Waldstück nur 4 Red Poll Kühen Lebensraum.
Der Autor zeigt sich hier wieder als Universaltalent. Mit Tieren aufgewachsen, hat er unbewusst die Lebenserfahrung seiner Eltern und Großeltern aufgesaugt und liefert seinen Lesern Einblick in die Tier- und Pflanzenwelt des südlichen England, in Regionalgeschichte, den umfangreichen lokalen Wortschatz und in Rezepte für die Verarbeitung von Früchten seines Waldes. Das Lewis-Stempel „den Wald“ als Kind zuerst in Abenteuerbüchern kennenlernte, hat seinem Nature Writing offensichtlich nicht geschadet. Heute, als Grund- und Waldbesitzer, hat er erfahren, dass er kaum einmal untätig den Blick über seine Ländereien gleiten lassen kann, sondern dass Waldarbeit meist schweißtreibende Schufterei ist und ihm dazu Horden von Mücken auf den Hals hetzt. Wald = Schweiß + Mücken. Ein Blick in die Geschichte erzählt davon, wie die ehemals üppigen Wälder der britischen Insel irgendwann nicht mehr bewirtschaftet wurden als Holz zum Bau und zum Schiffbau von anderen Materialien abgelöst wurde. Ein weiterer Blick richtet sich auf „Old Brown“, den Waldkauz, der durch den naturgemäß bewirtschafteten Waldboden offenbar ein so üppiges Nahrungsangebot findet, dass sein Gelege von Jahr zu Jahr um jeweils ein Ei zugenommen hat. An Selbstbewusstsein mangelte es dem Elternpaar Kauz noch nie, sie fühlen sich dafür verantwortlich, Eulen, Füchse, Dachse und fremde Hunde aus ihrem Revier zu vertreiben. Natürliche Feinde des Waldbesitzers sind außer dem Brombeergestrüpp das Vogeleier raubende Grauhörnchen und die ebenso rücksichtslose Kanada-Gans. Lewis-Stempel scheint im Innern noch immer das Kind zu sein, das in Abenteuerbüchern versank und das sich bis heute dafür interessiert, wie das Loch ins Blatt kommt, nachdem dort Gallmilben heranwachsen.
Rein optisch ein Fest fürs Auge (mit der Coverillustration der Originalausgabe, illustriertem Buchdeckel und zartgrünem Leseband) lässt sich Lewis-Stempels neuestes Buch chronologisch im Jahresverlauf verfolgen, aber auch einfach verschlingen.
Cockschutt heisst sein Wäldchen, weil die Engländer so ein Waldstück nannten, in dem Schnepfen mit Netzen gefangen wurden. Der Wald mitsamt einem kleinen Teich, dem Lewis-Stempel sich einen Jahreslauf als Tagebuch schreibender Beobachter widmet, ist beispielhaft für einen kleinen englischen Wirtschaftswald, in dem die Bewohner früher ihre Nutztiere weiden ließen und aus dem sie u. a. durch „Heckenknicken“ Nutzholz für Werkzeuge, Bauholz, Zäune, Särge und Karren holten. Das Beweiden durch Kühe und Schweine versorgt die Tiere mit Laubheu, lockert den Boden auf, reduziert das Brombeer-Gestrüpp und schafft damit Raum für Pilze und Kleintiere. Allerdings bietet Lewis-Stempels Waldstück nur 4 Red Poll Kühen Lebensraum.
Der Autor zeigt sich hier wieder als Universaltalent. Mit Tieren aufgewachsen, hat er unbewusst die Lebenserfahrung seiner Eltern und Großeltern aufgesaugt und liefert seinen Lesern Einblick in die Tier- und Pflanzenwelt des südlichen England, in Regionalgeschichte, den umfangreichen lokalen Wortschatz und in Rezepte für die Verarbeitung von Früchten seines Waldes. Das Lewis-Stempel „den Wald“ als Kind zuerst in Abenteuerbüchern kennenlernte, hat seinem Nature Writing offensichtlich nicht geschadet. Heute, als Grund- und Waldbesitzer, hat er erfahren, dass er kaum einmal untätig den Blick über seine Ländereien gleiten lassen kann, sondern dass Waldarbeit meist schweißtreibende Schufterei ist und ihm dazu Horden von Mücken auf den Hals hetzt. Wald = Schweiß + Mücken. Ein Blick in die Geschichte erzählt davon, wie die ehemals üppigen Wälder der britischen Insel irgendwann nicht mehr bewirtschaftet wurden als Holz zum Bau und zum Schiffbau von anderen Materialien abgelöst wurde. Ein weiterer Blick richtet sich auf „Old Brown“, den Waldkauz, der durch den naturgemäß bewirtschafteten Waldboden offenbar ein so üppiges Nahrungsangebot findet, dass sein Gelege von Jahr zu Jahr um jeweils ein Ei zugenommen hat. An Selbstbewusstsein mangelte es dem Elternpaar Kauz noch nie, sie fühlen sich dafür verantwortlich, Eulen, Füchse, Dachse und fremde Hunde aus ihrem Revier zu vertreiben. Natürliche Feinde des Waldbesitzers sind außer dem Brombeergestrüpp das Vogeleier raubende Grauhörnchen und die ebenso rücksichtslose Kanada-Gans. Lewis-Stempel scheint im Innern noch immer das Kind zu sein, das in Abenteuerbüchern versank und das sich bis heute dafür interessiert, wie das Loch ins Blatt kommt, nachdem dort Gallmilben heranwachsen.
Rein optisch ein Fest fürs Auge (mit der Coverillustration der Originalausgabe, illustriertem Buchdeckel und zartgrünem Leseband) lässt sich Lewis-Stempels neuestes Buch chronologisch im Jahresverlauf verfolgen, aber auch einfach verschlingen.
May 6, 2018
The standard of nature writing over recent years has just got better and better, we are so fortunate to have so many great nature writers in the UK and twice winner of the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing. (2015 & 2017) John Lewis-Stempel returns with his best book to date. The Wood: The Life and Times of Cockshutt Wood is an intimate account of John’s last year managing this three and half acres of mixed woodland in Herefordshire.
Lewis-Stempel’s latest has been written in a diary format and takes us through the four season and the changing face of Cockshutt Wood, the flora and fauna of this working wood comes to life through the poetic words of a nature writer at his very best. We meet the Tawny Owl who is affectionately known as ‘Old Brown’ the various animals from pigs to sheep who mad the wood their home to keep the dreaded bramble at bay.
The book starts in December when the days are at their shortest but even now when the trees are dormant there is still life in John’s working wood. The sheer beauty of this book is how John brings the history, poetry and even recipes (some of which I will be trying through the course of the year) There are recipes ranging from Acorn Coffee, Chestnut Soup and Elderflower Champagne.
John comes from a farming family that dates back to the 13th Century and is ideally placed to write about countryside as he sees it, his passion for everything in the countryside and its history and future. As the season moves from Winter to Spring, Cockshutt Wood wakens from its deep winter sleep, animals and amphibians that have slept through the cold and dark winter months now feel the warmth of Spring and waken from their slumber. The mixed woodland now starts to come to life, the sap is rising with the temperature.
The poetry is just wonderful and carefully selected and really works to bring the wood alive. The sights and sounds and even the smell of the wood just seep from every page not to mention the recipes. John ends his tenure managing the wood in the month of November with the words “I though the trees belonged to me, but I now realise I belonged to them” As he left the wood there is a sense of pain at leaving the wood and its inhabitants behind. The writer at one with the countryside and a book that deserves the plaudits. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
304 Pages.
Lewis-Stempel’s latest has been written in a diary format and takes us through the four season and the changing face of Cockshutt Wood, the flora and fauna of this working wood comes to life through the poetic words of a nature writer at his very best. We meet the Tawny Owl who is affectionately known as ‘Old Brown’ the various animals from pigs to sheep who mad the wood their home to keep the dreaded bramble at bay.
The book starts in December when the days are at their shortest but even now when the trees are dormant there is still life in John’s working wood. The sheer beauty of this book is how John brings the history, poetry and even recipes (some of which I will be trying through the course of the year) There are recipes ranging from Acorn Coffee, Chestnut Soup and Elderflower Champagne.
John comes from a farming family that dates back to the 13th Century and is ideally placed to write about countryside as he sees it, his passion for everything in the countryside and its history and future. As the season moves from Winter to Spring, Cockshutt Wood wakens from its deep winter sleep, animals and amphibians that have slept through the cold and dark winter months now feel the warmth of Spring and waken from their slumber. The mixed woodland now starts to come to life, the sap is rising with the temperature.
The poetry is just wonderful and carefully selected and really works to bring the wood alive. The sights and sounds and even the smell of the wood just seep from every page not to mention the recipes. John ends his tenure managing the wood in the month of November with the words “I though the trees belonged to me, but I now realise I belonged to them” As he left the wood there is a sense of pain at leaving the wood and its inhabitants behind. The writer at one with the countryside and a book that deserves the plaudits. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
304 Pages.
May 28, 2019
🌿 Lewis-Stempel has a simpel yet beautiful way of describing his life in Cockshutt wood. While Reading the book I felt like I was there, surrounded by the trees and animals that inhabit the wood. And I loved the added recipes with the food that grows there, As well as the interwoven myths and poetry about nature. 🌿
May 13, 2023
Disappointing.
Want to read
April 14, 2019pardon me but my eyes are involuntarily watering at the beauty of this cover
April 2, 2018
I read one of John's earlier books 'Meadowland' a few years ago and just loved it. Whilst reading it I discovered we shared a favourite (now sadly) little known author Denys Watkins-Pitchford aka 'B.B' whom I read as a child. He was from Lamport, a village I grew up just two miles away from. After reading that book I had a brief chat with John on Twitter about B.B.
So it was a great delight to stumble upon his latest book 'The Wood' in Waterstones on Saturday. I have devoured the book all over Easter and thoroughly enjoyed every moment, it is as though one is ambling through the wood with John on a daily basis as he takes us through a year in the life of Cockshutt Wood and its many inhabitants, some welcome some less so. Not only that but we get poems, songs and recipes as well... it really is a delightful read and as if that weren't enough at the back there is a play list of music featuring Woods. Once again I popped over to say hi on Twitter and suggested one song that could be added to the next list ' The Beach Boys' A day in the life of a tree' John replied saying he will include it in the paperback! How I do love social media and of course this book! Thanks John.
So it was a great delight to stumble upon his latest book 'The Wood' in Waterstones on Saturday. I have devoured the book all over Easter and thoroughly enjoyed every moment, it is as though one is ambling through the wood with John on a daily basis as he takes us through a year in the life of Cockshutt Wood and its many inhabitants, some welcome some less so. Not only that but we get poems, songs and recipes as well... it really is a delightful read and as if that weren't enough at the back there is a play list of music featuring Woods. Once again I popped over to say hi on Twitter and suggested one song that could be added to the next list ' The Beach Boys' A day in the life of a tree' John replied saying he will include it in the paperback! How I do love social media and of course this book! Thanks John.
January 23, 2022
I can never fault John! He does what he does and he does it the best. Listening to the chak-chak-chak-chee of a squirrel or a chiff-chaff of a chiffchaff, he gets into the deep bones of the wood where the weasel and the fox will look him into the eye and judge him equal. But he is also somebody who had gone through the machinery of the British education system and knows when to quote his Shakespeare or his Wordsworth or his Elgar just right. He LIVES the wood! I wish there were more of him... At the same time I do have to say that I think his Meadowland and The Running Hare were a wee bit better. Maybe it is the deeper understanding, but who am I to say this about an author who seems to equally miss his beloved dog and the tree that he touched for nearly every day for four years. This is, once again, truly a masterpiece!
December 5, 2025
• The narrative reflects the author's four-year management of Cockshutt Wood in Herefordshire, highlighting its significance as a wildlife sanctuary.
• Emphasizes traditional management techniques like coppicing and livestock use, contrasting natural and man-made sounds.
• Chronicles the author's personal connection to the wood and its ecology, exploring themes of resilience, nostalgia, and nature's cycles through the seasons.
• "DECEMBER: A Walk in the Wood" details a winter walk that combines childhood memories with ecological observations and the historical importance of British woodlands.
• Captures the beauty of each season while addressing rural challenges, emphasizing the importance of trees and wildlife.
• Culminates in reflections on familial ties and an emotional farewell to the wood, showcasing a deep connection to nature.
• Emphasizes traditional management techniques like coppicing and livestock use, contrasting natural and man-made sounds.
• Chronicles the author's personal connection to the wood and its ecology, exploring themes of resilience, nostalgia, and nature's cycles through the seasons.
• "DECEMBER: A Walk in the Wood" details a winter walk that combines childhood memories with ecological observations and the historical importance of British woodlands.
• Captures the beauty of each season while addressing rural challenges, emphasizing the importance of trees and wildlife.
• Culminates in reflections on familial ties and an emotional farewell to the wood, showcasing a deep connection to nature.
August 27, 2020
This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary man. Woodsman ship is an age old art now and there would not be many left with these skills and this knowledge. And he has the sensitive soul and writerly mind to record it. We're lucky.
It's written as a diary and so a little meandering and lacking in drive somehow and you have to forgive it that. I'd like to see something g by him with more structure. I hear his books on the hare and the oak raved about so I'll be trying those.
It's written as a diary and so a little meandering and lacking in drive somehow and you have to forgive it that. I'd like to see something g by him with more structure. I hear his books on the hare and the oak raved about so I'll be trying those.
May 31, 2020
A nice piece of nature writing, but not my favourite of Stempel's work. I think because it is sort of a collection of diary entries over the passing of the year it occaisionally felt a little fragmentary to me, in a way that doesn't bother me so much when done in shorter books like his The Secret Life Of... series. That said, still an enjoyable and super speedy read!
May 4, 2019
Lovely portrait of a year in 'nature' and a person's place in this particular landscape (landscape? environment? whatever). Raises questions of management, farming, biodiversity with a light, genial style, following tangents, throwing out snippets of information along the way.
February 17, 2020
Superb, just like Meadowland, a year in the life of Cockshutt Wood. Very interesting and being a partial country bumpkin very relatable.
Thoroughly enjoyed both books I have read by the author and look forward to devouring more.
Thoroughly enjoyed both books I have read by the author and look forward to devouring more.
January 21, 2019
This book follows changes in a wood over one year going through the weather, trees, plants and wildlife month by month. Filled with anecdotes, recipes, folklore and history it’s amazing how much information Lewis-Stempel squeezes into each page. Very interesting and well written.
Read
November 22, 2019I want to go and live in nature
January 24, 2021
More of a history of trees and animals. I found it very interesting and learnt a lot
April 9, 2024
I read so many new words - at my age! Impressive succinct creative descriptions. Combined history, poetry, recipes and husbandry knowledge in a 12 month diary. Classic.
December 23, 2022
Reads like poetry. Took me more than 100 pages to get into the rhythm but once I did, it was wonderful. Will be trying all the seasonal recipes!
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