Where the Wild Things Grow, A Foragers Guide to the Landscape’ is a book about the wild foods growing all around us. Referencing close to 200 different wild foods, it explores what can be foraged in the manmade environment, the countryside, coast and woodlands. Each of these are split into smaller sections, such as coastal marshland, conifer wood, roadside and gardens. The beauty of ordering by habitat is you can simply flip to the right chapter whenever you want to find something in a specific area.
The book is crammed full of recipe ideas, foraging tips, snippets of food science and even a smidgen of folklore.
Flowers, plants, fruits, nuts, seaweeds, mushrooms of every kind are featured. It is a must for foodies, foragers, walkers, cyclists or anyone with an interest in the natural world.
It is my longest book to date marking the culmination of years of study into the subject of foraging from my first wild garlic forays in South Wales aged just 21 to teaching Guardian Masterclass decades later.
Written with clear information, instructions and illustrations, Family Foraging is a book the whole family can enjoy. Learn how to safely identify 30 common edible plants, found in our parks, woodlands and hedgerows. Create delicious recipes like, sea beet huff-a-puffs, puffball kebabs or my personal favorite, roasted hazelnut chocolate spread!
With both child friendly recipies and easy to ID plants, this book is great for parents looking for things to do with their kids.
From Darwin to David Attenborough, many naturalists built their careers on a curiosity which began in childhood. However, in this digital age our children can easily become isolated from meaningful contact with the natural world. A day gathering edible plants, picked in the wild, can be a great way to reconnect with family and nature. So get ready for your new Family Foraging adventure and pick up a copy today.
Wild Ruins reached the Amazon Top Ten Sales Rank during it’s first month of publication. It has gone on to sell over 25,000 Copies since it’s release.
With a Foreword by Tony Robinson, the book charts some of Britain’s most romantic ruined buildings. It has easy to follow directions, concise descriptions and excellent photography throughout.
Here’s an extract from a piece I wrote for BBC History online which I feel best describes the book
“If history is written by the victors, as Winston Churchill allegedly said, then what of the losers; how is their tale told? Our nation’s ruins offer this alternative history. Ruins tell the story of a constantly shifting balance of power. They tell us how even mighty armies and steadfast institutions can topple in the shifting sands of time. Ruins tell us of the forces, often way beyond our control, that continue to shape our lives to this day. The history of the ruin is, after all, the history written by the losing side.”
My latest book ‘Wild Ruins BC‘ (Wild Things Publishing) is my most ambitious work to date. It took me three years to complete, during which time I traveled the length and breadth of Britain. It was an extraordinary adventure, taking me to distant and remote corners of the country. Rather than take the standard route, focusing on just megaliths or stone circles, the book charts ALL of human prehistory. Beginning with the first human footprints 800,000-950,000 years ago on a Norfolk beach, it takes the reader to Paleolithic cave shelters, Mesolithic burial sites, Neolithic Axe Factories and Megaliths. It then finds some of the most spectacular Bronze Age burial mounds and windswept hill-forts.
A lot of work went into the Writing of Wild Ruins BC and although no author writes for just financial gain (they are in the wrong business if they do!) it doesn’t hurt to make a little back. Typically an author’s receives 5-10% of books revenue from online purchases. Buying direct from an author might cost a little more but it gives them a fair share of the sale price and helps ensure more books like Wild Ruins BC are written.
Photo Dave Hamilton – Stonehenge replica of megalith on rollersThe Polisher Stone – Where ancient axes were carved – Photo Dave Hamilton
From the Introduction of Wild Ruins BC :
“The creation of this book was not just an adventure of the body but also one of the mind. I had set out to understand the world of our ancestors. From the earliest footprints trodden on British shores over 800,000 years ago to the coming of the Romans in 43AD. The more I studied, the more fascinated I became with these strange, alien cultures that once shared our lands. Why did they go to so much effort to erect lonely megaliths and stone rows, and what did they use them for? Did the stone circles of Dartmoor and Bodmin have the same purpose as the recumbent stone circles of Aberdeenshire? Were the hillforts of Somerset and Dorset a meeting ground or defensive structures? Who made the engravings of cup and ring marks into the stones of Northern England and southern Scotland, and what did they signify?
The more I studied, the more I realised how little we really know for certain of these mysterious and ancient people.
Wild Ruins BC took me three years to write and has been my most ambitious work to date.
My latest book 
