United States
£ GBP
*We have a very limited number of bookplates signed by Penny for this edition, available while stocks last
Lying as it does at the heart of industrial England, this area of intimate wooded dales, steep-sided gorges and windswept boggy moorland, is perhaps the most welcome of all Britain's National Parks; certainly, it is the most accessible, for within 75 miles of its border lives nearly half the population of England, and the rich variety of its scenery attracts tens of thousands of visitors yearly.
Peak District is the general introduction to the region for naturalists. It presents a concise account of the Peak District's geological structure and history from ancient upheavals to the effects of erosion today – of its woods and wild flowers, its mosses and fungi, birds and fishes, roads and villages and farms, its weather and its rural economy.
To the many thousands of ramblers who visit the Peak District at weekends, summer and winter alike, here is a book by one who has trodden all the paths before them and is able to discover for them interests hitherto unsuspected to enhance their enjoyment. At the same time it is a survey of great interest to naturalists everywhere.
Please note this is a completely new title – K.C. Edward's monograph published in 1962 (New Naturalist volume 44) was the first time the Peak District featured in the New Naturalist series.
"Long ago, the New Naturalist series set out 'To interest the general reader in the wildlife of Britain by recapturing the inquiring spirit of the old naturalists'. Has any volume achieved that aim more perfectly than Peak District? l doubt it [...] Throughout the book, very many sites and features are mentioned, and if you're not familiar with the Peak District this could have been confusing, so full marks for a comprehensive gazetteer, with grid references. [...]"
– Ken Thompson, The Niche 53(2), summer 2022
"[...] The writing of a regional natural history inevitably involves drawing on the work of others, and this has been skilfully blended with the author’s substantial firsthand experience [...] Every generation that writes about the Peak District has its issues of concern. For Moss it was smoke pollution, and for Edwards access to the countryside. For us it is the biodiversity crisis and the climate emergency, which are both addressed in the final chapter. It is unclear how our woodlands will change as a result of Ash Dieback, or how many species will be lost because of a warming climate. Readers of the book in the future may know, and in the penultimate sentence they are posed a question about the region: ‘Is it still highly distinctive and special?’ We cannot know their answer, but we can be sure that they will learn a great deal about the Peak District, and probably much about us and what we think about the area today. They will certainly have a good book in their hands."
– Anthony Robinson, British Wildlife 33(5), April 2022
