Beyond Spring: Wanderings through Nature

SHORTLISTED for Countryfile magazine's Country Book of the Year

SHORTLISTED for Richard Jefferies Award

On The guardian's "Best Nature Books of 2017" list

Featured in The Daily Mail and other national newspapers

Endorsed by Patrick Barkham, Brett Westwood, Stephen Moss, Fergus Collins, Countryfile magazine, Birdwatching magazine, Robert Minhinnick and Mary Colwell.

Beyond Spring describes a sequence of wanderings through the natural world of England, from spring's genesis through to summer's fulfilment.

Some of the chapters explore renowned wildlife localities, such as the Scilly Isles and the Norfolk Broads, or classic landscapes like Borrowdale and Dovedale. Others were drafted on train journeys, in Hyde Park, at a motorway service station, and along the mesmeric A272 which meanders through West Sussex. It is meant for snatch-reading, especially in winter, when we can hardly remember the brighter months to come.

It includes memorable quotes from the Romantic poets, the great Victorian and Edwardian nature writers (Richard Jefferies, WH Hudson and, in particular, Edward Thomas) and several of today's leading nature poets. It is part prose-poem, part musing, part deep-end natural history - and all is blended with modern ecological and conservation perspectives.

Matthew Oates has worked for the National Trust for over 25 years, holding the intriguing job titles of Advisor on Nature Conservation and, more recently, National Specialist on Nature. He writes for The Times Nature Notebook column. He has written several books, most recently In Pursuit of Butterflies, and has made a number of TV and radio appearances. He lives in the Cotswolds, but wanders much of England during the brighter months. Although a die-hard nature conservationist with strong ecological leanings, he has a poet's mind.