Local : A Search for Nearby Nature and Wildness

Longlisted for the Wainwright Nature Writing Prize 2024

A search for nearby nature and wildness After years of expeditions all over the world, adventurer Alastair Humphreys spends a year exploring the detailed local map around his home. Can this unassuming landscape, marked by the glow of city lights and the hum of busy roads, hold any surprises for the world traveller or satisfy his wanderlust? Could a single map provide a lifetime of exploration? Discovering more about the natural world than in all his years in remote environments, he learns the value of truly getting to know his neighbourhood. An ode to slowing down, Local is a celebration of curiosity and time spent outdoors, as well as a rallying cry to protect the wild places on our doorstep.

‘Agile, wryly funny and wise‘ Robert Macfarlane